An Analysis of The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle

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An Analysis of The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle

'TLW' was written in 1912 and was set in the author's present. This

novel falls under an adventure/exploration genre. Usually in an

adventure or an exploration novel the following takes place; the story

is usually set in the present, the story is driven by a quest, which

comes out of wanting to find evidence to support a theory, the hero is

established, and whilst the quest is also recognized, the hero faces a

series of challenges and eventually finds the evidence on the way to

becoming successful in what he is set to do. One thing which is usual

in this type of genre is a villain who is generally a person but in

this novel, the danger is posed by the extremities of nature such as

the cliffs, rocks, dinosaurs and even the natives.

'TLW' was first published serially in the Strand Magazine between

April and November of 1912 and in the Philadelphia Press Sunday

Magazine between March and July of 1912. This is the reason for each

chapter ending in a cliffhanger. It was first published in book form

by Hodder and Stoughton in October of 1912. Whilst writing this novel

Conan Doyle told his editor "my ambition is to do for the boy's book

what Sherlock Holmes did for the detective tale". In those days the

'boy's book' referred to a particular kind of fast-paced story

intended for younger readers. Inside the book that was published there

are hand drawn maps of White Maple Land.

In the novel there are places where Conan Doyle has used formal

language which can nowadays considered to be archaic. In the story all

the characters are called by their surnames. For example the phrase 'I

need ...

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...ssor

Challenger, Edward Malone, Mr Summerlee, and Lord John Roxton. First

of all Professor Challenger

'TLW' portrays the women in the novel as expected in the early

twentieth century

The Lost World the hero Edward Malone, known informally as Ned,

undertakes the exploration because he believes that if he shows heroic

qualities, the woman of his dreams, Gladys will fall in love with him.

This shows the naivety of his character that may represent the state

of all men when they are in love. This idea is supported when he and

the other men return from the midst of the Amazon and she has already

wed somebody else as shown when Conan Doyle writes; 'Gladys!' I cried.

'What is the matter? You are my Gladys, are you not- little Gladys

Hungerton?' 'No' said she, 'I am Gladys Potts, Let me introduce you to

my husband.'

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