A Princess of Mars

Laypeople pored over the work of Lowell and other astronomers.

The idea of an inhabited Mars started to show up more often in fiction, including H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds in 1898 and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Under the Moons of Mars, which was later published as A Princess of Mars.

That was the book that introduced the character of John Carter of Mars in 1912.

As we said at the top of the show, this was also around the height of the spiritualist movement, a social and religious movement rooted in the idea that the souls of the deceased can connect to and communicate with the living.

I, I, I do think, I, I like your comment how this has kinda captured that pulpy feel.

But, and for those who, you know, don't know John Carter, or, you know, Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote, uh, A Princess of Mars, and all the other books that go along with, uh, the John, what they call now the John Carter of Mars series of books.

And it is, you know, the, it is, um, really s- uh, how can I say? Matinee cartoon type, uh, events in here.

You have a, you have a Civil War soldier who, you know, ends up, just like in the movie, uh, that people may have seen, ends up in the, on, on a Mars.

Uh, cruelty, uh, is part of it.

You know, the whole mythology is that, um, the green Martians and others were very cruel until John Carter came and showed them that being kind to their animals was a better way of doing it, right? So anyway, it's very interesting, uh, the, the, the culture of John Carter of Mars.

Um, and, uh, you know, it's definitely something that if you're a fan of A Princess of Mars or any of the other books, uh, it's a way to, like, steep yourself in this before you play.

And actually, I guess if you were gonna play in a campaign of this, I would recommend to anyone, you don't have to read all the books, but just read the first one, and that'll kind of give you the sense of what this game is all about.

I am working on my first standalone novel that is a pulp novel.

A story that will be reminiscent of Burroughs' Princess of Mars.

Ooh.

And some other stuff mixed in there.

Helium, June eighth, nineteen twenty-six.

My dear Mr. Burroughs, It was in the fall of nineteen seventeen at an officers' training camp that I first became acquainted with John Carter, Warlord of Barsoom, through the pages of your novel, A Princess of Mars.

The story made a profound impression upon me, and while my better judgment assured me that it was but a highly imaginative piece of fiction, a suggestion of the verity of it pervaded my inner consciousness to such an extent that I found myself dreaming of Mars and John Carter, of Dejah Thoris, of Tars Tarkas, and of Woola, as they had been entities of my own experience rather than the figments of your imagination.

It is true that in those days of strenuous preparation there was little time for dreaming, yet there were brief moments before sleep claimed me at night, and there were my dreams.

We had won the war.

I was glad, but it seemed very far away and quite unreal, as though no such world existed and no such people had ever fought.

It was as though I was recalling through its illustrations a novel that I read a long time since.

You seem much interested in that war-torn country, remarked Mutel.

Granger, for the ones who get it done.

Forward to A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs This is a LibriVox recording.

All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Thomas Copeland A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs Forward To the reader of this work In submitting Captain Carter's strange manuscript to you in book form, I believe that a few words relative to this remarkable personality will be of interest.

My first recollection of Captain Carter is of the few months he spent at my father's home in Virginia just prior to the opening of the Civil War.

I was then a child of but five years, yet I well remember the tall, dark, smooth-faced, athletic man whom I called Uncle Jack.

His further instructions related to this manuscript, which I was to retain sealed and unread just as I found it for eleven years, nor was I to divulge its contents until twenty-one years after his death.

The strange feature about the tomb, where his body still lies, is that the massive door is equipped with a single, huge, gold-plated spring lock which can be opened only from the inside.

Yeah.

My idea, my entire concept of being able to do science fantasy was influenced by two books, Dune and Princess of Mars.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and, uh-

My mom's favorite book is Princess of Mars.

It is a-

Loves it

Helium, June eighth, nineteen twenty-six.

My dear Mr. Burroughs, It was in the fall of nineteen seventeen at an officers' training camp that I first became acquainted with John Carter, Warlord of Barsoom, through the pages of your novel A Princess of Mars.

The story made a profound impression upon me, and while my better judgment assured me that it was but a highly imaginative piece of fiction, a suggestion of the verity of it pervaded my inner consciousness to such an extent that I found myself dreaming of Mars and John Carter, of Dejah Thoris, of Tars Tarkas, and of Woola, as they had been entities of my own experience rather than the figments of your imagination.

It is true that in those days of strenuous preparation there was little time for dreaming.

Mm.

Uh, but this will be coming just off the back of Edgar Rice Burroughs', A Princess of Mars.

Mm.

So better known now, John Carter, the, the Disney movie from-

No. It's not.

So I would say the skeleton for this story is seen in Buck Rogers, Flash Garden, and back to 1912 with Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom Tales, beginning with the compiled The Princess of Mars.

And I reckon you could trace its origins through 1726 and Gulliver's Travels.

And as this is John Crichton's story of his attempt to get home, you could also see shades of the Odyssey within its creation.