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What if a kingdom’s greatest danger is its certainty that nothing can bring it down?
In The Lost Continent, C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne turns the Greek legend of Atlantis into an adventure of court intrigue, war and sorcery. Deucalion, a man of rank, tells what he sees from within this proud island realm. His account brings you close to its rulers and priests as forces gather against the world they know.
At the heart of the struggle lies a question: who should rule, and how? Kings, priests and nobles belong to an old order that ambition puts under strain. Around them stands a civilization confident in its wealth, its skill and its gods. Hyne explores how that confidence can become blindness, giving the clash over power a deeper sense of peril.
What you’ll discover
- Atlantis brought to life Enter a rich island realm where an ancient legend becomes a story of mounting danger.
- A witness within Follow Deucalion’s first-person account, close to the people and powers that shape his land.
- The struggle to rule Watch ambition test an old order of kings, priests and nobles.
- Pride under pressure Explore how faith in wealth and skill can hide the dangers facing a civilization.
- Intrigue, war and sorcery Find an adventure that brings court rivalry and sorcery into the legendary world of Atlantis.
Who will love it
Readers who love lost-world adventures, fierce battles, strange beasts and ancient empires will enjoy this novel. It also suits those drawn to a soldier and priest whose duty clashes with his love.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A hidden manuscript opens Atlantis
- Old duty meets new appetites
- The journey home becomes a battle
- Splendor hides a starving city
- Nais gives duty a human face
- Obedience threatens a growing love
- Duty can no longer be blind
- Every claim to power is failing
- People make the conflict matter
Who’s who
- DeucalionA stern priest-general who ruled Yucatan for twenty years and is recalled to Atlantis, where duty to his Clan and love for one woman pull him apart.
- PhoreniceA swineherd's daughter turned Empress, clever, vain and ruthless, who wants a husband equal to her and rules by invention and fear.
- NaisA rebel against all authority who tries to kill Deucalion and then becomes the one person he cannot stop thinking of.
- ZaemonAn old hermit priest with fearsome powers who speaks for the High Council and seeks to bring Phorenice down.
- TathoDeucalion's boyhood friend who takes over Yucatan, loves luxury, and chooses to serve Phorenice after losing a war to her.
- YlgaNais's twin and Phorenice's fan-girl, sharp-tongued and proud, who helps Deucalion even though she wants his heart for herself.
- TobA rough sea captain who fights beside Deucalion, longs to found a kingdom of his own, and is loyal in his own way.
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The Lost Continent
by C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne · 1899
A priest-general recalled from his colony meets an Empress on a mammoth and a girl in a tiger pit.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“The Empress can do no wrong”
In short
What would you do if a rope on a cliff in Grand Canary led you into a hidden cave, and a cupboard in its wall held layers of talc and wax covered in strange writing? That is how this book begins.
The Lost Continent at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 10 min4 h 55 min fast, 7 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 88,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1899by C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A cave in Grand Canary holds a lost history
The book opens in modern times. An unnamed Englishman and his friend Dr Coppinger explore cliff caves on Grand Canary, looking for mummies of the ancient Guanche people. Coppinger is a stout, eager scholar who cannot pass a cave without a look. The narrator goes down the last rope mostly to please him.
Inside one cave the walls are cut smooth. The narrator breaks open a sealed cupboard in a stone ledge. He finds layered sheets of talc coated with a dark wax and scratched with an unknown script. He hacks them out in one block and lowers it to Coppinger.
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Details
- First published
- 1899
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 10 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Hyne, C. J. Cutcliffe. The Lost Continent. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lost-continent-hyne.
Hyne, C. J. C. (2026). The lost continent. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lost-continent-hyne (Original work published 1899)
Hyne, C. J. Cutcliffe. The Lost Continent. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lost-continent-hyne.
@book{hyne2026lost,
author = {Hyne, C. J. Cutcliffe},
title = {The Lost Continent},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lost-continent-hyne},
note = {First published 1899}
}
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What is The Lost Continent by C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne about?
It is an adventure story about Deucalion, a priest and soldier recalled from the colony of Yucatan to serve Empress Phorenice in Atlantis. He faces sea battles, rebels, rival priests and a hard choice between duty and the woman he loves.
Is The Lost Continent a true story?
No. It is a novel, written in the early twentieth century, that uses the old legend of Atlantis. The English narrator claims to have found the manuscript in a cave in Grand Canary, but that frame is part of the fiction.
Who is Phorenice in The Lost Continent?
Phorenice is the Empress of Atlantis, a swineherd's daughter who rose through war and cunning. She is small, red-haired, brilliant and cruel, rules by invention and fear, and wants Deucalion as her husband.
The author
C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne
1866–1944 · English adventure novelist
C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne was the pen name of Charles John Cutcliffe Wright Hyne, a British novelist who lived in England from 1866 to 1944. He wrote adventure fiction, including stories featuring Captain Kettle. His novel The Lost Continent first appeared as a serial in Pearson’s Magazine in 1899.
“The Empress can do no wrong”
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