The original steampunk adventure! Written while it was still called modern! 
 Fascinating! :) 
 Seriously, though... Jules Verne knows how to write a fast-paced adventure with French tomfoolery and English sprats. They're buckling down to show other multi-millionaires (price adjusted) what a *real* wager is, using nothing more than a very keen mind and a talent for reading multiple departures in the paper. (You had to be there. And you also have to enjoy a period piece, too!) 
 But that's not all, folks! The Indian Princess gets saved by the Bully Englishman! Awwww... I've almost got a picture in my head of Tarzan swinging Jane through the jungle. :) 
 It really is a fun novel, all told. Light fun, adventure, theft, mistaken identity, and even a moral to tuck in the end of the story to send us off to dreamland. Awww.