Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne published in 1870. It tells the story of Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus as seen from the perspective of Professor Pierre Aronnax. Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828 - March 24, 1905) was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travels before air travel and practical submarines were invented, and before practical means of space travel had been devised. He is the second most translated author in the world (after Agatha Christie). Verne is often referred to as the "Father of Science Fiction," a title sometimes shared with H. G. Wells.

This heavily illustrated book is an account of a German Arctic expedition, published in 1873 4 by its commander Karl Koldewey (1837 1908) and in this English translation in 1874. The states of northern Germany had a long tradition of trade and exploration in northern waters. As the German empire came into being, two major expeditions were launched, both commanded by Koldewey. The second, of 1869 70, consisted of two vessels, the Germania and the Hansa, a supply ship. The Hansa became separated in fog, failed to reach the fallback rendezvous, was icebound, and finally sank, while the crew survived for nine months on a diminishing ice floe until they reached the coast of Greenland in their surviving small boats. The Germania reached the north of Greenland before encountering pack ice, and was successful in surveying the coast and collecting botanical specimens, before returning safely in 1870."