Traveling and seeing the world has always been one of the great passions of human beings, even when taking a ship, plane or train was not accessible to everyone. Jules Verne (Nantes, 1828) was well aware of this and, therefore, on a day like today in 1872, that is, 150 years ago, he published Around the World in Eighty Days, one of his most widely read novels and which over the years has become It has become a classic of literature. He did it in installments in Le Temps, one of the most important newspapers in Paris at the time, the first being on November 6 and the last on December 22. A year later, due to the great success and stir generated, it would be distributed as a single book.
Readers couldn't resist learning about the great adventures facing Phileas Fogg and his loyal assistant Jean Passepartout, also known in some countries as Passepartout. The first is a clear representation of a British gentleman: methodical, perfectionist and calculating, although with a good heart. His partner, on the other hand, is more talkative and impulsive. And it is precisely this contrast that makes them an incomparable couple. No less important in the plot is the leading role of Aouda, the young Indian with whom Fogg will fall in love; and Detective Fix, a Scotland Yard agent who has set out to arrest the English gentleman by mistaking him for a thief.
Although the story was written a century and a half ago, it can be said that it has not lost interest among readers. Nor among moviegoers, because over the years it has been taken to both the small and the big screen. The latest adaptation arrived last February on Movistar Plus in an eight-episode series format through an ambitious European co-production between France, Germany and Italy. Although if a series triumphed among the public, that was none other than the cartoon adaptation whose title song -Son 80 days is 80 nothing else- marked several generations. Of course, Phileas was called Willy and he was a lion.
What does not vary in any of the versions is the reason why the protagonists begin this enviable journey: a bet. Conceived neither more nor less than in the Reform Club, a club then only for gentlemen –from 1981 it began to admit women– that still exists today in London and of which Phileas is a member. One afternoon, the Briton discusses with his colleagues an article that states that, after the opening of a new railway line in India, it is possible to travel around the world in just eighty days. Nobody trusts it, except Fogg, who bets half of his fortune that he is capable of doing that feat. His conviction is such that that same afternoon he leaves London with Passepartout. According to his calculations, to fulfill the agreement, he would have to return to the Reform Club at the same time on December 21.
Thus begins a tour in which there is no shortage of trains, steamboats, sleighs and even an elephant ride, as well as the opportunity to discover new cultures and corners of the world, unknown to the majority of the population at the time when that the book was published. In the cinema, in some versions such as the 1956 one, directed by Michael Anderson and starring David Niven and Mario Moreno 'Cantinflas' in the role of Passepartout, a balloon flight is also incorporated, although this is something that does not appear in the film. original work. By the way, this same film won five Oscars that year, including best picture.
Another aspect to take into account in the trip around the world that Verne proposes is that it is not exactly a trip around the globe since it is limited to countries where the British Empire existed in the 19th century, or at least had existed in the past. , with the exception of Japan to give coherence to the narrative plot.
And about the outcome to say that there were many bets that were made at the time to try to guess whether or not the group would arrive at the Reform Club within the established period. Let us remember that the novel was made in installments, so the expectation was increasing as the 80th day approached. Today, the ending is popularly known although, for those who do not know it, we anticipate that here is a spoiler: what succeeds, despite a start Fogg thinks he is five minutes late and therefore has lost. British punctuality in its strictest sense.
The reality is different, however. Not only has she won the challenge, but she has completed it in less time: in 79 days. How is that possible? Having traveled east, they gained four minutes for each of the 360 degrees of longitude they crossed, making a total of 24 hours. When they realize the mistake, the group rushes to the Reform Club to meet the agreed deadline.
Around the World in Eighty Days is part of Extraordinary Voyages, the collection of travel and adventure books written by Verne that began in 1863 with Five Weeks in a Balloon and culminated in 1918 with The Impressive Adventure of the Barsac Mission. These books were proposed as a fundamental tool for teaching by their publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel, who assured in an introductory note to the first volume of The Adventures of Captain Hatteras that the purpose of the collection was none other than "to summarize all geographical knowledge, geological, physical and astronomical data accumulated by modern science and to remake, in its own attractive form, the history of the Universe”.
Many of the writings, such as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, From the Earth to the Moon or Around the World in Eighty Days himself, are revealing to say the least, since they have been able to glimpse the development of our civilization, which is surprising if It is taken into account that at the time he wrote them, there was hardly any technology or the same means that are available today. This has more than once led readers to wonder if the Frenchman had some hidden power of prediction. Far from being a fortune teller, Verne was actually a determined writer who conducted interviews with scientists, many of whom ended up in his circle of friends. In addition, he often consulted reference books, scientific journals, and newspapers to better understand current developments and anticipate some of those to come.
For those who are interested in the subject, mention that a similar trip around the world really happened and was carried out by a woman, Nellie Bly. This journalist achieved this milestone in 72 days and did it alone for much of the way. In her adventure, she met Verne himself, who encouraged her to break that record.
