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In
every country of Europe people made bets on whether Fogg would arrive in
London in time to win his bet. Verne artfully kept
this popular interest alive: (55)his
hero rescued an Indian widow from death, fell in love with her, and
almost missed connections on her account; (56)
crossing the American plains he was attacked by Red Indians, and arrived
in New York to see the ship that was to take him to England only a small
speck on the horizon.
Every transatlantic steamship
company offered Verne large sums of money if he would place Phileas Fogg
aboard one of their ships. The author refused and
had his hero charter a vessel. (57)
As the world held its breath, Fogg reached London
with only minutes to spare, and won his bet.(58)
In "20,000 Leagues
Under the Sea," Verne developed a submarine which was not only double-hulled
and propelled by electricity but was able to manufacture electricity from
the sea. Simon Lake, father of the modern submarine,
credits Verne with giving him virtually a blueprint for
his invention.(59)
Reading through Verne's
books, one finds it hard to believe that they were written almost 100 years
ago. |
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English
Intensive Reading 
Introduction
