To the late-twentieth-century reader, the idea of traveling around the world in eighty days is not astonishing.

Nevertheless, Around the World in Eighty Days is Jules Verne's most popular work, and modern movie and television adaptations show that it still has contemporary appeal even in an age that is able to circle the globe in a matter of hours. To Verne's audience, the feat seemed improbable and exciting. Even outside of France the interest in the probability of Phileas Fogg winning his bet was tremendous and as the installments appeared in the Temps Journal, people actually made bets on the outcome of his journey.

As usual, Verne's characters do not simply engage in travel. There is a strong element of suspense as well as a wide array of the modern "machines" he likes to invent. The story starts at a London club where the members discuss...