Axel Lidenbrock, the teenage narrator of the story, lives in Hamburg, Germany, with his uncle, Professor Otto Lidenbrock, an impetuous and single-minded professor of geology.
The story, set in May 1863, opens as the latter rushes home to show Axel his latest acquisition: a runic manuscript by the renowned Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson. They find hidden within its pages a separate note whi...