9 h 37 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 37 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a message in an old book leads not across the world, but deep beneath it?
In Hamburg, Professor Otto Lidenbrock finds a hidden message that points toward an entrance to Earth’s interior. The impatient mineralogist wants to leave at once. His nephew Axel sees every reason to hesitate. Soon, a puzzle on parchment sends them toward an Icelandic volcano, with a journey into the unknown ahead.
With the calm guide Hans Bjelke, they descend through ancient layers of rock into tunnels full of danger and wonder. Axel tells the story, bringing his doubts and fears into every stage of the expedition. Jules Verne turns scientific curiosity into adventure, asking how far the hunger for knowledge should push a person.
What you’ll discover
- A puzzle that opens worlds Follow a hidden message from an old parchment toward a daring expedition beneath the surface.
- Courage through a doubter’s eyes Share Axel’s fears as his uncle’s certainty pulls him deeper into the unknown.
- Science woven into adventure Explore ancient rock layers as Lidenbrock reads the Earth’s past along the descending path.
- Wonders beneath the crust Enter a world of winding tunnels, prehistoric beasts, and a vast underground sea.
- A steady hand in danger Meet Hans, whose calm judgment and practical skill balance the professor’s restless ambition.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy daring expeditions, strange landscapes, prehistoric creatures and humour amid danger will love this book. It also suits those who relish a bold scientist arguing with his doubting nephew.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A scrap of parchment starts the quest
- Hardwigg's certainty carries everyone to Iceland
- The shadow of Scartaris points the way
- The descent ends in thirst and a wrong turn
- Hans finds water and Harry is lost
- A hidden sea holds the world's oldest creatures
- A storm, a skull and a dagger deepen the mystery
- A stubborn will drives both science and fear
- Loyalty, home and silence hold the story together
- Harry's voice and the journal make the strange feel real
Who’s who
- HarryThe young narrator, a student of minerals, who is more careful than his uncle and wants to marry Gretchen.
- Professor HardwiggHarry's uncle, a famous, impatient and stubborn scientist who is determined to follow Saknussemm's path to the center of the earth.
- Hans BjelkeAn Icelandic eider-down hunter and guide who speaks little, works steadily and wants only his wages on Saturday night.
- GretchenThe professor's ward and Harry's sweetheart and cousin, who cheers on the expedition and waits for his return.
- Arne SaknussemmA sixteenth-century Icelandic alchemist whose coded note claims he reached the center of the earth.
- M. FridrikssonA kind Reykjavik scholar who speaks Latin with Harry and finds the guide for the journey.
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- Hardcover
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A Journey to the Centre of the Earth
by Jules Verne · 1864
A professor and his nephew follow a coded note down an Icelandic volcano toward the centre of the earth.
Medium level5–10 hours to readItaliano
Excellent
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In short
Would you follow a scrap of old parchment into a volcano? Harry is a young student in Hamburg, and all he wants is his dinner.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A scrap of parchment starts the quest
Professor Hardwigg of Hamburg is a brilliant, short-tempered scientist. One afternoon he rushes home with a rare old book, and a small piece of parchment covered in Runic letters drops out of it. The professor seizes it, and dinner is forgotten.
He makes Harry copy the letters, and the result is nonsense. Then the professor finds a faded name in the book, Arne Saknussemm, a learned alchemist of the sixteenth century. He decides the parchment is a secret message, and nobody will eat or sleep until the code is broken.
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Also in the Jules Verne Book Set: Three Adventures
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1864
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 6 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Verne, Jules. A Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-journey-to-the-centre-of-the-earth.
Verne, J. (2026). A journey to the centre of the Earth. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-journey-to-the-centre-of-the-earth (Original work published 1864)
Verne, Jules. A Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-journey-to-the-centre-of-the-earth.
@book{verne2026journey,
author = {Verne, Jules},
title = {A Journey to the Centre of the Earth},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-journey-to-the-centre-of-the-earth},
note = {First published 1864}
}
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What is A Journey to the Centre of the Earth about?
It follows Harry and his uncle Professor Hardwigg as they decode a mysterious parchment, then descend into an Icelandic volcano with their guide Hans. Underground they find tunnels, a vast sea and creatures from deep prehistory.
Who is Arne Saknussemm?
Arne Saknussemm is a sixteenth-century Icelandic alchemist whose name appears in an old book. His coded note claims he reached the center of the earth, and the travellers try to follow his route.
Who is Hans in the story?
Hans Bjelke is an Icelandic eider-down hunter who becomes the guide. He speaks in single words, stays calm in danger and quietly solves problems, from finding water to rescuing the cargo.
The author
Jules Verne
1828–1905 · French adventure novelist
Jules Verne was a French writer born in Nantes in 1828. He lived in Paris and later in Amiens, where he died in 1905. His novels include Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).
More by Jules Verne
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