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A Princess of Mars
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Barsoom: Book 1

A Princess of Mars (1917) (edit title/settings)

by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Suddenly projected to Mars, John Carter found himself captive of the savage green men of Thark. With him was Dejah Thoris, lovely Princess of Helium. And between them and rescue lay a thousand miles of deadly enemies and unknown dangers.

Summary edit see section history

A Princess of Mars (1917) is a science fantasy novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of his Barsoom series. Full of swordplay and daring feats, the novel is considered a classic example of 20th century pulp fiction. It is also a seminal instance of the planetary romance, a sub-genre of... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

A Princess of Mars (1917) is a science fantasy novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of his Barsoom series. Full of swordplay and daring feats, the novel is considered a classic example of 20th century pulp fiction. It is also a seminal instance of the planetary romance, a sub-genre of science fantasy that became highly popular in the decades following its publication. Its early chapters also contain elements of the Western. The story is set on Mars, imagined as a dying planet with a harsh desert environment. This vision of Mars was based on the work of the astronomer Percival Lowell, whose ideas were widely popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Barsoom series inspired a number of well-known 20th century science fiction writers, including Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein, and John Norman, and was also inspirational for many scientists in the fields of space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life, including Carl Sagan, who read A Princess of Mars when he was a child.

Source Wikipedia

Characters edit see section history

  • John Carter: A gentleman of Virginia and Civil War veteran who finds himself transported to Mars after entering a mysterious cave in the Arizona desert.
  • Dejah Thoris: The princess of the Red Martians, who is rescued by John Carter from the Green Martians. Her home city is Helium.
  • Tars Tarkas: A 15-foot-tall, green-skinned Thark—one of the warrior races on Mars. He and John Carter become best friends.
  • Sola: A Thark servant who is unusually compassionate and thus becomes good friends with John Carter.
  • Woola: John Carter's faithful companion on Mars. Woola is a calot, the Barsoomian equivalent of a dog.
  • Thark: Add a description of this character.
  • Powell
  • Sarkoja: A scheming Thark female who is always looking to cause trouble for John Carter and Sola.
  • Tal Hajus: An evil Jeddak of Thark, responsible for the brutal murder of Sola's mother.
  • Lorquas Ptomel: Tars Tarkas' second-in-command.
  • Than Kosis: Jeddak (ruler) of Zodanga, father of Sab Than, Prince of Zodanga. Enemy of Helium.
  • Mors Kajak
  • Barsoom
  • Kantos Kan: A warrior of Helium who escapes a Green Martian prison with John Carter.
  • Sab Than: The prince of Zodanga.
Show all 15 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “A warrior may change his metal, but not his heart.”
    Dejah Thoris

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Barsoom (Mars)

First Sentence edit see section history

I am a very old man; how old I do not know.

Table of Contents edit see section history

1. On the Arizona Hills
2. The Escape of the Dead
3. My Advent on Mars
4. A Prisoner
5. I Elude My Watch Dog
6. A Fight That Won Friends
7. Child-Raising on Mars
8. A Fair Captive from the Sky
9. I Learn the Language
10. Champion and Chief
11. With Dejah Thoris
12. A Prisoner with Power
13. Love-Making on Mars
14. A Duel to the Death
15. Sola Tells Me Her Story
16. We Plan Escape
17. A Costly Recapture
18. Chained in Warhoon
19. Battling in the Arena
20. In the Atmosphere Factory
21. An Air Scout for Zodanga
22. I Find Dejah
23. Lost in the Sky
24. Tars Tarkas Finds a Friend
25. The Looting of Zodanga
26. Through Carnage to Joy
27. From Joy to Death
28. At the Arizona Cave

Glossary edit see section history

  • Calot: The Barsoomian (Martian) equivalent of a dog. Book description: "ten short legs"; "about the size of a Shetland pony"; "its head bore a slight resemblance to that of a frog, except that the jaws were equipped with three rows of long, sharp tusks"
  • Green Martians: The main ones we hear about live in Thark and are called both "Tharks" and "Tharkians". Book description: "They seemed mostly head, with little scrawny bodies, long necks and six legs, or, as I afterward learned, two legs and two arms, with an intermediary pair of limbs which could be used at will either as arms or legs. Their eyes were set at the extreme sides of their heads a trifle above the center and protruded in such a manner that they could be directed either forward or back and also independently of each other, thus permitting this queer animal to look in any direction, or in two directions at once, without the necessity of turning the head.The ears, which were slightly above the eyes and closer together, were small, cup-shaped antennae, protruding not more than an inch on these young specimens. Their noses were but longitudinal slits in the center of their faces, midway between their mouths and ears.There was no hair on their bodies, which were of a very light yellowish-green color. In the adults, as I was to learn quite soon, this color deepens to an olive green and is darker in the male than in the female. Further, the heads of the adults are not so out of proportion to their bodies as in the case of the young.The iris of the eyes is blood red, as in Albinos, while the pupil is dark. The eyeball itself is very white, as are the teeth. These latter add a most ferocious appearance to an otherwise fearsome and terrible countenance, as the lower tusks curve upward to sharp points which end about where the eyes of earthly human beings are located. The whiteness of the teeth is not that of ivory, but of the snowiest and most gleaming of china. Against the dark background of their olive skins their tusks stand out in a most striking manner, making these weapons present a singularly formidable appearance."
  • Kaor: Barsoomian word of greeting
  • Thoat: The Barsoomian (Martian) equivalent of a horse. Book description: "ten feet at the shoulder; had four legs on either side; a broad flat tail, larger at the tip than at the root, and which it held straight out behind while running; a gaping mouth which split its head from its snout to its long, massive neck."
  • Warhoons: The book defines them as, "They are a smaller horde than the Tharks but much more ferocious."

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 15 in Barsoom. (standard series)

Followed by The Gods of Mars.

This book is in Bison Frontiers of Imagination. (publisher series)
This book is in Modern Library Classics. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Penguin Classics. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read. (authoritative list)
This is book 3 of 24 in io9 Science Fiction 101. (community list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Edgar Rice Burroughs (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Eliseu Gouveia (Illustrator) - Artist of six black-and-white illustrations.

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: A. C. McClurg
Country: USA
Publication Date: 1917
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 326

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: 2011945714
  • Dewey: 813.52

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Great story, vivid imagery, full of heroic tales and creative imagination.Perfect books to spark the interest of a young adult for reading.Contains a fair amount of violence and references to nudity...Yet appropriate for all ages because it was written nearly a century agoby an old-fashioned author accomplished for Tarzan and does not portray graphic details.Written at a college level, articulate but not "wordy", so bring your dictionary.Altogether, this whole series of books is a pleasure to read and a treasure to own.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

  • StarWarp Concepts: The publishing home for The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, as well as illustrated classics and artists sketchbooks, StarWarp Concepts specializes in tales of dark urban fantasy.
  • Encyclopedia Barsoomia

Movie Connections edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Gods of Mars
  • The War of the Worlds

Books That Influenced This Book edit see section history

   
  • The War of the Worlds

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history

   
  • John Carter: The Movie Novelization

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