Steven R. Southard's Blog, page 19

Eighty Days – Day 62

It’s been awhile, but we’re back on course with my blog-trip Around the World in Eighty Days, 150 years after the novel’s publication. Phileas Fogg and his companions crossed the Pacific and reached San Francisco, after sailing from Yokohama.

So far, they’ve traveled 17,967 miles. That’s 73.2% of the distance, but they’ve consumed 77.5% of the wagered 80 days, so Fogg is behind schedule.

They sailed aboard the SS General Grant of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. That company exis...

Eighty Days – Day 43

Glad you’re back. We’re just past the halfway mark of our sesquicentennial trip Around the World in Eighty Days. Phileas Fogg has reached Yokohama, having traveled 12,819 miles. That’s 52.2% of the distance he must cover, and 53.8% of his time has elapsed.

Back on November 6 in Hong Kong, Detective Fix got Passepartout drunk and drugged in an opium den, then left him there. Waiters carried the servant to a bed. After waking and wandering in a stupor, he boarded the steamer Carnatic, then ...

Eighty Days – Day 41

Glad you’re back. We’re just past the halfway mark of our sesquicentennial trip Around the World in Eighty Days. Phileas Fogg has reached Yokohama, having traveled 12,819 miles. That’s 52.2% of the distance he must cover, and 52.5% of his time has elapsed.

Back on November 6 in Hong Kong, Detective Fix got Passepartout drunk and drugged in an opium den, then left him there. Waiters carried the servant to a bed. After waking and wandering in a stupor, he boarded the steamer Carnatic, then ...

Eighty Days – Day 40

Welcome back to my blog-tour Around the World in Eighty Days, a celebration of the 150th anniversary of Jules Verne’s classic novel. At the moment, we’re near Shanghai, about three miles from that city’s harbor. So far, 50% of Fogg’s 80 days has elapsed, and he’s traversed 11,619 miles, or 48.8% of the distance.

Things are a big snarled, but hang with me. Fogg and Aouda lost Passepartout in Hong Kong. Detective Fix had gotten the servant so drunk and drugged that he’d passed out in an opiu...

Eighty Days – Day 39

Welcome back to my blog-tour Around the World in Eighty Days, a celebration of the 150th anniversary of Jules Verne’s classic novel. At the moment, we’re near Shanghai, about three miles from that city’s harbor. So far, 46.3% of Fogg’s 80 days has elapsed, and he’s traversed 11,619 miles, or 48.8% of the distance.

Things are a big snarled, but hang with me. Fogg and Aouda lost Passepartout in Hong Kong. Detective Fix had gotten the servant so drunk and drugged that he’d passed out in an op...

Eighty Days – Days 35 and 36

Today we continue the 150th anniversary commemoration of Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days. We’re following along with Phileas Fogg and we just reached Hong Kong aboard the steamship Rangoon. So far, we’ve traveled 10,819 miles, or 44.1% distance in just 43.9% of the time.

Detective Fix boarded the Rangoon in secret, having left instructions to forward the warrant for Fogg’s arrest to Hong Kong. The ship stopped in Singapore to load coal on October 31. On the northbound passage...

Eighty Days – Days 34 and 35

Today we continue the 150th anniversary commemoration of Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days. We’re following along with Phileas Fogg and we just reached Hong Kong aboard the steamship Rangoon. So far, we’ve traveled 10,819 miles, or 44.1% distance in just 43.9% of the time.

Detective Fix boarded the Rangoon in secret, having left instructions to forward the warrant for Fogg’s arrest to Hong Kong. The ship stopped in Singapore to load coal on October 31. On the northbound passage...

An Extraordinary Cover Reveal

You’re expecting another episode in my blogpost series following the path of Phileas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days. Sorry, but he and his companions are still on their way from Kolkata to Hong Kong aboard the Rangoon.

Today, I’m revealing the cover for the upcoming anthology Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne. This is the first fiction anthology produced by the North American Jules Verne Society. I’m proud to have been, along with Father Matthew Hardesty, a co-ed...

Eighty Days – Day 23

Welcome back to the blog-tour commemorating Phileas Fogg’s trip Around the World in Eighty Days, 150 years later. The one-day train ride from Allahabad to Kolkata (then spelled Calcutta) went well.

Calcutta (Kolkata) Harbor in 1872

Along the way, the train stopped at Benares, where Sir Francis Cromarty departed the group. At 7:00 am on the 25th, the train pulled in the station in Calcutta, giving them 5 hours until the steamer would leave at noon. Fogg and Passepartout had covered 7...

Eighty Days – Day 22

Thank you for joining me on my global blog tour. We’re following the route taken by Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days, 150 years after its publication.

Since leaving Mumbai (called Bombay in those days) we’ve reached Allahabad. Much has happened since then, so let’s catch up with the action.

On the train, Fogg met Sir Francis Cromarty who, besides being countryman and a whist player, knew India well and became Fogg’s traveling companion. At 8:00 pm on Oct...