Lord John Roxton (a fictional title derived from the English parish of
Roxton, Bedfordshire
Roxton is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England about north-east of the county town of Bedford.
The 2011 census gives the population of Roxton as 348.
Geography
Roxton is southwest of St Neots, w ...
) is a supporting character in the
Professor Challenger
George Edward Challenger is a fictional character in a series of fantasy and science fiction stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unlike Conan Doyle's self-controlled, analytical character, Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger is an aggressive, ...
series of stories by
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
. He makes his initial appearance in the first entry of this series, ''
The Lost World'' (1912), wherein he is a member of the expedition to the titular land, and is a prominent character in some of the subsequent stories as well, specifically ''
The Poison Belt
''The Poison Belt'' is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, the second book about Professor Challenger. Written in 1913, much of it takes place in a single room in Challenger's house in Sussex. This would be the last ...
'' and ''
The Land of Mist
''The Land of Mist'' is a novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, published in 1926.
Although this is a Professor Challenger story, it centres more on his daughter Enid and his old friend Edward Malone. Another friend from the 1912 novel ...
''.
Description
The narrator of ''The Lost World'',
Edward D. Malone
''The Lost World'' is a science fiction novel by British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1912, concerning an expedition to a plateau in the Amazon basin of South America where prehistoric animals still survive. ...
, describes him as being tall and thin, with peculiarly rounded shoulders, "dark gingery hair," skin which is "a rich flower-pot red from sun and wind" and cool, masterful blue eyes. Malone compares him to
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
and
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
as well as to the
quintessential English sporting gentleman. Roxton greets the prospect of visiting the Lost World with delight, largely because of the prospect of bringing home a
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
as a hunting trophy:
Roxton has travelled the world, as a hunter in addition to his pursuits as an explorer in the main bodies of the novels. Being an enemy of
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, he made enemies in Brazil in his campaign against that institution, a fact which comes into play over the course of the plot of ''The Lost World''.
The titular "lost world" is located on a remote South American plateau, accessed by using a felled tree as a bridge across a vast sheer drop. When Lord John Roxton and the other members of his expedition use this makeshift bridge to enter the Lost World, Roxton is the only one who takes the easier but more dangerous option of ''walking'' across it; all the others sit astride the tree trunk and inch their way across.
The character was based on Conan Doyle's friend, the British Consul and Irish nationalist
Roger Casement
Roger David Casement ( ga, Ruairí Dáithí Mac Easmainn; 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG, between 1911 and 1916, was a diplomat and Irish nationalist executed by the United Kingdom for treason during Worl ...
.
Other appearances
* John Roxton is also the name of a character used by
Michael Crichton
John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature tech ...
in his 1995 novel ''
The Lost World''. Roxton is mentioned on page 19 as an "enthusiastic fund-raiser" looking for fossils in Mongolia.
* Roxton features in
Philip Jose Farmer
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
's fictional biography of
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
, ''
Tarzan Alive
''Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke'' is a fictional biography by American author Philip José Farmer, that alleges the life of Edgar Rice Burroughs' character Tarzan, is a story of a real person. The book was first published ...
'', where it is claimed that he is a descendant of
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
.
* Roxton is a supporting character in the
novelette ''The Found World'' in the collection ''
Miss Wildthyme and Friends Investigate
Obverse Books is a British publisher initially known for publishing books relating to the character Iris Wildthyme, and currently for the '' Black Archive'' series of critical books on ''Doctor Who,'' and two sister series - the Gold Archive, ...
'' by
Jim Smith.
* Roxton appears briefly as a supporting character in the
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
New Adventures novel ''
All-Consuming Fire
''All-Consuming Fire'' is a novel written by Andy Lane and the 27th entry in the ''Virgin New Adventures'', a series based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The novel is a crossover with Arthur Co ...
'' by
Andy Lane
Andrew Lane (born 17 April 1963), as Andy Lane, is a British author and journalist best known for the Young Sherlock Holmes series of Young Adult novels.
He has written novels in the Virgin New Adventures range and audio dramas for Big Fini ...
Actor portrayals
The following actors have portrayed Roxton in adaptations of ''The Lost World'':
*
Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular ''Andy H ...
in the
1925 silent film, in which Roxton was a knight instead of a lord.
*
Michael Rennie
Michael Rennie (born Eric Alexander Rennie; 25 August 1909 – 10 June 1971) was a British film, television and stage actor, who had leading roles in a number of Hollywood films, including his portrayal of the space visitor Klaatu in the s ...
in the
1960 film.
*
John de Lancie
John Sherwood de Lancie, Jr. (born March 20, 1948) is an American actor, television director, director, film producer, producer, writer, and comedian, best known for his role as Q (Star Trek), Q in various ''Star Trek'' series (1987–present); ...
in the 1997 radio-style drama of released by
Alien Voices.
Alien Voices official site
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* David Nerman in the 1998 film.
* William Snow in the 1999 television series.
* Tom Ward
Tom Ward (born 11 January 1971) is a British film, stage and television actor.
Early life
Tom Ward was born in Swansea, Wales, the son of poet and academic John Powell Ward, and Sarah Ward OBE, a farmer.
Ward was sent to the Dragon School i ...
in the 2001 BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...