Phileas Fogg

Phileas Fogg (/ˈfɪliəs ˈfɒɡ/) is the protagonist in the 1872 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days. Inspirations for the character were the American entrepreneur George Francis Train and American writer and adventurer William Perry Fogg.[1][2]

For the food brand, see Phileas Fogg snacks.

Phileas Fogg
Around the World in Eighty Days character
Phileas Fogg, illustration by Alphonse de Neuville and/or Léon Benett (1873)
Created byJules Verne
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationGambler
SpouseAouda
NationalityBritish

Fictional biography

Fogg is a man of independent means and is a gentleman who is "exact", as in has a perfect and a routine life right down to the number of steps he walks to the temperature of his shaving water. Having fired a servant for providing him with shaving water at a slightly incorrect temperature, he hires Jean Passepartout as a new servant. Fogg makes a wager of £20,000 (£2.4 million in 2022) with members of London's Reform Club that he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days or fewer. He sets out with his French servant Jean Passepartout to win the wager, unaware that he is being followed by a detective named Fix, who suspects Fogg of having robbed the Bank of England. Fix spends the first half of the book trying to delay Fogg's journey to keep him in British territory, However, after Fogg reaches America, Fix helps Fogg complete his bet in order to get him back to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, where he will be under British jurisdiction and Fix can arrest him (while still suspicious that Fogg will run off and go into hiding somewhere on the journey).

While in India, Fogg saves a widowed princess, Aouda, from sati during her husband's funeral and she accompanies Fogg for the rest of his journey after initial plans to take her to an uncle failed as the uncle had moved. Together, the trio have numerous exciting adventures which come to an abrupt end when he is arrested by Fix immediately upon their arrival back in Britain. Although Fogg is quickly exonerated of the crime, the delay caused by his false arrest appears to have cost him the wager.

Other appearances

In Albert Robida's Voyages très extraordinaires de Saturnin Farandoul (1879), Fogg appears in the narrative having gone on an attempt to travel the world again, this time in 77 days. He is portrayed as a serial saviour of ladies, having over three hundred rescued women accompanying him on his travels, which have lasted well over three years by the time he is introduced.

In Philip José Farmer's The Other Log of Phileas Fogg (1973), he is said to be Eridanean, an Earth-born member of the more benevolent of two extraterrestrial factions attempting to control the Earth; Fogg is a member of Farmer's Wold Newton family. Fogg's adventures continue in Phileas Fogg and the War of Shadows and Phileas Fogg and the Heart of Orsra, both by Josh Reynolds, and in "Being an Account of the Delay at Green River, Wyoming, of Phileas Fogg, World Traveler, or, The Masked Man Meets an English Gentleman" by Win Scott Eckert.

In other media

Film

Television
  • In the 1957 episode of Mr. Adams and Eve "Taming of the Shrew," David Niven portrays himself as he promotes a movie version of Around the World in 80 Days in which he plays Phileas Fogg, and at one point his balloon disrupts auditions Eve Drake (Ida Lupino) and Howard Adams (Howard Duff) are holding for their movie version of The Taming of the Shrew.[8][9]
  • In an episode of Have Gun, Will Travel starring Richard Boone, Fogg was used in the episode "Fogg Bound" that first aired on 3 December 1960.[10]
  • In the 1969 "Around the World in 79 Days" 16 episodes animated series Phineas Fogg great-grandson in order to inherit the family fortune must travel the globe in 79 days in a balloon beating his ancestor record..all the while pursuded by a sinister butler Crumondgen who stands to inherit the fortune in the event the descendant fails.
  • In the 1972 animated series, Fogg was voiced by Alastair Duncan. This version of Fogg took the bet to travel the world in eighty days in order to win the hand of Lord Maze's niece, Belinda.
  • On the TV show Voyagers!, Fogg is said to have been named after the main character Phineas Bogg, when the latter met Jules Verne in Montmartre.
  • A 1980s cartoon series, Around the World with Willy Fog was based on, and expanded on, the original story. The characters are anthropomorphisms of various animals, with Fog as a lion and sharing the first name of Phileas' inspiration, William Perry Fogg. Furthermore, this character appears in the sequel series, Willy Fog 2, where he and his companions undertake adventures based on Verne's major science fiction novels, Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea.
  • Fogg was played by Pierce Brosnan in the 1989 television adaptation.
  • Fogg was played by Michael Praed in The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne.
  • Fogg is played by David Tennant in the 2021 series.
  • The Count Duckula episode "Around the World in a Total Daze" features a spoof of the character called Sibellious Smogg.
  • Alexei Sayle did a parody of Fogg in one of his comedy sketches where Fogg has to reach the front of a Post Office queue in 80 days.

Video games
  • The 2014 video game 80 Days by Inkle Ltd., based on the novel by Verne, also featured an eccentric Mr. Fogg who was accompanied by his valet Passepartout.[11]

Homages
  • The creators of Disney's Phineas and Ferb named Phineas Flynn after Phileas Fogg,[12] whose first name is changed to Phineas in some adaptations.[13]
  • Podcast von der Firma.Maritim: Oscar Wilde und Mycroft Holmes – Sondermittler der Krone
  • Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin was a BBC television travel series first broadcast in 1989. It was presented by comedian and actor Michael Palin, who followed Fogg's journey and modes of transport as closely as possible, and achieved the feat in 79 days and 7 hours.
  • Mr Fogg's is a chain of UK pubs specialising in international drinks and exotic cocktails. The bars are referred to in print as places where Phileas/Phineas Fogg lives or visits.[14]
  • Phileas Fogg snacks is a brand of British crisps founded in 1982. The aim was to create a snack aimed at adults and branded with a recognisable character. The range included different flavours "from around the world" such as miniature garlic breads and tortilla chips.

References
  1. Stephen Kern, The Culture of Time and Space, 1880–1918: With a New Preface, Harvard University Press (2003) via Google Books. p. 212
  2. Joyce E. Chaplin, Round About the Earth: Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks (2012) via Google Books. p. 215
  3. Soister, John T. (2015). Conrad Veidt on Screen: A Comprehensive Illustrated Filmography. McFarland & Company. p. 60. ISBN 9781476611228.
  4. "Around the World in 80 Days – 1956, Drama/Comedy, 2h 50m". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  5. "The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (1963) – Overview". TCM.com. Archived from the original on 30 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  6. Verne, Jules (2005). Around the World in Eighty Days. John Grant (Afterword). CRW Publishing Limited. p. 276. ISBN 978-1-904919-56-8.
  7. Mackie, Rob (19 November 2004). "Around the World in 80 Days". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  8. The Classic TV Archive Mr. Adams and Eve (1957–58) Accessed 12 June 2021
  9. IMDb Mr. Adams and Eve Episode List Season 2 Accessed 12 June 2021
  10. Grams, Martin Jr.; Les Rayburn (2001). The Have Gun – Will Travel Companion. Delta, Penn.: OTR Publishing. p. 358. ISBN 0970331002. OCLC 48537557.
  11. "Press Kit – 80 Days". www.inklestudios.com. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  12. "The Creators Of 'Phineas And Ferb' Answer Your Questions". Annie's Blog. Buzznet. 8 July 2009. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. The name Phineas was inspired by the hero of the book 'Around the World in Eighty Days', Phileas T. Fogg, a great inventor and adventurer.
  13. Hébert, Nathaniel (1 March 2018). "Around the world… with Phineas / Phileas Fogg?". Medium. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  14. "Mr Fogg's | A collection of adventurous bars inspired by Phileas J. Fogg". Mr Fogg's - Cocktail Bars for the Adventurous. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
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