Around the World in Eighty Days, one of his most popular books, was first serialized in late 1872 in a French newspaper. An instant success, the novel details the round-the-world adventures of the affluent Englishman Phileas Fogg who, accompanied by his French valet Passepartout, sets out on an impossible journey for a wager of £20,000. This groundbreaking novel has since been adapted numerous times for the theatre, television, radio and cinema.