Around the World in 80 Days
Narrated by Andrew Bond
A single wager at a London club sends Phileas Fogg racing around the globe in Around the World in 80 Days, Jules Verne's classic tale of trains, steamships, and a bet against the clock.
Fogg is a man of strict habit. He eats at the same hour, walks the same steps, and never seems to hurry. So when he bets his fellow club members a fortune that he can circle the earth in just eighty days, no one believes he can pull it off. With his new manservant Passepartout at his side, he sets off at once, crossing deserts by train, oceans by steamer, and even a stretch of India by elephant.
The journey is never simple. A police detective named Fix trails Fogg the whole way, convinced he is really a bank robber on the run, and looks for any excuse to slow him down. In India, Fogg and Passepartout rescue a young widow, Aouda, from a terrible fate, and she joins them for the rest of the trip. Missed trains, storms, and one delay after another push the little party right up against their deadline, with Fogg's fortune and reputation riding on every hour.
This is a Victorian adventure built for armchair travel: a globetrotting race against time through ports and deserts and unfamiliar cities, carried along by Fogg's calm nerve and Passepartout's good-hearted bumbling. It's a good match for listeners who enjoy classic adventure fiction, old-fashioned travelogues, or stories where a steady, clever hero always seems to land on his feet.
Andrew Bond takes each leg of the trip at a stroll. Forget the ports and the timetables; let the trains and steamships carry you along, and you'll be gone well before Fogg makes it home.
