Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas facts for kids
Frontispiece of 1871 edition
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| Author | Jules Verne |
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| Original title | Vingt mille lieues sous les mers |
| Illustrator | Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Series | Voyages extraordinaires |
| Genre | Adventure |
| Publisher | Pierre-Jules Hetzel |
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Publication date
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March 1869 to June 1870 (as serial) 1870 (book form) |
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Published in English
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1872 |
| Preceded by | In Search of the Castaways |
| Followed by | Around the Moon |
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: A World Tour Underwater is a famous science fiction adventure novel written by the French writer Jules Verne. Its original French title is Vingt mille lieues sous les mers: Tour du monde sous-marin.
The story was first released in parts, like a TV show, from March 1869 to June 1870. Later, in 1871, it became a full book with 111 cool drawings by Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou. People loved the book then, and they still do today! It's seen as one of the best adventure stories ever, right up there with Verne's other classics like Around the World in Eighty Days and Journey to the Center of the Earth. The book's description of Captain Nemo's amazing underwater ship, the Nautilus, was way ahead of its time. It describes many features that real submarines have today, even though submarines in the 1860s were very basic.
Jules Verne got some of his ideas for the Nautilus from a real French submarine called the Plongeur. He saw a model of it at a big exhibition in 1867 and was inspired to create his own fictional submarine.
Contents
What Does the Title Mean?
The title of the book, "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas," talks about the distance traveled by the submarine, not how deep it goes. A league is a unit of distance, about four kilometers. So, 20,000 leagues is about 80,000 kilometers, which is almost twice around the Earth!
The deepest point the Nautilus reaches in the story is four leagues (about 16 kilometers). This is much deeper than any real ocean depth. The title also says "Seas" (plural) because the journey takes place across many different oceans around the world.
The Story's Main Characters
- Professor Pierre Aronnax – He tells the story. He is a French scientist who studies sea life.
- Conseil – Professor Aronnax's loyal helper. He knows a lot about different types of animals.
- Ned Land – A very skilled Canadian harpooner, known for being the best at his dangerous job.
- Captain Nemo – The mysterious inventor and leader of the amazing submarine, the Nautilus.
An Amazing Underwater Journey
The story begins in 1866. Ships from different countries start seeing a strange sea monster. Some people think it might be a giant narwhal. The U.S. government decides to send a team from New York City to find and stop this creature.
Professor Pierre Aronnax, a French marine biologist, is in New York and gets invited to join the mission at the last minute. He says yes! Ned Land, a Canadian whaler and expert harpooner, and Conseil, Aronnax's faithful helper, also join the journey.
The team leaves Brooklyn on a U.S. Navy ship called the Abraham Lincoln. They sail south, around Cape Horn, and into the Pacific Ocean. After searching for five months near Japan, they finally find the monster. The ship attacks it, but the monster damages the ship's steering. Aronnax and Ned Land are thrown into the sea, and Conseil jumps in after them.
They manage to climb onto the "monster," but they are shocked to find out it's not a creature at all! It's a super advanced submarine. They wait on its deck until morning. Then, they are captured, brought inside, and meet the submarine's mysterious builder and captain, Captain Nemo.
The Mysterious Nautilus
The rest of the book tells about the adventures of Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned Land aboard the Nautilus. Captain Nemo built this submarine in secret, and it travels the seas far away from any country's control. Captain Nemo lives in exile, meaning he chose to leave society. He has two main goals: to learn more about science and to escape the world on land.
Nemo explains that his submarine runs on electric power and can do amazing research underwater. He also tells his new passengers that because his life is a secret, he cannot let them leave. They must stay on board forever. Professor Aronnax and Conseil are excited about exploring the ocean, but Ned Land really wants to escape.
Exploring the Deep Sea
During their journey, they visit many parts of the ocean, some real and some made-up. They see beautiful coral formations, old sunken ships from a battle in Vigo Bay, and the icy barrier of Antarctica. They also explore the Transatlantic telegraph cable and the legendary underwater city of Atlantis.
They even travel to the South Pole! On their way back, they get stuck in a narrow ice tunnel caused by a moving iceberg. They have to dig their way out. The passengers also put on diving suits to hunt sharks and other sea creatures with air guns in underwater forests. They even attend an underwater funeral for a crew member who died after the Nautilus had a mysterious crash.
When the submarine returns to the Atlantic Ocean, a group of giant squids attacks the vessel. One crew member is killed during this scary fight.
Escaping the Nautilus
Later in the story, we learn that Captain Nemo chose to live underwater because his home country was taken over, and his family was killed by a powerful nation. After the giant squid attack, Nemo starts to avoid Professor Aronnax. Aronnax begins to agree more with Ned Land, who still wants to escape.
Eventually, the Nautilus is attacked by a warship from the same nation that caused Nemo so much pain. Seeking revenge, Nemo crashes the Nautilus into the warship, sinking it. Professor Aronnax is horrified. After this, Nemo kneels before a picture of his dead wife and children and becomes very sad.
Life on the submarine changes a lot. No one keeps watch anymore, and the Nautilus just drifts without a plan. Ned Land becomes very quiet, and Conseil worries about him. One morning, Ned announces that they see land and have a chance to escape. Professor Aronnax is ready to leave Captain Nemo, who now frightens him. However, Aronnax is still drawn to Nemo and avoids him, fearing he might change his mind.
Before they leave, the professor secretly listens to Nemo and hears him cry out in pain, "Oh almighty God! Enough! Enough!" Aronnax quickly joins his friends, and they carry out their escape plan. As they get into the submarine's small boat, they realize the Nautilus has sailed into the ocean's most dangerous whirlpool, the Moskenstraumen, also known as the "Maelstrom." Luckily, they manage to escape and find safety on an island near Norway. The final fate of the Nautilus is never known.
See Also
In Spanish: Veinte mil leguas de viaje submarino para niños
