A picture for the book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea


20,000 Leagues Under the Sea also known under its longer title, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World, is classic science fiction novel written by Jules Verne that was first published in 1870. It is featured in our Science Fiction Guide and Books for Young Readers

In the story, Captain Nemo pilots his vessel, the Nautilus, on an adventure in search of a sea monster that was sighted by a number of ships in 1866. The American government sponsors the mission. This great adventure story is notable for being more scientifically accurate than some of Verne's other novels. In particular, the description of the Nautilus is rather prophetic and a fitting description for modern submarines. While there were submarines in existence when the book was written, they were primitive affairs and it took a feat of imagination for the writer to produce his vision of what an underwater craft would look like in the future.

Readers should note that "Twenty Thousand Leagues" is not the depth to which the Nautilus dives -- the ocean is not that deep -- but describes the distance traveled under the surface of the ocean as the ship and crew adventure around the globe.


Part One.: Chapter 1: A Shifting Reef

Part One.: Chapter 2: Pro and Con

Part One.: Chapter 3: I Form My Resolution

Part One.: Chapter 4: Ned Land

Part One.: Chapter 5: At A Venture

Part One.: Chapter 6: At Full Steam

Part One.: Chapter 7: An Unknown Species of Whale

Part One.: Chapter 8: Mobilis in Mobili

Part One.: Chapter 9: Ned Land's Tempers

Part One.: Chapter 10: The Man of the Seas

Part One.: Chapter 11: All by Electricity

Part One.: Chapter 12: Some Figures

Part One.: Chapter 13: The Black River

Part One.: Chapter 14: A Note of Invitation

Part One.: Chapter 15: A Walk On the Bottom of the Sea

Part One.: Chapter 16: A Submarine Forest

Part One.: Chapter 17: Four Thousand Leagues Under the Pacific

Part One.: Chapter 18: Vanikoro

Part One.: Chapter 19: Torres Straits

Part One.: Chapter 20: A Few Days on Land

Part One.: Chapter 21: Captain Nemo's Thunderbolt

Part One.: Chapter 22: "Aegri Somnia"

Part One.: Chapter 23: The Coral Kingdom

Part Two.: Chapter 1: The Indian Ocean

Part Two.: Chapter 2: A Novel Proposal of Captain Nemo's

Part Two.: Chapter 3: A Pearl of Ten Millions

Part Two.: Chapter 4: The Red Sea

Part Two.: Chapter 5: The Arabian Tunnel

Part Two.: Chapter 6: The Grecian Archipelago

Part Two.: Chapter 7: The Mediterranean In Forty-Eight Hours

Part Two.: Chapter 8: Vigo Bay

Part Two.: Chapter 9: A Vanished Continent

Part Two.: Chapter 10: The Submarine Coal-Mines

Part Two.: Chapter 11: The Sargasso Sea

Part Two.: Chapter 12: Cachalots and Whales

Part Two.: Chapter 13: The Iceberg

Part Two.: Chapter 14: The South Pole

Part Two.: Chapter 15: Accident or Incident

Part Two.: Chapter 16: Want of Air

Part Two.: Chapter 17: From Cape Horn to the Amazon

Part Two.: Chapter 18: The Poulps

Part Two.: Chapter 19: The Gulf Stream

Part Two.: Chapter 20: From Latitude 47@ 24' to Longitude 17@ 28'

Part Two.: Chapter 21: A Hecatomb

Part Two.: Chapter 22: The Last Words of Captain Nemo

Part Two.: Chapter 23: Conclusion

Return to the Jules Verne library.