248 pages Edited Raphael Pieroni, Jean-François Staszak 19 x 28 cm Language: French Paperback Publisher: Lienart 2025
La Manie des Tours du Monde: de Jules Verne aux premiers globetrotters is dedicated to the first journeys around the globe undertaken by tourists for their own enjoyment. These trips became possible starting in 1870, following the opening of the Suez Canal and the completion of the American transcontinental railroad. They quickly gained popularity after the publication of Jules Verne’s iconic 1872 novel, Around the World in 80 Days. The outbreak of war in 1914 brought this practice to a halt; it would resume in the 1920s, though under new conditions with the advent of commercial air travel.
Tourist round-the-world trips are defined as journeys circling the globe with the specific aim of doing so, and for non-professional reasons. Thus, diplomats, writers, or students traveling the world for professional purposes are not included in this scope. The journey must form a loop and cross all meridians. However, it does not necessarily have to pass through all continents or both hemispheres, and may vary in length depending on the route's latitude and any detours taken from a straight path.
Several tens of thousands of tourists—mostly Westerners—traveled around the world between 1869 and 1914. Over 250 of them published accounts of their journeys. This activity remained the privilege of the wealthy and the idle.
By the end of the 19th century, the round-the-world journey had become a central motif in Western culture, reflecting a new geographic imagination and a new relationship to the world: the globe became a playground for Westerners, who circled it as if they owned it. The craze for round-the-world travel marks a significant moment in the history of globalization.
