Edwin Lester Arnold: Difference between revisions
Inversetime (talk | contribs) mNo edit summary |
Inversetime (talk | contribs) m Birthdate/deathdate correction - confused with Sir Edwin Arnold |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Edwin Lester Linden Arnold''' ([[ |
'''Edwin Lester Linden Arnold''' ([[1857]]-[[1935]]) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] author. |
||
Arold was born in [[Swanscombe]], [[Kent]], [[England]]. He was son of [[Sir Edwin Arnold]], the famous orientalist, journalist (chief editor of the [[London Daily Telegraph]]), [[Victorian]] poet, popularizer of [[Buddhism]] and author of the long narrative epic ''[[The Light of Asia]]'' (1879). Most of his childhood was spent in India, but he returned to England to study agriculture and ornithology. He became a journalist in 1883, and published his first books ''A Summer Holiday In Scandinavia'' (1877) and ''Bird Life In India'' (1887) before writing his first novel ''[[The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phoenician]]'', the adventures of a warrior who is [[reincarnated]] through history. ''[[Phra]]'' was first published in 24 parts in the prestigious ''Illustrated London News'', and later published in book form in the U.S. and the U.K. |
Arold was born in [[Swanscombe]], [[Kent]], [[England]]. He was son of [[Sir Edwin Arnold]], the famous orientalist, journalist (chief editor of the [[London Daily Telegraph]]), [[Victorian]] poet, popularizer of [[Buddhism]] and author of the long narrative epic ''[[The Light of Asia]]'' (1879). Most of his childhood was spent in India, but he returned to England to study agriculture and ornithology. He became a journalist in 1883, and published his first books ''A Summer Holiday In Scandinavia'' (1877) and ''Bird Life In India'' (1887) before writing his first novel ''[[The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phoenician]]'', the adventures of a warrior who is [[reincarnated]] through history. ''[[Phra]]'' was first published in 24 parts in the prestigious ''Illustrated London News'', and later published in book form in the U.S. and the U.K. |
||
Revision as of 19:05, 11 April 2005
Edwin Lester Linden Arnold (1857-1935) is a British author.
Arold was born in Swanscombe, Kent, England. He was son of Sir Edwin Arnold, the famous orientalist, journalist (chief editor of the London Daily Telegraph), Victorian poet, popularizer of Buddhism and author of the long narrative epic The Light of Asia (1879). Most of his childhood was spent in India, but he returned to England to study agriculture and ornithology. He became a journalist in 1883, and published his first books A Summer Holiday In Scandinavia (1877) and Bird Life In India (1887) before writing his first novel The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phoenician, the adventures of a warrior who is reincarnated through history. Phra was first published in 24 parts in the prestigious Illustrated London News, and later published in book form in the U.S. and the U.K.
Arnold later wrote a variety of other escapist novels (Rutherford the Twice-Born (1892), Lepidus the Centurion: A Roman of Today (1901), both of which flopped commercially. In 1905 Arnold published his best known fictional work, Lieutenant Gullivar Jones: His Vacation (also known as Gullivar of Mars, 1905). At the time, it received a lukewarm welcome, and Arnold stopped writing fiction altogether.
Legacy
Arnold's Gullivar of Mars is considered important to 20th century science-fiction literature, in that it inspired the Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom series, which was written six years later. Indeed, both Gullivar and Burrough's character John Carter, are both Southern United States soldiers who arrive on Mars and have numerous adventures, including falling in love with a Martian princess. Critics would say that Arnold's martian adventure was not as well written, and the fact that Gullivar doesn't quite defeat his enemies or get the girl in the end made his novel not as popular as Burrough's The Princess of Mars (which went on to have 10 sequels).
Bibliography
- The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phoenician/Phra the Phoenician (US 1890, UK 1910)
- Rutherford the Twice-Born (1892)
- The Story of Ulla and Other Tales (1895)
- Lepidus the Centurion: A Roman of Today (1901)
- Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation/Gullivar of Mars (1905)
External links
- Review of Gullivar of Mars on SF Site.
- Forward to Gulliver of Mars on The Nostalgia League website.