Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas [Unabridged] [Hardcover]

Professor Aronnax, his faithful servant, Conseil, and the Canadian harpooner, Ned Land, begin an extremely hazardous voyage to rid the seas of a little-known and terrifying sea monster. However, the "monster" turns out to be a giant submarine, commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo, by whom they are soon held captive. So begins not only one of the great adventure classics by Jules Verne, the 'Father of Science Fiction', but also a truly fantastic voyage from the lost city of Atlantis to the South Pole. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

`One of the books I have read and re-read with unfailing pleasure and interest is Jules Verne's `Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea.' ... `Verne's novel entranced me. I was in love with Captain Nemo, the brooding cultured misanthrope of the deeps, who combined the romantic qualities of Heathcliff and Byron with the ruthlessness of Macbeth.'
--The Independent --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the grandpère of science fiction - an adventure classic of deep-sea volcanoes, giant squid

and the renegade scientist Captain Nemo

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Jules Verne (1828-1905) was born in the Breton river town of Nantes, and had a lifelong passion for the sea. First as a Paris stockbroker, later as a celebrated author and yachtsman, he went on frequent voyages-to Britain, America, the Mediterranean. But the specific stimulus for the novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas" was an 1865 fan letter from a fellow writer, Madame George Sand. She praised Verne's two early novels "Five Weeks in a Balloon" (1863) and "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" (1864), then added: "Soon I hope you'll take us into the ocean depths, your characters travelling in diving equipment perfected by your science and your imagination." Thus inspired, Verne created one of literature's great rebels, a freedom fighter who plunged beneath the waves to wage a unique form of guerilla warfare. This translation is a faithful yet communicative rendering of the original French texts published in Paris by J. Hetzel et Cie.-the hardcover first edition issued in the autumn of 1871, collated with the softcover editions of the First and Second Parts issued separately in the autumn of 1869 and the summer of 1870. Although prior English versions have often been heavily abridged, this new translation is complete to the smallest substantive detail. The translator, F. P. Walter, is a long-standing member of the North American Jules Verne Society. He currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

'Unbearably thrilling and romantic...full of Verne's gentle humour' Daily Mail

Professor Aronnax embarks on an expedition to hunt down and destroy a menacing sea monster. However, he discovers that the beast is metal - it is a giant submarine called the Nautilus built by the renegade scientist Captain Nemo. So begins an underwater adventure that takes them from the South Pole to the submerged lost city of Atlantis.

See also: Journey to the Centre of the Earth

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Jules Verne was born on February 8, 1828, in the city of Nantes, France . He is best known for his novels A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The Mysterious Island and Around the World in Eighty Days. Verne is often referred to as the 'Father of science fiction' because he wrote about space, air and underwater travel before aeroplanes, spacecrafts and submarines were invented. He died in 1905.