80 days of the innocent past

Around the World in 80 Days
Jules Verne

I bought the book for the boys but read it to reconnect with a distant past. What struck me most was indeed the very sense how life had changed, not just from my own childhood, but from Mr. Phileas Fogg's time.

This eccentric Britishman was created by a French. His travelling-around-the-world stories and all characters were full of charm, wonder, kindness and humor; even bigotry, sort of matter-of-factly in the 19th century, was so simple and unconscious, making one ache for the innocence of humanity long lost.