Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea facts for kids
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (which means Vingt mille lieues sous les mers in French) is a famous science fiction book by the French writer Jules Verne. It was first published in 1870. The story is about a mysterious man named Captain Nemo and his amazing submarine called the Nautilus. The book shows incredible technology that was very new or even not invented yet when it was written!
Contents
The Story Begins
The adventure starts in the year 1866. People all over the world, especially sailors, begin to see something very strange in the ocean. This strange thing is long and thin. Sometimes, it even glows in the water. It is much bigger and faster than any whale anyone has ever seen.
Some people think it is a moving reef, which is a line of rocks or coral. Others believe it could be a giant sea serpent. Everyone is talking about this mysterious creature of the deep!
The Expedition
In 1867, the strange thing attacks two ships. People become very scared that it will attack more. So, the United States government decides to send a special group to find out what it is.
A French professor named Pierre Arronax joins this group. He thinks the strange thing might be a giant narwhal, a type of whale with a long tusk. Professor Arronax's helpful servant named Conseil goes with him. A skilled Canadian harpooner named Ned Land is also part of the team.
Life on the Nautilus
The expedition sets sail on a ship called the Abraham Lincoln. After searching for some time, they finally spot the strange thing! But then, the mysterious object attacks the Abraham Lincoln. Professor Arronax, Conseil, and Ned Land fall into the sea.
They manage to swim to the strange thing and climb onto it. They quickly discover it is not an animal at all. It is a very advanced submarine! Its name is the Nautilus. The submarine is named after the nautilus, a sea creature that can move up and down in the water, just like a submarine.
Captain Nemo's Secret
Inside the Nautilus, the three men meet the submarine's owner. He calls himself Captain Nemo. "Nemo" is a Latin word that means "nobody." Captain Nemo tells them they must stay on the submarine forever. He says this because if they escaped, they would tell everyone about him and his secret submarine.
Ned Land is very angry about being a prisoner. He immediately starts making plans to escape. Professor Arronax is upset at first, but soon he finds living in a submarine exciting. He is an expert on sea animals, and now he can study them up close in their own habitat. Conseil, who likes to be helpful, is happy as long as Professor Arronax is happy.
Adventures Under the Sea
Captain Nemo takes his prisoners on an amazing journey around the world. They travel through all the world's oceans. They cover a distance of 43,200 miles, which is about 20,000 leagues. This is why the book is called Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea!
They have many incredible adventures during their trip. However, Professor Arronax soon discovers a dark secret. Captain Nemo sometimes attacks other ships on purpose, trying to sink them. Nemo is seeking revenge on a country that harmed his family. But he never says which country it is or where he comes from.
The Escape
Finally, the Nautilus gets caught in a huge whirlpool called the Maelstrom. This happens in the Atlantic Ocean. Professor Arronax, Conseil, and Ned Land see their chance. They manage to escape from the submarine and make it safely back to land.
Professor Arronax wonders if Captain Nemo survived the Maelstrom. He also wonders if he will ever learn Nemo's real name or where he came from. Most of all, Arronax hopes that Nemo will forgive his enemies and become a peaceful man, enjoying all the wonderful things under the sea. The story ends with this mystery.
About the Book's Publication
The novel was first published by Pierre-Jules Hetzel. He owned a magazine called the Magazine of Education and Recreation (French: Magasin d’Éducation et de Récréation). The story was released in parts, or serialized, in the magazine. It started in March 1869 and finished in June 1870.
After that, in 1871, Hetzel published the full story as a book. This book included more than one hundred beautiful illustrations. These drawings were made by artists Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou.
Images for kids
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The Nautilus as imagined by Jules Verne.
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Model of the 1863 French Navy submarine Plongeur at the Musée de la Marine, Paris.
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See also
In Spanish: Veinte mil leguas de viaje submarino para niños
