Chapter 1
Phileas Fogg introduced
Mr. Phileas Fogg of No. 7 Saville Row: independently wealthy, a member of the Reform Club, known for nothing except precision. He rises at the same hour, takes breakfast at the same hour, leaves for the club at the same minute each day. He dismisses his valet James Forster for bringing shaving water two degrees below the required temperature and immediately engages Jean Passepartout, who arrives at the door at the right moment. Fogg explains the household's requirements — each task at a precisely specified time — and Passepartout accepts. He believes he has found the perfect quiet life.
Chapter 2
Passepartout explores the house
Passepartout inspects No. 7 Saville Row thoroughly. He finds it impeccably organized, fully staffed, and entirely quiet. He examines the notebook of household instructions — each task listed with its exact time. He notes that his master appears to go nowhere except the Reform Club and return from it at precisely the stated hour. He concludes, admiringly, that Fogg is "as lively as Madame Tussaud's" — a comparison that turns out to be both accurate and insufficient.
Chapter 3
The wager at the Reform Club
At the Reform Club, Fogg's whist partners are discussing a newspaper article claiming that a man could circumnavigate the globe in eighty days using the new transport connections. The calculation, Fogg says, is correct — and he will prove it. He wagers twenty thousand pounds, half his fortune, that he will be back at the Reform Club within eighty days. His partners take the bet. Fogg wins the current hand of whist, pockets his winnings, goes home, and tells Passepartout they are leaving for Dover in ten minutes.
Chapter 4
Departure from London
Fogg leaves the Reform Club at eight twenty-five, arrives at Saville Row, instructs Passepartout to pack a bag for two — but nothing more, since purchases can be made along the route — and departs for Charing Cross station. Passepartout has a carpet bag; Fogg has twenty thousand pounds in banknotes. They reach the station, board the Continental Express at the last minute, and are away.
Chapter 5
London reacts to the wager
The news of the wager spreads through the Reform Club and into the newspapers. Bets are made across London — the odds are against Fogg. The papers debate the mathematics, the feasibility, the character of the man. A fund of twenty thousand pounds is subscribed at Lloyd's against his return. Meanwhile, the Bank of England robbery investigation produces a description of the suspect that happens to match Fogg almost exactly. A telegraph is sent to every major port.
Chapter 6
Fix at Suez
Fix introduces himself fully: a Scotland Yard inspector stationed at Suez waiting for the steamer Mongolia. He sees Fogg disembark, studies him, and is convinced this is his man. He goes immediately to the British consul to request an arrest warrant — but without one from London, the consul cannot act. Fix must wait for the warrant and keep Fogg in reach in the meantime.
Chapter 7
Passports at Suez
Fix examines Fogg's passport: it is entirely in order, gives no useful information, and could easily be a criminal's cover identity. He becomes more convinced rather than less. The consul, examining the passport, notes that it is legitimate. Fix does not care — a skilled criminal would have a legitimate passport. He continues to watch.
Chapter 8
Fix meets Passepartout
Fix approaches Passepartout, who is wandering the quay happily. Passepartout is delighted to have someone to talk to and talks at length about Fogg, the wager, the route, and everything else he knows. He has no idea who Fix is. Fix extracts complete information about the journey's itinerary, Fogg's character, and Passepartout's own opinions. He now knows more about Fogg's plans than the consul does.
Chapter 9
Aboard the Mongolia
The Mongolia crosses the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean faster than schedule — arriving in Bombay two days early. Fogg plays whist. Fix watches him from a distance and cannot get closer; Fogg is not the kind of man who invites approach. Passepartout is enchanted by everything. The two days gained are noted in Fogg's notebook and forgotten.
Chapter 10
The temple at Bombay
Bombay. Fogg arrives two days early, notes the gain, and waits for the train to Calcutta. Passepartout goes to see the city and wanders into a Hindu temple, removing his hat but not his shoes, which is insufficiently respectful. He is beaten by the Brahmin priests, his shoes are taken, and he is thrown into the street. The priests demand his arrest. Passepartout escapes, but the incident is not forgotten — it will cost him forty-eight hours in prison before the book is over.
Chapter 11
The elephant purchase
The train from Bombay stops at Kholby — the track is not complete; there are fifty miles of unbuilt railway between here and Allahabad. Every other passenger finds alternative arrangements. Fogg buys an elephant, at an extortionate price, from a local mahout, and hires the same mahout as guide. He also picks up a British general, Sir Francis Cromarty, who is going the same direction and has no other options.
Chapter 12
Through the Indian jungle
Crossing the jungle, the party encounters a Brahmin funeral procession: priests, musicians, a palanquin carrying the widow of a rajah, who is to be burned on the funeral pyre at dawn. General Cromarty explains the practice — suttee — and confirms it is illegal under British law but still practiced in remote areas. Fogg listens. He does not comment. They camp for the night near the site.
Chapter 13
The rescue of Aouda
Fogg announces his intention to rescue the widow. Cromarty thinks it reckless but agrees. Passepartout, in his element — acrobat, fire-eater, improviser in extremis — has an idea: he will disguise himself as the dead rajah, who has not yet been cremated, and emerge from the pyre at the right moment, panicking the priests. The plan works. Passepartout rises from the pyre to gasps of terror. Fogg takes the widow's hand. They run.
Chapter 14
The Ganges valley
The party reaches Allahabad and the railway. Fogg calculates: the rescue has cost time but not the margin. Aouda, recovered and elegant, is now his traveling companion — he cannot leave her in India, where the Brahmin priests who lost her would find her. She will accompany them to Hong Kong, where she has relatives. General Cromarty disembarks at Benares. The train moves down the Ganges valley. Fogg looks at his schedule. The valley is magnificent outside the window.
Chapter 15
Calcutta — Passepartout arrested
The train arrives in Calcutta. A policeman meets Fogg at the station: Passepartout is under arrest for the temple incident in Bombay. Fix has arranged it. Fogg posts bail — two thousand pounds — and Passepartout is released under a promise to appear in court when they return. They do not return. Fogg considers the two thousand pounds lost and moves on.
Chapter 16
Aboard the Rangoon
Aboard the Rangoon, bound for Hong Kong. Aouda is recovering and getting to know Fogg — or rather, observing him, since Fogg's interior is largely opaque. She is beginning to understand that whatever is behind the precision is genuinely unusual. Fix is still aboard, still waiting for the warrant from London. He has telegraphed ahead to Hong Kong.
Chapter 17
Singapore to Hong Kong
Passepartout, thinking aboard the Rangoon, realizes that Fix has been on every ship since Suez. He confronts Fix, who gives a plausible explanation. Passepartout is not entirely satisfied but cannot prove anything. Fix, worried that Fogg will take a different ship from Hong Kong to Yokohama before the warrant arrives, begins calculating how to delay him.
Chapter 18
The storm approaching Hong Kong
A gale in the China Sea slows the Rangoon. Fogg calculates the delay: if they arrive too late in Hong Kong, they will miss the Carnatic to Yokohama and the tight sequence of ships onward. Each day's delay narrows the margin. He is behind schedule for the first time.
Chapter 19
The opium den in Hong Kong
Hong Kong. Fogg goes to find Aouda's relative — who has left for Europe. She is staying with Fogg for the rest of the journey. Fix, who has the warrant, tells Passepartout the truth about why he has been following Fogg. Passepartout is furious and refuses to betray his master. Fix gets Passepartout drunk and then drugs him in an opium den, ensuring he cannot warn Fogg that the Carnatic sails a day early.
Chapter 20
Fix meets Fogg in Hong Kong
Fogg arrives at the dock and finds the Carnatic gone. He calculates: he needs another ship to Japan to make the Pacific connection. Fix approaches him and reveals himself as a detective — then pretends to abandon the pursuit and offers to help find a ship. Fogg takes everything at face value. He finds a small trading schooner, the Tankadere, and hires it to take them to Shanghai, where they can intercept the Yokohama steamer.
Chapter 21
The Tankadere in the gale
The Tankadere is a small, well-sailed boat but a twenty-ton schooner in the November China Sea is exactly the dangerous proposition Bunsby described. Gale conditions. The voyage is prolonged. They sight the Yokohama steamer leaving Shanghai harbor just as they arrive — and Bunsby fires a signal cannon. The steamer turns. They board.
Chapter 22
Passepartout on the Carnatic
Passepartout recovers from the opium on the Carnatic, bound for Yokohama. He has no money, no master, and no idea whether Fogg is aboard. He discovers Fogg is not. He arrives in Yokohama with nothing. He must survive until Fogg arrives — if Fogg arrives.
Chapter 23
Passepartout in Yokohama
Passepartout, penniless in Yokohama, finds a troupe of acrobats preparing for a show and applies for a position. His former life as an acrobat makes him immediately useful. He performs. He is advertised as "The Long-Nosed American" (a novelty act involving a prop nose). During the performance, he spots — in the audience — Fogg and Aouda, who have arrived from Shanghai.
Chapter 24
The Pacific crossing
The General Grant crosses the Pacific. Twenty-two days at sea — the longest single leg of the journey. Fogg calculates constantly. The margin, already reduced, is being consumed by the Pacific schedule. They arrive in San Francisco on time. Fix is still with them.
Chapter 25
San Francisco
San Francisco. They have one day before the transcontinental train departs. Fogg and Aouda hire a carriage; Passepartout is sent on errands. He falls through a rotten dock plank executing an ill-timed somersault. In the city, Fogg encounters a political meeting that turns into a brawl; he defends himself and Aouda; Passepartout gets involved in a fight; they make the train.
Chapter 26
The transcontinental
The Pacific Railroad: seven days from San Francisco to New York across terrain that was frontier living five years ago. Fogg notes the geography without interest. Passepartout looks at everything — the prairies, the Mormon settlements, the mountains. The train moves at speed.
Chapter 27
The Mormon country
Near the Great Salt Lake, a Mormon missionary named William Hitch boards the train and delivers an impromptu lecture on the history of the Church of Latter-day Saints. Passepartout is one of the few passengers who listens for more than five minutes. He finds it fascinating. Fogg is asleep.
Chapter 28
The train in the Rockies
Two passengers on the train — one of them Colonel Proctor, the man who caused the San Francisco brawl — are about to duel. The conductor refuses to stop the train. Passepartout tries every form of intervention available and fails. The duel proceeds in the last car. Then: Indians. The more immediate problem supersedes the duel.
Chapter 29
The Sioux attack
The Sioux attack the train across the Wyoming plains. The passengers barricade themselves; the train continues at speed. Passepartout, fighting at the forward end of the train, is captured by the Sioux when they decouple the engine and run it forward. Three passengers are taken, including Passepartout. The engine drives away with the Sioux aboard and Passepartout captured.
Chapter 30
Fogg rescues Passepartout
Fogg volunteers to lead the army detail to pursue the Sioux and recover the prisoners. He does so knowing it will cost him the train to New York and almost certainly the wager. He rescues Passepartout and the other prisoners. He returns to Fort Kearney thirty hours behind schedule. A sledge with sails — a "wind-car" — provides the means of making up the lost time.
Chapter 31
Fix reverses course
At Omaha, Fix approaches Fogg and, with the candor of a man who has been running the wrong direction for six weeks, offers his assistance. He cannot arrest Fogg in America. He needs Fogg back on British soil. The fastest way to get Fogg back on British soil is to help him catch his connections. Fix helps. They board the New York express.
Chapter 32
The Atlantic problem
New York. Fogg arrives to find the Liverpool steamer has sailed forty-five minutes earlier. Every regular Atlantic liner has either sailed or will sail too late. He studies his options. He finds the Henrietta, a trading steamship whose captain, Speedy, agrees to take him to Bordeaux but refuses to divert to Liverpool. Fogg books the ship and boards.
Chapter 33
Fogg takes command of the Henrietta
Fogg locks Captain Speedy in his cabin and takes command of the Henrietta. He pays the crew handsomely and redirects the ship to Liverpool. The coal runs out in mid-Atlantic. Fogg buys the ship from Speedy — at a price — and burns every wooden part that can be detached: decks, bulkheads, spare masts. The Henrietta arrives at Queenstown, Ireland, on iron hull and with the fires just going out. Fogg takes a train to Dublin and a steamer to Liverpool.
Chapter 34
The arrest
At Liverpool, Fix serves the warrant. Fogg is arrested, taken to a customs house, and held. Three hours and twenty-five minutes later, Fix appears at the cell door: the real robber, James Strand, has been arrested in Edinburgh. Fogg is released. He has lost three hours and twenty-five minutes he did not have. He believes he has lost the wager.
Chapter 35
Saville Row
Fogg returns to Saville Row. The house is quiet. He sits in his study and does nothing. He has spent nearly his entire fortune on the journey and the wager and the bribes and the purchases. He has arrived on the wrong day — December 22nd, he believes, which is too late. He sits. Passepartout, seeing his master in this unprecedented stillness, understands that something more than the wager has been lost.
Chapter 36
The real robber arrested
The papers announce Strand's arrest. Fogg is cleared. The "Phileas Fogg bonds" become negotiable again; those who bet against him are now losing. England, which had been convinced Fogg was the robber, now considers him a hero. Passepartout, reading the paper, realizes something. He runs to his master.
Chapter 37
The calendar and the proposal
Passepartout tells Fogg: traveling east, they gained one day on the calendar without accounting for it. Today is Saturday, December 21st — not Sunday the 22nd as Fogg believed. They have five hours. Fogg runs to the Reform Club and arrives with seconds to spare. He has won. He returns to Saville Row. He proposes to Aouda. The ending is in two paragraphs.