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Secondary sourceBook1872

Around the World in Eighty Days

Jules Verne · 1872

Jules Verne's 1872 adventure novel imagining a journey around the world in 80 days — the fictional record Nellie Bly set out to beat.

Verne's novel was the fictional record Bly set out to beat in her real around-the-world journey, and the two met during her trip.

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Front cover of a red leather-bound book with ornate gold tooling. Gold text reads 'Jules Verne, Le Tour du Monde en 80 Jours, Illustré' inside a central oval medallion, with decorative Greek key borders and floral roundels.
Cover of the French first edition of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, published by Hetzel, Paris.

About this source

What it is

This is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in 1872. It tells the story of Phileas Fogg, who wagers he can circumnavigate the globe in 80 days, and his adventures doing so.

Why it matters

Verne's story became hugely popular and set a benchmark for fast global travel in the public imagination. Decades later, journalist Nellie Bly used the novel's premise as the inspiration for her own real journey around the world, aiming to beat Fogg's fictional time. She even met Verne in person during her trip.

Look closer

  • Why might a fictional story inspire someone to attempt a real journey?
  • What does the popularity of this novel tell us about how people in the 1870s imagined travel and distance?
  • How might Bly's real trip have differed from Fogg's fictional one?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Nellie Bly on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Front cover of the book 'Ten Days in a Mad-House' by Nellie Bly. Decorative border with vines and a price label reading 'Price 25 Cents' at top. Title in large capitals in a framed panel, with 'by Nellie Bly' signature in script at bottom, above a wreath-like ornament with flowers.Book

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Nellie Bly · 1887

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National American Woman Suffrage Association · 3 March 1913

Black-and-white studio portrait of a woman standing in a checked wool coat with large buttons, a cap on her head, and a crocodile-skin travel bag in her right hand. A painted backdrop of foliage and a patterned carpet surround her. Printed title above reads Nellie Bly; caption below describes her trip around the earth in 72 days, 6 hours, and 11 minutes.Photograph

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Nellie Bly Bids Farewell

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