Posted on September 10, 2009 by Nayab Naseer

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is the classic science fiction novel written by the French writer Jules Verne, and published in 1870.

The story is set in 1866 when a mysterious sea monster is sighted by several ships and finally damages an ocean liner. The United States government organizes an expedition to find a solution to this menace and Professor Pierre Aronnax, a noted French marine biologist and the narrator of the story becomes a part of the expedition.

The expedition encounters the monster and gives battle. However, Pierre Aronnax and two others are are thrown overboard into the “hide” of the creature. To their surprise they discover that the monster is actually an submarine vessel, and they encounter its creator and commander, Captain Nemo meaning “no one” in Latin.

The story dwells on the adventures of Pierre Aronnax inside the submarine as it goes to the bottom of the seas. The Nautilus built in secrecy roams the seas free of any land-based government, fulfilling Captain Nemo’s quest for knowledge and also a desire for revenge on his self-imposed exile from civilization.

Submarines had not been invented when Verne wrote this book, making his words prophetic.