Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas

by Jules Verne, William Butcher

464 pages

English language

Published June 15, 2019 by Oxford University Press.

ISBN:: 978-0-19-881864-9

(8 reviews)

"I am going to sink it." "You are not!" "I am," he coldly replied. "Do not take it on yourself to judge me, monsieur."

French naturalist Dr Aronnax embarks on an expedition to hunt down a sea monster, but discovers instead the Nautilus, a self-contained world built by its enigmatic captain. Together Nemo and Aronnax explore the underwater realms of the globe, undergo a transcendental experience amongst the ruins of Atlantis, and plant a black flag at the South Pole. Nemo's mission is finally revealed to be a violent one-and his methods coldly efficient.

Verne's classic novel has left a profound mark on subsequent centuries. Its themes are universal, its style alternately humorous and grandiose, its construction masterly.

This new and unabridged translation brilliantly conveys the range of this seminal work. The volume also contains unpublished information about the novel's inception.

36 editions

nlowell reviewed Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne

Encyclopedia Nautica

4 stars

A classic adventure tale cataloging every fish, seaweed, and coral in the various oceans. Some of them are real.

As adventure tales go, particularly from this classic era, it's pretty good. I read it as a young teen and remember it fondly, although perhaps my fondness comes from the Classics Illustrated comic as much as from the actual text.

In honesty, it doesn't bear up as well as I'd hoped. Nemo's unexplored misandry against the M. Arronax's relentless intellectualism left me with too little satisfaction to give the story more than four stars.

Recommended, if only for the picture of what early science fiction looked like post-Frankenstein and pre-War of the Worlds.