Edgar Rice Burroughs

[Dave]

Edgar Rice Burroughs
pen names: Norman Bean and John Tyler McCulloch.

born Chicago, Illinois: 1 September 1875
died Encino, California: 19 March 1950

Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, with a prolific output in stories of adventure, fantasy, lost worlds, sword and planet, planetary romance, historical romance, soft science fiction and westerns. He was also a war correspondent, a cowboy, a gold miner, a railroad policeman, a department store manager and a pencil-sharpener salesman.

Aged 35, whilst supporting a young family, but working in an undemanding, low-paid job, he was reading pulp magazines that he thought had rotten content. He decided then that he should write similar stories that would be far more entertaining. His first sale, under the name of (Normal Bean) Norman Bean, was Moons of Mars (1912) serialised in Frank Munsey’s The All-Story, and this first introduced the character John Carter of Mars.

He is best known for his Barsoom series, beginning with A Princess of Mars (1917), his Pellucidar series, beginning with At the Earth’s Core (1914) and for Tarzan, beginning with Tarzan of the Apes (1912).

His works made no claims of literary or intellectual merit, but its mass public appeal was enduring. When Tarzan became popular, Burroughs exploited its success in every way possible, though short stories, novels, comic strips, radio, movies and merchandise. Although advised against this by marketing experts, he proved them completely wrong. Tarzan became a cultural sensation, and remains to this day, one of the most recognisable fictional characters, comparable only to Dracula or Sherlock Holmes.

He set up his own company in 1923 and began to publish his own books. He wrote a total of 91 novels, 26 of which were about Tarzan. At the time of his death, he was the world’s best seller author.

Burroughs strongly supported views, popular at the time, of eugenics and scientific racism. These are reflected in his works.

He is the great-grandfather of film director Wes Anderson.

A list of his works is to be found here: Summary Bibliography: Edgar Rice Burroughs

Wikipedia page: Edgar Rice Burroughs - Wikipedia

 

[JunkMonkey]

As

He wrote a total of 91 novels,

Or, if you were to be uncharitable, the same novel 91 times.

 

[Extollager]

I had a Burroughs phase when I was 14-15. I don't find that I can stay interested in his books when I revisit them in recent years. Like R. E. Howard, people are, I think, more indebted in their imaginings and feelings about ERB by artists who have illustrated paperback reprints than they realize. If Ace had reprinted Burroughs and Howard in the 1960s with cover art by Jack Gaughan and Gray Morrow (or Richard Powers!!) rather than Frazetta and Krenkel, people would imagine such books quite differently.

 

[Dave]

I think you really are being uncharitable, from what I've read, he once said that he wrote to see what he could get away with. He absolutely knew that it was pulp fiction, but people couldn't get enough of it, so he fed that demand. He gave people want they wanted. Was he at fault, or was his readers?

I can understand completely why other writers didn't like him. Rudyard Kipling thought Tarzan was a rip-off of his two Jungle Book stories, and it probably was, but reduced to some homage and yet it sold much more.

However, I see him, not so much as a brilliant author, but as a fabulous media businessman and marketeer. He had Tarzan in comics and books, Tarzan on the radio, Tarzan in endless movies. He was catering for every facet of society. He was doing what the multimedia studios of today do with franchises like Marvel comics, Terminator, Alien, Star Wars, Star Trek and Jurassic Park, but he was doing it 100 years ago!

He deserved his popularity through hard work. I'm not sure why people don't like successful writers (and artists too.) He was the best selling author in his day, but it's is the same today with JK Rowling, Harold Robbins, Jackie Collins, Dean Koontz or Stephen King. People don't seem to like success in writers and artists and performers or musicians. It seems like you have to be a struggling artist to have any credence. You aren't allowed to get rich. You only win the TV show X Factor if you have some "poor me" story to tell. Yet he also spent years struggling in low paid jobs before selling a story, so he wasn't "lucky", he was just very good at what he did.

 

[BAYLOR]

I think you really are being uncharitable, from what I've read, he once said that he wrote to see what he could get away with. He absolutely knew that it was pulp fiction, but people couldn't get enough of it, so he fed that demand. He gave people want they wanted. Was he at fault, or was his readers?

I can understand completely why other writers didn't like him. Rudyard Kipling thought Tarzan was a rip-off of his two Jungle Book stories, and it probably was, but reduced to some homage and yet it sold much more.

However, I see him, not so much as a brilliant author, but as a fabulous media businessman and marketeer. He had Tarzan in comics and books, Tarzan on the radio, Tarzan in endless movies. He was catering for every facet of society. He was doing what the multimedia studios of today do with franchises like Marvel comics, Terminator, Alien, Star Wars, Star Trek and Jurassic Park, but he was doing it 100 years ago!

He deserved his popularity through hard work. I'm not sure why people don't like successful writers (and artists too.) He was the best selling author in his day, but it's is the same today with JK Rowling, Harold Robbins, Jackie Collins, Dean Koontz or Stephen King. People don't seem to like success in writers and artists and performers or musicians. It seems like you have to be a struggling artist to have any credence. You aren't allowed to get rich. You only win the TV show X Factor if you have some "poor me" story to tell. Yet he also spent years struggling in low paid jobs before selling a story, so he wasn't "lucky", he was just very good at what he did.

ERB is not by any definition a great literary figure. what he does best is tell fun and entertaining escapist stories with larger then life over the top characters . I can read his Mars stories, stories Pelluidar , and Caprona and anything else he written very easily suspend my disbelief and enjoy them. His books and store inspired , writers artists movie makers and brought joy to millions over the decades and he still does. ERB and what he did , mattered.

 

[pogopossum]

When I was about 12-13 I lived in Vista California with my grandparents. I was already a SF reader compliments of my dad and siblings. But the closest to SF at the local library were the John Carter Burroughs novels. No Pellucidar or Venus series. Few Tarzans. Interestingly the Carters were very worn, repaired and to my memory seemed like first editions, which would make them 20 to 40 years old. Given that Vista was a rural distant outlyer of San Diego it is a possibility. My only other outlet was a very odd guy who lived down the road who heard that I liked SF from my grandfather. He has original numbered (and often signed) Fantasy Press eds. I remember getting EE Smith and Jack Williamson from him.

 

[JunkMonkey]

I think you really are being uncharitable, from what I've read, he once said that he wrote to see what he could get away with. He absolutely knew that it was pulp fiction, but people couldn't get enough of it, so he fed that demand. He gave people want they wanted. Was he at fault, or was his readers?

I can understand completely why other writers didn't like him. Rudyard Kipling thought Tarzan was a rip-off of his two Jungle Book stories, and it probably was, but reduced to some homage and yet it sold much more.

However, I see him, not so much as a brilliant author, but as a fabulous media businessman and marketeer. He had Tarzan in comics and books, Tarzan on the radio, Tarzan in endless movies. He was catering for every facet of society. He was doing what the multimedia studios of today do with franchises like Marvel comics, Terminator, Alien, Star Wars, Star Trek and Jurassic Park, but he was doing it 100 years ago!

He deserved his popularity through hard work. I'm not sure why people don't like successful writers (and artists too.) He was the best selling author in his day, but it's is the same today with JK Rowling, Harold Robbins, Jackie Collins, Dean Koontz or Stephen King. People don't seem to like success in writers and artists and performers or musicians. It seems like you have to be a struggling artist to have any credence. You aren't allowed to get rich. You only win the TV show X Factor if you have some "poor me" story to tell. Yet he also spent years struggling in low paid jobs before selling a story, so he wasn't "lucky", he was just very good at what he did.

He certainly was a mass market marketing phenomenon and I don't begrudge him his success. I consumed his books when I was a kid. Still have my Dad's copy of A Princess of Mars (as well as four other copies). But his books were very formulaic - as is usual for most pop culture.