Picture an American storyteller who swung through jungles and battled Martian warriors—meet Edgar Rice Burroughs! Born in 1875, this Chicago native crafted iconic heroes like Tarzan and John Carter, revolutionizing science fiction and fantasy with his boundless imagination. His thrilling tales of adventure continue to captivate readers, proving that a good story can outlast even the wildest of eras.
The Making of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs’s early life was a patchwork of pursuits. Born into a well-off Chicago family, he flunked out of military school but later served briefly in the U.S. Cavalry in Arizona, chasing adventure in the desert. After stints as a cowboy, gold miner, and even a pencil-sharpener salesman, Burroughs found himself at 35, scraping by with a wife and two kids. It was 1911 when, inspired by pulp magazines, he penned his first story, A Princess of Mars, launching a career that would redefine genre fiction.
Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Unforgettable Stories
Burroughs’s imagination birthed worlds that still resonate. His 1912 novel A Princess of Mars introduced John Carter, a Civil War veteran whisked to Mars, where he battles alien tribes and woos a princess. The Barsoom series that followed blended swashbuckling romance with vivid alien landscapes. Then came Tarzan of the Apes (1912), the tale of an orphaned boy raised by apes, swinging through African jungles with primal grace. The Tarzan series, spanning 24 books, became a cultural juggernaut. Burroughs’s style—fast-paced, vivid, and packed with cliffhangers—made his 80+ novels addictive. His themes of survival, heroism, and exotic locales tapped into early 20th-century fascinations with the unknown.
Other gems include The Land That Time Forgot (1918), a lost-world saga of dinosaurs and submarines, and At the Earth’s Core (1914), which plunged readers into a hollow Earth teeming with prehistoric beasts. Burroughs wasn’t a literary stylist; his prose was straightforward, but his knack for storytelling made every page a thrill ride.
Why Edgar Rice Burroughs Matters
Burroughs didn’t just write books—he built cultural pillars. Tarzan inspired countless films, comics, and even theme park rides, embedding the jungle hero in global pop culture. John Carter’s Martian adventures laid groundwork for modern sci-fi, influencing creators like Ray Bradbury and George Lucas. Burroughs’s self-publishing savvy and merchandising (Tarzan toys, anyone?) made him a pioneer in author branding. His stories, though sometimes dated in their colonial views, still spark wonder, reminding us of humanity’s thirst for exploration. At 66, he flew as a war correspondent in World War II, living the daring life of his heroes.
- Born: September 1, 1875, Chicago, Illinois
- Key Works: Tarzan of the Apes, A Princess of Mars, The Land That Time Forgot
- Notable Fact: Became a pilot in his sixties and flew over Pearl Harbor post-attack
Grab Tarzan of the Apes or A Princess of Mars and dive into Burroughs’s thrilling worlds—your inner adventurer will thank you!