Edgar Burroughs: biography, creativity, best books and reviews

Edgar Burroughs is an outstanding American writer, recognized as one of the best writers of the 20th century. The most famous cycles of the author are the series about Tarzan and John Carter. In addition to these works, Burroughs composed many more fantastic and detective novels. Critics speak of his work with a share of irony, although they undoubtedly recognize literary talent.

Birth

Edgar Rice Burroughs was born on September 1, 1875. His father was a veteran of the Civil War and participated in battles on the side of the army of the Northern Union. After the war, he was able to become a businessman. In the Burroughs family, Edgar became the fourth child. When the time came, the boy was sent to study at Brown School. However, during the diphtheria epidemic, the school was quarantined, so young Edgar was sent to the Maplehurst school, intended only for girls. Burroughs was then transferred to Andover Harvard School, which he successfully completed.

Edgar decided to connect his future with a military career, so he decided to enter the Michigan Military Academy. Over the years, the author ironically recalled that in all educational institutions he was taught with fanaticism Latin and Greek, but nowhere was there even a small course devoted to English.

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Military service

Edgar Burroughs graduated from the academy in 1895, here, according to him, he learned to ride excellently. The next goal was to enter West Point, the highest military academy in the United States. To this end, with the help of his father, he enlisted the support of one of the Chicago congressmen, who wrote a letter of recommendation for the young man.

Burroughs overestimated the recommendation and did not prepare well enough, so he could not pass the entrance exams.

Due to failure, he had to go to the service. It turned out to be the 7th US Cavalry Army, located in those years in Arizona. Here Burroughs served only two years: from 1896 to 1897.

Burroughs was then a police officer in reserve in Illinois.

Family life

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Edgar Burroughs, after graduating from a military career in 1898, settled in Idaho. Here he became the owner of a store specializing in the sale of paper for printing equipment.

And in 1900 he married Emma Hulberti. Their marriage was long, but not particularly happy. Husband and wife divorced in the 40s. During their life together, they had two sons and a daughter.

For the first 10 years of marriage, the family lived in poverty. Burroughs first contacted a mining company , but the deal was unsuccessful. Therefore, in 1904, the writer was forced to go to the police on the Utah railroad. In 1906, he left this post and became the manager of one of the departments of a large Chicago company. However, this place of work did not bring the necessary income, so in 1908, Burroughs went to an advertising agency. But a year later he leaves him, becoming a manager in the office. After another year, he again changes work and becomes one of the partners of the sales company. Until 1913, the future writer changed three more jobs.

The turning point in Burroughs' unsuccessful career was the period when he began writing for newspapers and magazines. He then turned 35 years old. At this point, the writer realized that he could write both low-quality literature and serious works that would be published in magazines and published.

First novel

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Edgar Burroughs, despite the fact that he came to an understanding of his literary talent very late, began writing in 1912. Then he finished his first novel, called "Under the Moons of Mars." In this work, one of the most famous heroes of Burroughs appears - John Carter. The novel tells how he first gets to Mars.

However, this story was not published for the first time, but “The Daughter of a Thousand Jeddaks,” which appeared on the pages of All-Story in 1912.

The appearance of Tarzan

Despite the constant search for work and changing professions, Edgar Rice Burroughs did not leave literature. The writer's books appeared with incredible speed. In the same 1912, the first novel about Tarzan was published. This is one of the largest cycles of the writer, consisting of 25 books.

The story of John Cleton, Lord of Grays, an aristocrat who, on his childhood, ended up on the African coast with his parents, won over many hearts. The cycle itself generated not only a lot of films and cartoons shot based on a famous work, but also a number of computer games. Which suggests that after 100 years, Tarzan has retained its appeal to readers and viewers.

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Martian cycle

This series is also called Barsumskaya. This is the most popular (after Tarzan, of course) cycle written by Edgar Burroughs. John Carter (all the books in the series confirm this) is the most charming character, the best of all created by the author. His story is very unusual: he is magically transported to the world of Martians, called Barsuma. The first book of the cycle, called the “Princess of Mars”, was published in 1912. In total, the series includes 11 books.

Many readers find this cycle the best Edgar Burroughs wrote. John Carter has become for many a childhood hero and, to some extent, a role model. Others note that with these works began their acquaintance with science fiction.

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Literature and life

In 1919, he bought for himself and his family a large ranch, which was located in the San Fernando Valley, Edgar Burroughs. Books during this period for the writer became the main way to earn money. The fact is that Burroughs is used to a luxurious life, and it required considerable expenses. In order not to deny himself anything, the writer had to write three novels a year.

Cinema began to bring a certain income. The first film about a boy from the jungle came out in 1918, but did not bring the popularity that Burroughs expected. The paintings, which began to appear after 1930, really had a dizzying success. The main role was played by Johnny Weissmuller, the Olympic champion in swimming. Largely thanks to his participation, films began to be popular.

The death of a writer

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He was a rather famous man of his time Edgar Rice Burroughs. Books are not the only thing that made him famous. So, in 1933, he became mayor of California Beach.

As noted above, the writer divorced in 1934, and remarried in 1935. Florence Derhold became his chosen one. However, this marriage did not last particularly long. The couple divorced in 1942.

During World War II, the writer worked as a war correspondent. At that time he was already over 60 years old. However, the dangers didn’t particularly frighten him, and military service affected the strength of the nerves of the elderly writer.

Burroughs died in 1950, on March 19. The official cause of death is heart failure.

Readers' interest in books has greatly fallen since the author’s death. Burroughs himself, as if anticipating this, shared with a reporter in an interview that he did not consider his books to be literature and was not misleading. However, in 1960, the Edgar Rice Burroughs Corporation, founded by the writer, was able not only to revive itself, but also arouse readers' interest in the works of the author. Moreover, Burroughs even became the subject of a number of academic studies.

The best books that Edgar Burroughs wrote

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The Martian Chronicles and the Tarzan series are recognized by the writer’s best books by both readers and critics. The first novels of both cycles, as well as the works "John Carter the Martian", "Gods of Mars" are especially distinguished. In addition, a book stands out that is not included in any of these series - “Earth, Forgotten by Time”. Readers note the novelty of the plot, the unusual world order and memorable characters.

Reviews

What is the reader’s opinion now about the novels that Edgar Burroughs wrote? John Carter (all the books of the cycle dedicated to him) is still the most popular hero. Many readers talk about this series with love and gratitude, since the books came to them in their childhood and inspired them to do science, showed that there are no limits to dreams and imagination.

The Tarzan cycle also has a lot of positive feedback. Basically, of course, they also got to know him in childhood, for some he became even the first book he read independently. However, many readers note that the author’s language lacks artistry, and the plot lacks diversity.


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