A quiet, thought-provoking graphic novel traces the journeys of three real-life individuals who traveled around the world at the end of the nineteenth century. Like many, they may have been inspired by Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days , but each singular personality here had his or her own motivating factor for embarking on such an undertaking. In 1884, Thomas Stevens set off on his land journey via bicycle as a means of promoting cycling as more than mere fad. Journalist Nellie Bly set out in 1889, originally as a publicity gimmick to improve newspaper sales; ultimately her journey demonstrated that women were as capable and adventurous as men. Joshua Slocum’s 1895 journey was a more personal one. The retired sea captain retraced a journey he had taken a few years earlier with his wife, who had died on the voyage (a story recounted in gold-toned flashbacks). Haunted by her death and disturbed by hallucinations of other seafaring men, from Christopher Columbus to pirates, his journey is by far the most complex one depicted in Matt Phelan’s ambitious work as Slocum travels across the seas, and through grief and despair. There’s a lot here for teen readers who take the time to travel along, and who will see the contrasts among the three extraordinary voyages. (Age 12 and older)

A Scott O'Dell Award-winning graphic novelist follows three dauntless adventurers on a Jules Verne-inspired challenge: circling the world, solo!

As the nineteenth century wound down, a public inspired by the novel Around the World in Eighty Days clamored for intrepid adventure. The challenge of circumnavigating the globe as no one ever had before--a feat assuring fame if not fortune--attracted the fearless in droves. Three hardy spirits stayed the course: In 1884, former miner Thomas Stevens made the journey on a bicycle, the kind with a big front wheel. In 1889, pioneer reporter Nellie Bly embarked on a global race against time that assumed the heights of spectacle, ushering in the age of the American celebrity. And in 1895, retired sea captain Joshua Slocum quietly set sail on a thirty-six-foot sloop, braving pirates and treacherous seas to become the first person to sail around the world alone. With cinematic pacing and deft, expressive art, acclaimed graphic novelist Matt Phelan weaves a trio of epic journeys into a single bold tale of three visionaries who set their sights on nothing short of the world.