Edwin Lester Linden Arnold (14 May 1857 – 1 March 1935) was an English author. Most of his works were issued under his working name of Edwin Lester Arnold.
Life and literary career
Arnold was born in
Swanscombe, Kent, as son of Sir
Edwin Arnold
Sir Edwin Arnold KCIE CSI (10 June 183224 March 1904) was an English poet and journalist, who is most known for his work '' The Light of Asia''.[Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...]
n'', the adventures of a warrior who goes in and out of an unexplained state of
suspended animation
Suspended animation is the temporary (short- or long-term) slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. It may be either hypometabolic or ametabolic in nature. It may be induced by either endogen ...
in order to be a witness to invasions or attempted invasions of England. ''Phra'' was first published in 24 parts in the prestigious ''Illustrated London News'', and later published in book form in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Arnold later wrote other novels, including ''Rutherford the Twice-Born'' (1892) and ''Lepidus the Centurion: A Roman of Today'' (1901), both of which flopped commercially. In 1905 Arnold published his best known novel, ''
Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation'', also known as ''Gulliver of Mars'', (1905). Its initial reception was lukewarm, leading Arnold to stop writing fiction altogether.
Legacy
Arnold's ''Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation'' is considered important to 20th century science fiction literature, in that it may have inspired the
Edgar Rice Burroughs ''
Barsoom'' series, which was written six years later. Indeed, both Gullivar and Burroughs's character
John Carter, first seen in ''
A Princess of Mars
''A Princess of Mars'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of his Barsoom series. It was first serialized in the pulp magazine ''All-Story Magazine'' from February–July, 1912. Full of swordplay and dari ...
'' (1917), are military men from the Southern United States who arrive on Mars and have numerous adventures, including falling in love with a Martian princess. The character of Carter, however, has more in common with Arnold's earlier creation, Phra. Critics would say that Arnold's Martian adventure was not as well written, and the fact that Gullivar does not quite defeat his enemies or get the girl in the end helps explain why his novel not as popular as Burroughs', which was followed by ten sequels.
Ace Books reprinted Arnold's ''Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation'' in 1964, retitling it ''Gulliver of Mars'' . A more recent
Bison Books edition was issued as ''Gullivar of Mars'', adapting the Ace title to Arnold's spelling.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
did a brief comic version of ''Gullivar of Mars'' during the early 1970s, possibly as a reaction to DC gaining the rights to publish Burroughs' ''John Carter'' during this time. With art by
Gil Kane
Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character.
Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...
, it ran in several issues of ''
Creatures on the Loose
''Tower of Shadows'' is a horror/fantasy anthology comic book published by the American company Marvel Comics under this and a subsequent name from 1969 to 1975. It featured work by writer-artists Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Johnny Craig, and Wal ...
''. Marvel's Gullivar was a
Viet Nam vet, and the series started in modern times. Though the series used many of Arnold's characters and concepts, the series was not a strict adaptation of the original book.
Both Gullivar and John Carter make an appearance at the beginning of volume two in
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...
's ''
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
'' comic book series.
Bibliography
Fiction
* ''
The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phœnician
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (US 1890, UK 1891)
* ''
Rutherford the Twice-Born'' (1892)
* ''
The Constable of St. Nicholas'' (1894)
* ''
The Story of Ulla and Other Tales'' (1895)
* ''
Lepidus the Centurion: A Roman of Today'' (1901)
Internet Archive e-text
* ''
Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation'' (1905) (
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...
Entry:
Gulliver of Mars by Edwin Lester Linden Arnold – Project Gutenberg
at gutenberg.org)
Non-fiction
* ''A Summer Holiday in Scandinavia
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes ...
'' (1877)
Internet Archive e-text
* '' Coffee: Its Cultivation and Profit'' (1886)
Google Books e-text
* ''Bird Life in England
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
'' (1887)
Internet Archive e-text
* ''England as She Seems
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe by t ...
: Being Selections from the Notes of an Arab Hadji
Hadji (also spelled ''Hajji'', ''Haji'' or ''Hatzi'') is a title and prefix that is awarded to a person who has successfully completed the Hajj ("pilgrimage") to Mecca.
It may refer to: People
* El Hadji Diouf (born 1981), Senegalese footballer
* ...
'' (1888)
* '' On the Indian Hills: or, Coffee-planting in Southern India'' (1893)
Internet Archive e-text
* ''The Soul of the Beast
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1960)
Notes
References
*
External links
Review of ''Gullivar of Mars''
on SF Site.
on The Nostalgia League website.
*
*
*
*
Arnold, Edwin L on The Science Fiction Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Edwin Lester Linden
1857 births
1935 deaths
English science fiction writers
People from Swanscombe
Victorian novelists
19th-century English novelists
20th-century English novelists
English male novelists