Résumé
Résumé de Une princesse de Mars
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
For readers who love fast adventure, pulp storytelling, and the roots of modern science fiction and fantasy. It also suits anyone curious about where Mars stories began.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
A Princess of Mars is a planetary romance by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It first appeared as a magazine serial in 1912 under the title Under the Moons of Mars, and it came out as a book in 1917. It was the first of his tales of Barsoom, which is the name its people give to Mars. Burroughs wrote for popular magazines of his day, and this story set a pattern for science fiction adventure that later writers kept using.
The hero is John Carter, a Virginian who fought in the American Civil War and then went prospecting in Arizona. Through a strange event in a cave, he finds himself on Mars. There he meets four-armed warriors, a dying civilization, and a princess whose people live in great cities. You get a fast tale of swordplay, chases, and loyalty, told by a man who is out of his place and must learn the rules of a new world. Let us begin where Carter's trouble begins, in the Arizona hills.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A soldier of fortune leaves EarthFree
- 2Low gravity turns a man into a marvel
- 3The green Tharks take Carter captive
- 4Dejah Thoris arrives and the stakes grow
- 5Honor and loyalty weigh more than cruelty
- 6A pulp adventure told as a tall tale
Point clé 1 sur 6
A soldier of fortune leaves Earth
The story opens with a frame. The writer introduces John Carter as a family figure whose life seemed strange, and who left behind a manuscript describing his adventures. From there, Carter tells his own tale in the first person. He is a Confederate veteran, left without a cause or a fortune after the war, and he heads west to look for gold in Arizona.
He works with a partner, a fellow officer named Captain James K. Powell. The two men find rich ground, but the country around them is dangerous, and Apache fighters threaten them. Carter is a man of action, used to danger, and he reacts to the threat with the quick courage that marks him throughout the book.
The pursuit drives Carter into a cave in the hills. Something odd happens to him there. He feels a strange paralysis, he cannot move his body, and he seems to watch himself from outside. Then he finds himself somewhere else entirely.
He stands on a bare, red, rolling plain under a sky and two small moons that he has never seen. He knows at once, from the stars and the colors, that he is on Mars. The author gives no long scientific explanation. He simply drops a practical, brave man onto a new world and lets the reader watch how he copes. That choice moves the story quickly and sets its tone at once.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- John Carter
- A Virginian soldier and prospector transported to Mars, Carter becomes a captive among the Tharks and an ally to Dejah Thoris.
- Dejah Thoris
- A red Martian princess from Helium, Dejah Thoris is a fellow prisoner whom Carter befriends among the Tharks.
- Tars Tarkas
- A powerful green Martian warrior among the Tharks, Tars Tarkas treats Carter with unusual fairness.
- Sola
- A young Thark woman assigned to care for Carter, Sola offers kindness within a harsh warrior society.
- Woola
- A formidable Martian beast assigned to guard Carter, Woola becomes his loyal animal companion.
- Lorquas Ptomel
- The leader of the Thark group holding Carter captive, Lorquas Ptomel judges the stranger's strength and usefulness.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 68,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 4 h 30 min
- Listening time7 h 30 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages
Questions about Une princesse de Mars
What is A Princess of Mars about?
It tells of John Carter, a Civil War veteran who is carried from Arizona to Mars. There he meets warlike green Martians and a princess of Helium named Dejah Thoris, and he is drawn into the conflicts of the planet.
Who is Dejah Thoris?
She is a princess of the red Martian city of Helium. Proud and clever, she is captured by the green Tharks and becomes the woman Carter wants to protect, which shapes much of the story.
What are the Tharks in A Princess of Mars?
The Tharks are a people of green Martians. They are tall, tusked, and have four arms, and they live in wandering war bands. They lay eggs and raise their young in common, valuing strength above gentleness.
When was A Princess of Mars written?
Burroughs first published it as a magazine serial in 1912 under the title Under the Moons of Mars. It appeared as a book in 1917. It is fiction, based on early guesses about a dry, dying Mars.
Is A Princess of Mars worth reading today?
It is a quick, readable adventure with a clear place in the history of science fiction. The pace and invented world still hold up.