Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875 – 1950) was a prolific American writer who is highly regarded as a science
fiction writer. Many
of his best known works were in series form as he wrote multiple stories about the same characters and locations. He is perhaps, best known for creating the “Tarzan” character.
Burroughs began writing in 1912, when he authored “A Princess of Mars” and “Tarzan of the Apes”. He added many stories to these series and over 80 books are attributed to him. He also wrote several western novels and historical works. During World War 2, Burroughs stopped writing
fiction and served as the oldest war correspondent in the US. He resumed his fiction writing in 1946, after the end of the war. His most famous works include the following:
The Tarzan Series was written between 1912 and 1947 and includes no less than 22 novels. Tarzan was the son of British royalty who, as a young child, was lost in the wilds of Africa. He was adopted by a group of apes and grew up as one of them. The series depicts the adventures of Tarzan, both in the wilds of Africa and in civilized society.
The Barsoom Series, written between 1912 and 1948 contains 11 stories about the adventures of John Carter on the dying planet of Mars. The planet is inhabited by many different races battling for supremacy and control of dwindling resources.
The seven stories in the Pellucidar series describe a hollow earth. The interior of the earth is inhabited by strange including giants, reptile men, ape men and several others. The stories center around the adventures of a wealthy David Innes and his inventor friend, Abner Perry. They penetrate the earth’s core and enter the land of Pellucidar.
The three stories of the Caspak series depict a lost continent in the South Pacific. The continent is inhabited by prehistoric dinosaurs and primitive man. The stories detail the experiences of several different groups of people and their dealings with Caspak’s human and dinosaur inhabitants.
The Venus series contains five stories and is similar to the Barsoom Series. This series describes the exploits of Carson Napier on the planet of Venus. Other well known series include the Moon series, the Mucker series and the Jungle Adventure series.
Many of his works have been adapted to cinema. The Tarzan series has been made into dozens of movies, televisions shows, animated features and comic books. In the 1970’s two of the Caspak stories were made into movies. The works of Edgar Rice Burroughs were widely read and enjoyed by fans of science fiction and action adventure books. Many are still popular today.