First published in French as Vingt mille lieues sous les mers in periodicals in 1870 and the first English version in 1872. It is still considered one of Verne's greatest works as well as one of he earliest science fiction novels. It describes the journey around the world of Captain Nemo and his submarine, the Nautilus, which had been thought a giant monster when first spotted. The description of the Nautilus was considered ahead of its time, as it accurately describes features on submarines, which at the time were primitive vessels. The 20,000 leagues referred to in the title is the distance traveled around the world and not the depth and is equal to more than 50,000 miles.