Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation — Reference Document
Edwin Lester Arnold | 1905 | Mars fiction | Direct precursor to Burroughs' Barsoom
Full Text: Available
| Source | Location | Notes |
|---|
| Project Gutenberg | ebook #604 | Plain text, HTML, EPUB, Kindle. PG title: Gulliver of Mars (Ace reprint title). Original title noted in file. |
| Local copy | /home/ari/dev/wget/arnold/pg604.txt | ~7,370 lines; full novel plus PG boilerplate. |
| LibriVox | Gulliver of Mars audiobook | Public domain read-aloud. |
Bibliographic
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Original title | Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation |
| Alternate titles | Gulliver of Mars (Ace 1964), Gullivar of Mars (Bison 2003) |
| Author | Edwin Lester Arnold (1857–1935) |
| Publisher | S.C. Brown, Langham & Co. (UK) |
| Publication date | 1905 |
| Pages | 301 (first ed.) |
| Genre | Fantasy, science fiction, planetary romance (pre–genre label) |
Author: Edwin Lester Arnold
- Birth/death: 1857–1935
- Father: Sir Edwin Arnold, poet/journalist, author of The Light of Asia (1879) — popularization of Buddha in the West
- Travel: Lived in Scandinavia, India, Ceylon; worked in coffee cultivation
- Other fiction: The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phoenician (1890), Lepidus the Centurion (1901)
- Buddhist themes: Rebirth, resurrection, reincarnation recur in his work
- Reception: Gullivar Jones was poorly received; Arnold largely stopped writing fiction afterwards. The novel became his best-known work posthumously.
Plot Summary (from Wikipedia / PG)
US Navy lieutenant Gullivar Jones, frustrated and broke in New York, finds a dying man who fell from a magic carpet. He takes the carpet home; wishing to be on Mars, he is transported there. He meets:
- Hither people — languid, aesthetic, devoted to pleasure; city of Seth, canals, ruined architecture
- Princess Heru — betrothed to Prince Hath; Jones rescues her, intervenes in a ritual
- Thither-folk — warlike race under King Ar-hap; take Heru as tribute
- River of the Dead — one-way waterway carrying corpses to falls; necropolis of frozen dead
- Queen Yang — ruined, haunted city; Jones takes a crown from her skeleton
Jones pursues Heru, completes tasks for Ar-hap (ice valley circlet, Yang’s crown), escapes with her during a heat catastrophe, returns her to Seth, then uses the carpet to go back to Earth. He marries Polly, records the journey as a fantastical narrative.
Mars-Related Content (Disclosure Lens)
Per mars-fiction-survey.md:
- Humans on Mars: Earth soldier transported to Mars; human-like Martians (Hither, Thither)
- Pre-Burroughs: 1905; predates A Princess of Mars (1912) by 7 years
- Possible influence on Burroughs: Richard A. Lupoff (Edgar Rice Burroughs: Master of Adventure, 1965) argues Arnold’s novel influenced Burroughs. Both use: veteran protagonist, magical/astral transport, Mars romance, princess rescue.
- Genre role: Important early planetary romance; bridges Wells/Lowell-era Mars fiction and pulp Barsoom.
Elements to Index (for paradigm-threat survey)
- Magic carpet transport (vs Burroughs’ astral projection)
- Hither vs Thither — two Martian peoples, different cultures
- River of the Dead, necropolis, frozen corpses
- Ritual with crystal globe; Earth visible in Martian sky
- Slave caste (yellow-robed); ruling aesthetic elite
- Dying/decadent civilization (ruins, Seth)
- Heat catastrophe at climax
Adaptations & Appearances
| Medium | Title | Year | Notes |
|---|
| Marvel Comics | Gullivar Jones, Warrior of Mars | 1972 | Creatures on the Loose #16–21; Roy Thomas, Gil Kane, Bill Everett; Jones as Vietnam veteran |
| Marvel | Monsters Unleashed | 1974 | #4, #8; Tony Isabella, David Cockrum, George Pérez |
| Alan Moore / Kevin O’Neill | League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. II | 1999 | Gullivar and John Carter appear together |
| Jean-Marc Lofficier | Edgar Allan Poe on Mars: The Further Memoirs of Gullivar Jones | 2007 | Steampunk sequel |
| Tales of the Shadowmen | "Three Men, a Martian and a Baby" | — | Gullivar meets Doctor Omega |
| Dynamite | Warriors of Mars | 2012 | Crossover with Barsoom; Heru as Dejah Thoris’s mother |
| — | Gullivar Jones and the Treasure of the Tsar | 2023 | Jones + MI2, Fountain of Youth plot |
Sources & Links
