‘Around the World in 80 Days’ — DID YOU KNOW?

That the sum of 20,000 pounds wagered by Fogg and the members of the Reform Club is approximately 4,800,000 pounds today? That is over $7,900,000!

Nantes, France, where Verne was born in 1828, is now an International Sister City to Seattle, Washington? Nantes is now a French center of maritime and aeronautics manufacturing.

You could go to jail for going into debt? If Mr. Fogg loses the bet, he will, in effect, be completely broke. The English of the 19th century looked on debt somewhat more harshly than we do now. If you were declared bankrupt, your name was published in the official biweekly newspaper, London Gazette. Then a court bailiff came and took possession of your house and goods, and an arrangement was worked out with your creditors to liquidate your possessions to satisfy as much of the debt as possible. If you had no means to pay off creditors, you were usually thrown into prison until the debt was repaid in full. This meant that many debtors were in prison for years or even for life!

Books were extremely expensive in the 19th century, and there were very few public libraries? Jules Verne, like Charles Dickens, opened his works to greater readership by publishing early works, including AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, in serial form (monthly installments) in magazines. (Notice the cliffhangers at the end of each chapter!!) This allowed the public, who generally couldn't afford expensive books, the opportunity to enjoy his fiction. It built Verne’s popularity enormously.

Whist was one of the most popular card games of the 19th century? Here is how to play:

Whist Rules

The classic game of whist is a plain-trick game without bidding for 4 players in fixed partnerships. Although the rules are extremely simple there is enormous scope for scientific play, and, in its heyday, a large amount of literature about how to play whist was written.

Players: There are four players in two fixed partnerships. Partners sit facing each other. The game is played clockwise.

Cards: A standard 52 card pack is used. The cards in each suit rank from highest to lowest: A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2.

Deal: The cards are shuffled by the player to dealer's left and cut by the player to dealer's right. The dealer deals out all the cards one at a time so that each player has 13. The final card, which will belong to the dealer, is turned face up to indicate which suit is trumps. The turned trump remains face up on the table until it is dealer's turn to play to the first trick.

It is traditional to use two packs of cards. During each deal, the dealer's partner shuffles the other pack and places it to the right. The dealer for the next hand then simply needs to pick up the cards from the left and pass them across to the right to be cut. Provided all the players understand and operate it, this procedure saves time and helps to remember whose turn it is to deal, as the spare pack of cards is always to the left of the next dealer.

Play: The player to the dealer's left leads to the first trick. Any card may be led. The other players, in clockwise order, each play a card to the trick. Players must follow suit by playing a card of the same suit as the card led if they can; a player with no card of the suit led may play any card. The trick is won by the highest trump in it - or if it contains no trump, by the highest card of the suit led. The winner of a trick leads to the next.

Scoring: When all 13 tricks have been played, the side which won more tricks scores 1 point for each trick they won in excess of 6.

The partnership which first reaches 5 points wins the game. This will normally take several deals.