The Land that Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs [PDF]
by InfoBooks
Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan, brought the same wild imagination to this 1918 novel about a hidden land untouched by time. The story throws you into a world where dinosaurs, cavemen, and World War I collide in ways no one saw coming. If you enjoy adventure fiction that never lets you catch your breath, this is exactly the kind of book that delivers.
Caspak, the lost continent at the heart of the novel, is more than just a setting. Burroughs built an entire evolutionary system where life develops in stages across the island, from primordial ooze in the south to modern humans in the north. This idea was bold for its time and still makes for a fascinating read today.
The novel was originally serialized in The Blue Book Magazine and quickly gained a loyal following. Its influence stretches from pulp adventure to modern science fiction, inspiring films, comics, and countless writers who wanted to explore what might happen if evolution took a different path.
The Land that Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs
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Information: The Land that Time Forgot
- Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Publication Date: 1918
- Main Characters:
- Bowen Tyler: An American adventurer and the narrator of the manuscript. Resourceful and determined, he leads the group through Caspak's dangers while documenting what he sees.
- Lys La Rue: A young woman rescued from the sea who becomes Tyler's companion. Courageous and quick-thinking, she adapts to Caspak's hostile environment.
- Baron Friedrich von Schoenvorts: The German U-boat commander. Initially an antagonist, his shifting loyalties add tension throughout the story.
- Ahm: A Neanderthal-like tribesman the group encounters on Caspak. He represents one of the intermediate stages of Caspak's unusual evolutionary ladder.
- Brief Summary: Bowen Tyler, an American, survives a torpedo attack only to end up aboard the very U-boat that sank his ship. After a series of mutinies and counter-mutinies, the submarine reaches Caspak, a massive island hidden behind towering cliffs near Antarctica. On Caspak, Tyler and his companions encounter creatures from every era of Earth's history, from pterodactyls to saber-toothed cats. They also find human tribes at different evolutionary stages, each one more advanced than the last as they move northward. The story is told through a manuscript found in a thermos, floating in the ocean.
- Thematic Analysis: At its core, the novel explores the tension between civilization and primal survival. Burroughs uses Caspak's unique biology to question what it means to evolve, suggesting that progress is not always linear or guaranteed. The wartime setting adds a layer of irony: humans who consider themselves civilized are thrown into a world where survival strips away every pretense.
- Historical Context: Written during World War I, the novel reflects the era's fascination with uncharted territories and scientific speculation. Burroughs tapped into popular anxieties about Darwinian evolution and the thin line between civilization and barbarism. The book appeared alongside other "lost world" fiction of the period, including works by Arthur Conan Doyle, but set itself apart with its original evolutionary premise.