Round the World in Eighty Days

In Jules Verne’s classic adventure Around the World in Eighty Days, the stoic British gentleman Phileas Fogg wagers £20,000 (half his fortune) that he can circumnvaigate the globe in 80 days. Accompanied by his loyal valet, Passepartout, he races against the clock while unwittingly pursued by a detective who mistakenly suspects Fogg of a major bank robbery.  The epic, globe-trotting journey features several key events:

• • The Wager: After a debate at London’s Reform Club over a newspaper article proving a world trip is theoretically possible, Fogg leaves abruptly on October 2, 1872, determined to return by 8:45 p.m. on December 21.
  • The Pursuit: Detective Fix from Scotland Yard follows Fogg across the globe, repeatedly trying to delay the travelers in hopes of securing an arrest warrant. 
  • The Rescues & Obstacles: In India, Fogg hires an elephant to bypass an unfinished railway and rescues a young Indian widow, Aouda, from a sacrificial ritual. She joins the trio for the rest of the journey. Along the way, Passepartout is drugged in Hong Kong, and the group faces Native American attacks in the United States. 
  • The Climax: After a series of extreme travel pivots—including commandeering a trading vessel across the Atlantic and burning it for fuel—Fogg and his party finally make it back to London. However, they arrive just five minutes late, believing they have lost everything. 
  • The Twist: Devastated by the loss, Fogg proposes to Aouda. When Passepartout goes to fetch a priest, he makes a crucial discovery. By traveling eastward across all the time zones, they inadvertently gained a day. Fogg realizes it is only Saturday, December 21, not Sunday.