Claudius Bombarnac is a reporter, tasked with writing a travelogue while aboard the Great Trans-Asiatic Railway. Hoping to spice up his story, he befriends a group of travellers, whose numbers include a stowaway and a man trying to beat the round-the-world record. However, while Bombarnac is searching for the hero of his piece, a special carriage, guarded by armed soldiers, is added to the train and things take a decidedly different turn. Fun, fast-paced, and packed with mystery and intrigue, ‘Claudius Bombarnac’ is one of Verne’s best-loved adventure tales.
Jules Verne (1828–1905) was a French novelist who became known as the ‘Father of Science Fiction.’ He wrote more than 60 novels, including ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ (1864), ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’ (1870) which was also released as a film, starring James Mason, and ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ (1873), which has been released as a TV drama, featuring former Dr Who star, David Tennant.
