This is episode one of our serialisation of the abridged version of Around the World in Eighty Days for the 2006 Great Reading Adventure.Ìý It has been specially adapted for children. The adventure is part of the Brunel 200 programme which is funded by the National Lottery through Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Council England and the Millennium Commission. Click on the links below or to the left to read the next part of the story. Chapter 1: The Journey Begins Phileas Fogg was forty years old. He was tall, fair-haired, rich and handsome, and he lived in a pleasant house in London. Phileas rarely spoke about himself. No one knew where he came from or how he made his money. He had no family or friends. He was always polite and never showed any emotions so it was impossible to tell if he was ever angry, happy or sad. Phileas followed the same routine every day. He got up at eight o’clock in the morning and had his tea and toast at 8.23. His butler brought him the hot water for his shave at 9.37. Everything he did had a set time: when he combed his moustache, when he brushed his hair, when he opened his letters. You could set your watch by him. At 11.30 he would leave his house and walk to his club. At the club he ate his lunch and supper, always sitting at the same table. He would read the newspapers and play cards then walk home again. He went to bed at midnight. He was never early and never late but always exactly on time. At 6.30 on the evening of Wednesday 2 October 1872, Phileas was sitting playing cards in the club with three other members. The three gentlemen were talking about a bank robbery that had taken place a few days before. The thief had stolen £55,000 – that would be worth over three million pounds today. ‘With all these railways and steamships to travel on, the thief could be hundreds of miles away by now,’ said one of the gentlemen. ‘It says here in the paper you can go right around the world in just 80 days,’ said the second. ‘Impossible,’ said the third. ‘There are too many things that could go wrong. What about storms at sea? Earthquakes? Train wrecks? Pirates?’ ‘It is not impossible,’ said Phileas quietly. ‘I bet you £20,000 I could do it. If I leave this evening on the 8.45 train to Dover, I can be back here at the Reform Club by 8.45 on Saturday 21 December. I’ll get my passport stamped at every place I stop to prove I’ve been around the world.’ The three men accepted the bet and Phileas calmly finished the game before walking home. He had already worked out exactly how long he needed to get to the station to catch the train. He was not interested in winning the money or in seeing the world. He just wanted to prove he could be on time. Phileas was met at the house by his new butler, Passepartout, a cheerful Frenchman with untidy hair. Passepartout had worked as an acrobat, a tightrope walker, street singer and fireman. This was his first day with Phileas and he was looking forward to a nice quiet life. Imagine his surprise when Phileas said: ‘Put a couple of my spare shirts and some socks in a bag. Be ready to leave in ten minutes. We’re going on a round-the-world trip.’ Phileas went to his safe and took out a thick stack of banknotes to put in the bag. The money would pay for tickets, food and hotel rooms on their journey. He had another £20,000 in the bank that would pay the bet if he lost. The two men locked up the house and took a hansom cab to Charing Cross station. Passepartout kept a tight grip on the bag. Their train left at 8.45 precisely. From Dover they crossed the English Channel by steamship. They travelled by train to Paris then continued down towards the Alps, through the Mont Cenis Tunnel and on to Brindisi in Italy. At Brindisi they went on board a steamship called the Mongolia, which would take them to Bombay in India. On 9 October, a week after leaving London, they had got as far as Suez in Egypt, having travelled along the magnificent new Suez Canal. The ship had to take on more coal before continuing its journey to Aden and crossing the Indian Ocean to Bombay. Phileas gave Passepartout his passport, telling him to get it stamped at the passport office on shore. On the quayside Passepartout asked a man the way to the office.
The man’s name was Fix. He was a British detective who had come to Suez in the hope of picking up the trail of the London bank robber. Fix looked at Phileas’ passport and read the description inside. It was exactly the same as the one he had read describing the bank robber. Fix was very excited but spoke calmly. ‘I’m afraid your master will have to go to the office himself to prove his identity. It’s not far,’ Fix said and he pointed the way. A little later, when Fix saw Phileas walk over to the office with Passepartout, he was certain he had found the robber. He could not arrest Phileas right away because he did not have the proper papers. Instead, he sent a telegram to the Chief of Police at Scotland Yard. It said: Am on the trail of the bank robber. Send a warrant for the arrest of Phileas Fogg to the Chief of Police in Bombay. Fix then bought a ticket for the Mongolia and hurried up the gangway. He would stick close to Phileas for the rest of the voyage. If all went to plan, as soon as he received the warrant he would be able to arrest Phileas and take him back to London. Part two of the adventure continues tomorrow. -
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