The Poison Belt

by Arthur Conan Doyle, 1stworld Library (Editor)

Overview

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - It is imperative that now at once, while these stupendous events are still clear in my mind, I should set them down with that exactness of detail which time may blur. But even as I do so, I am over-whelmed by the wonder of the fact that it should be our little group of the "Lost World" - Professor Challenger, Professor Summerlee, Lord John Roxton, and myself - who have passed through this amazing experience. When, some years ago, I chronicled in the Daily Gazette our epoch-making journey in South America, I little thought that it should ever fall to my lot to tell an even stranger personal experience, one which is unique in all human annals and must stand out in the records of history as a great peak among the humble foothills which surround it. The event itself will always be marvellous, but the circumstances that we four were together at the time of this extraordinary episode came about in a most natural and, indeed, inevitable fashion. I will explain the events which led up to it as shortly and as clearly as I can, though I am well aware that the fuller the detail upon such a subject the more welcome it will be to the reader, for the public curiosity has been and still is insatiable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421808123
Publisher:	1st World Library
Publication date:	10/12/2005
Series:	Professor Challenger Series
Pages:	120
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

The creator of Sherlock Holmes, the world's most famous literary detective. Born in Scotland, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a practising doctor when he began to write tales of mystery and adventure. In addition to the Sherlock Holmes stories, Conan Doyle also wrote the Professor Challenger adventures, and his classic, The Lost World, is one of the original fantasy novels. Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was born in Edinburgh and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh's Medical School. Graduating in 1881, he set up practice as an occultist, but as patients proved elusive he turned to writing. An important influence upon his literary career was his professor, Dr Joseph Bell, who could observe the most minute detail regarding a patient's condition. This master of deduction became the model for Conan Doyle's legendary literary creation, the detective Sherlock Holmes, introduced in ‘A Study in Scarlet’ in 1887. Conan Doyle also espoused spiritualism and devoted considerable time and effort to a campaign of support for this cause. He also wrote successfully in genres other than detective fiction. His non-fiction includes military writing on the Boer War and pamphlets on spiritualism. It is known that he felt constricted at times by the popularity of Holmes, but it is nevertheless for Sherlock Holmes and his foil, the ponderous Dr Watson that he is best remembered. As Sherlock Holmes was the first detective to solve cases by deduction rather than due to an error by the criminal, Conan Doyle can be credited with creating the modern detective novel. He was knighted in 1902 for his support of the British cause in the Boer Wars. After the death of his son in the First World War, he devoted the rest of his life to spiritualism on which he wrote and lectured.

Date of Birth:

May 22, 1859

Date of Death:

July 7, 1930

Place of Birth:

Edinburgh, Scotland

Place of Death:

Crowborough, Sussex, England

Education:

Edinburgh University, B.M., 1881; M.D., 1885

Editorial Reviews

Here are two more volumes in the publisher's ongoing series of sf classics. Burroughs's Pirates was initially serialized in Argosy Weekly in 1932 and released in book form soon after. It features astronaut Carson Napier, who becomes stranded on Venus and finds himself swept into numerous adventures. The Poison Belt portrays Conan Doyle's other great creation, Professor Challenger. In this 1913 outing, the professor grapples with the problem of Earth's passing through a poisonous cloud, putting humankind's existence in jeopardy. Both books feature vintage illustrations. Great fun. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Conan Doyle may be best remembered for his Sherlock Holmes mysteries, but his works of science fiction are as brilliant and historically significant as they are under-rated. Along with contemporaries H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, he helped create the mold for modern science fiction.”

SFReader.com

In Doyle's short novel featuring Professor Challenger, the earth moves through a poisonous belt of the "ether"—the stuff supposedly filling space—and the protagonists of the first Challenger novel, THE LOST WORLD, reunite to observe what seems to be the end of all life. The book, though a classic of science fiction, is painfully dated in its science and in its casual racism, which only surfaces occasionally but is off-putting. But Glen McCready's genial reading helps. He supplies appropriate voices for the major characters, including the rumbling, bull-like Professor Challenger, his dainty wife, and the drawling Lord Roxton. Overall, McCready delivers the somewhat talky text with careful expressiveness, helping to bring it to life. It’s entertaining for those who can overlook the book's deficiencies. W.M. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2009 - AudioFile