‘Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon’ follows Joam Garral a Brazilian ranch owner living on the Peruvian border. When his daughter wants to return to their old city of Belem for her wedding Joam relents as the loving father he is. Joam is a wanted man however, framed for a crime he never committed he will have to face the music when he returns home, putting his life and everything he holds dear at risk. Garral is offered a way out, he can clear his name, but the cost could very well tear his family apart. It is a wonderful read built on the strength of Verne’s mastery of description and his ensemble of brilliant characters. Jules Verne (1828-1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright who is remembered for his significant contribution to the science fiction genre. With the help of editor Pierre-Jules Hetzel he wrote a series of books called "Extraordinary Travels", which includes "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" (1864), "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" (1870), and "Around the World in Eighty Days" (1873). Due to his incredible vision he is often given the moniker ‘The Father of Science Fiction’, shared with fellow science fiction author H.G. Wells. Widely popular with both children and adults, Verne is one of the most translated authors of all time, second only to Agatha Christie and Shakespeare.

Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon (French: La Jangada - Huit Cents lieues sur l'Amazone) is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1881. It has also been published as The Giant Raft.Joam Garral grants his daughter's wish to travel to Belém where she wants to marry Manuel Valdez in the presence of Manuel's invalid mother. The Garrals travel down the Amazon River using a giant timber raft. At Belém, Joam plans to restore his good name, as he is still wanted in Brazil for a crime he did not perpetrate. A scoundrel named Torres offers Joam absolute proof of Joam's innocence but the price that Torres wants for this information is to marry Joam's daughter, which is inconceivable to Joam.