The title is how far they travel under the seas, not how deep. 20,000 leagues is nearly twice round the Earth.

Nemo is Latin for no one. Odysseus used the same trick name, Nobody, to fool the Cyclops.

The Nautilus runs on electric batteries that use sodium taken from seawater.

Verne named it after Robert Fulton's real submarine Nautilus of 1800.

Nemo's motto is Latin for moving within the moving element, the sea.

Nemo's story is only told in a later book, The Mysterious Island (1875), where he says he is Prince Dakkar from India.

The prisoners try French, English, German and Latin on Nemo. He understands them all.

The 1871 illustrated edition had 111 engravings by Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou.

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea

Surprising facts

1/8
Distance, not depth
The title is how far they travel under the seas, not how deep. 20,000 leagues is nearly twice round the Earth.
Source
2/8
Nemo means nobody
Nemo is Latin for no one. Odysseus used the same trick name, Nobody, to fool the Cyclops.
Source
3/8
Powered by the sea
The Nautilus runs on electric batteries that use sodium taken from seawater.
Source
4/8
A borrowed name
Verne named it after Robert Fulton's real submarine Nautilus of 1800.
Source
5/8
Mobilis in mobili
Nemo's motto is Latin for moving within the moving element, the sea.
Source
6/8
A secret past
Nemo's story is only told in a later book, The Mysterious Island (1875), where he says he is Prince Dakkar from India.
Source
7/8
He speaks everything
The prisoners try French, English, German and Latin on Nemo. He understands them all.
Source
8/8
111 pictures
The 1871 illustrated edition had 111 engravings by Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou.
Source

Image credits

Dinner aboard the Nautilus, Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou, 1871 Hetzel edition, Public domain
Nemo and Aronnax, Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou, 1871 Hetzel edition, Public domain
Captain Nemo, Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou, 1871 Hetzel edition, Public domain
The giant squid, Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou, 1871 Hetzel edition, Public domain
Cloaked captain (seen from behind) on deck under stars, Illustration by VoxRead, AI-generated for VoxRead
The Nautilus gliding through deep blue ocean under light shafts, Illustration by VoxRead, AI-generated for VoxRead
Nautilus salon with organ, books and round window onto jellyfish, Illustration by VoxRead, AI-generated for VoxRead
Antique world chart with dividers, sextant and lamp, Illustration by VoxRead, AI-generated for VoxRead