Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

The great underwater adventure story by the 'Father of Science Fiction'

'Immediately a long tentacle reached in through the opening like a snake, and a score of others waved about above it'

At first they think it is a giant sea monster - a vast black object, menacing the oceans and causing panic over the world. Yet when Professor Aronnax joins an expedition to hunt down the creature, he and his two companions discover it is a giant submarine, the Nautilus. Captured and held prisoner on board by its captain, Nemo - unpredictable, enigmatic, exiled from humanity - they have no choice but to travel the underwater depths with him, encountering coral reefs, polar ice, the city of Atlantis and a terrifying giant squid that tries to drag the Nautilus down into the deep. Combining thrilling adventure with scientific facts and a wonder at the natural world, Jules Verne's most enduringly popular novel is brought to life in David Coward's vivid new translation.

Translated with an introduction and notes by David Coward

About the Author

Jules Verne was born on February 8, 1828, in the city of Nantes, France. He is best known for his novels A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The Mysterious Island and Around the World in Eighty Days. Verne is often referred to as the 'Father of science fiction' because he wrote about space, air and underwater travel before aeroplanes, spacecrafts and submarines were invented. He died in 1905.