1868
In Search of the Castaways
Jules Verne · 1828–1905 · France
Originally Les Enfants du capitaine Grant (French)
Why it matters
A rescue expedition follows a single line of latitude clear around the globe, through Patagonia, Australia, and New Zealand, chasing three words legible in a shipwrecked bottle: Verne's globe-girdling search-and-rescue epic, propelled by nothing but a scrap of paper.
At a glance
picaresque
Difficulty 3/10fast pace550 pagesLong and episodic, though narrated in plain, expository adventure prose.
Where to go next
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Jules Verne · 1870Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the SeaLvl 3Medium pace
Jules Verne · 1873Around the World in Eighty DaysLvl 2Fast paced
Jules Verne · 1874The Mysterious IslandLvl 4Fast paced
Raymond Queneau · 1959Zazie in the MetroLvl 5Fast paced