Red bandReady now · Open and print today

The Iron Whale

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne · Episode 2 of 8

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea was published in 1870 by French novelist Jules Verne, a pioneer of science fiction whose imaginative undersea voyage predated practical submarines by decades. This episode covers the moment Aronnax, Ned, and Conseil discover the 'monster' is an iron submarine and meet its enigmatic commander, Captain Nemo—a man who has severed all ties with humanity and built an empire beneath the waves. The text reflects its era; a few period maritime and social terms have been modernised. Verne's vision of electric power, underwater exploration, and human exile remains one of literature's most compelling journeys into wonder and moral ambiguity. This is the second of eight episodes covering the entire novel.

Band

Red · Complex language and analysisTypical starting range: ages 15–17

Length

long · about 1755 words in 5 sections · 2 pictures

Source

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, Jules Verne

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

Report a concern about this reader · What’s in a HummingRead reader