A princess of Mars
Edgar Rice Burroughs
A princess of Mars
FictionClassicsScience FictionFantasy
32 chapters·7h 10m listening
3.81from 61,563 ratingson Goodreads
"A Princess of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs is a science fantasy novel first serialized in 1912. Confederate veteran John Carter is mysteriously transported to Mars, a dying desert planet called Barsoom. With superhuman strength from the planet's lower gravity, he becomes entangled with warlike Green Martians and rescues Dejah Thoris, a princess of the humanoid Red Martians. Carter must navigate deadly political conflicts between alien races while fighting to protect the princess and save all life on Mars from extinction.
Contains spoilers for the entire book
- Themes
- Atmosphere
About the book
First serialized in 1912 as “Under the Moons of Mars” and published as a book in 1917, A Princess of Mars is narrated by John Carter, a former Confederate officer prospecting in Arizona who finds himself transported to Mars, which its people call Barsoom. The planet’s lighter gravity gives him extraordinary strength, and he is soon a captive among the four-armed green Martians. Edgar Rice Burroughs fills the novel with duels, airships, dying cities and a vanishing atmosphere kept alive by machinery, and gives Carter a cause in Dejah Thoris, princess of the city of Helium. It was the first of the Barsoom books, and its fast-moving planetary romance shaped generations of science fiction and fantasy adventure.
Characters
John Carter — Narrator
A Virginia soldier mysteriously carried to Mars, where the lighter gravity gives him extraordinary strength.
Dejah Thoris — Princess of Helium
A courageous Martian princess whose capture draws Carter into the planet's rivalries.
Tars Tarkas — Thark warrior
A formidable Green Martian whose sense of honor distinguishes him from his brutal society.
Sola — Carter's guide
A compassionate Green Martian woman who teaches Carter the language and customs of Barsoom.
Woola — Companion
A fierce-looking Martian creature whose devotion makes him Carter's loyal protector.
Sab Than — Prince of Zodanga
A prince of Helium's rival city whose ambitions place Dejah Thoris under pressure.
About the author
Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950) was an American writer, born in Chicago. After a military academy, a spell in the cavalry and a string of unsuccessful jobs and business ventures, he began writing for pulp magazines in his mid-thirties. His first story, “Under the Moons of Mars”, serialized in 1912 and later published as A Princess of Mars, introduced John Carter and the planet Barsoom, and later the same year Tarzan of the Apes appeared. Both became long series, and Tarzan in particular grew into one of the most popular fictional characters of the century, in books, films and comic strips. Burroughs founded his own company to manage his work and bought a ranch in southern California that gave its name to the town of Tarzana. During the Second World War, in his late sixties, he worked as a war correspondent in the Pacific. He died in 1950.