Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Edgar Rice Burroughs

In Short

This work serves as a complete structural index to sixteen public-domain adventure novels and collections by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Across its contents, readers navigate through detailed chapter outlines tracking iconic heroes—from Tarzan of the Apes to John Carter of Mars—as they encounter alien civilizations, prehistoric beasts, subterranean empires, and high-seas treachery. The collection captures a landmark era of American popular fiction, preserving the structural architecture of serial adventure stories that shaped modern science fiction and fantasy tropes through their relentlessly paced cliffhangers, lost-world discoveries, and grand heroic arcs.

The Story

The volume opens with the foundational pulp adventure that established the Barsoom series, tracing John Carter's passage from the Arizona hills to the reddish plains of Mars. The narrative arc follows his initial capture by the giant, four-armed Green Men, his rapid mastery of the low-gravity environment, and his burgeoning romance with Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium. His quest expands across sequential volumes as he traverses the mysterious River Iss, confronts the deceptive cult of the Goddess Issus, and descends into the freezing northern strongholds of the Yellow Men to earn the ultimate title of Warlord of Mars.

Shifting back to Earth, the narrative focus transitions to Lord Greystoke's origins in the African wilderness. Starting with the tragic marooning of his parents and his upbringing among the Mangani apes, the outline tracks his development into Tarzan, King of the Apes. Subsequent sections document his initial encounters with Western civilization, his return to the jungle, and his continuous defense of his sanctuary against German forces, ivory raiders, and ancient cults. Parallel tracks introduce his son Korak and follow Tarzan's exploits deep into lost cities such as the gold-laden vaults of Opar and the hidden valley of Pal-ul-don, where prehistoric dinosaurs still roam.

The narrative scope broadens into subterranean worlds and forgotten lands. In At the Earth's Core and Pellucidar, inner-earth explorer David Innes burrows through the terrestrial crust to discover a sunless inner world ruled by telepathic reptile overlords named Mahars. Meanwhile, The Land That Time Forgot trilogy tracks the crew of a captured German submarine who navigate past impenetrable cliffs into Caspak, an isolated island where evolutionary biology operates in reverse, forcing humans and beasts to fight their way up the evolutionary ladder.

The remaining sections collect Burroughs's varied ventures into historical romance, urban noir, and science fiction. In The Mucker, Chicago street fighter Billy Byrne survives a Pacific shipwreck, head-hunters, and Mexican revolutions to undergo a grueling moral redemption. Historical intrigue takes center stage in The Outlaw of Torn, detailing a medieval rebel's campaign against the English crown. The index concludes with modern urban narratives like The Efficiency Expert, charting Jimmy Torrance's comedic and dramatic trials through Chicago's industrial underbelly, completing an expansive cross-section of early spec fiction.

How It Unfolds

The Martian arrival John Carter escapes hostiles in the Arizona hills only to awake on Mars, where he faces capture by Green Martians, masters alien warfare, and wins the love of Dejah Thoris.

The jungle origin An abandoned infant is raised by apes in the equatorial forest, learning the laws of the wild, uncovering his human heritage, and defending his domain against invaders.

The inner-world descent Explorers aboard a mechanical prospector drill through the Earth's crust to discover Pellucidar, a primeval subterranean realm dominated by flying reptilian Mahars.

The lost island landfall A lost submarine crew navigates an underground channel into Caspak, finding an environment where creatures evolve sequentially from primitive reptiles to advanced human tribes.

The urban redemption A rough Chicago street fighter is shanghaied, survives a brutal Pacific shipwreck, and fights through tropical islands and border conflicts to reform his life.

The People

John Carter An Earthman transported to Barsoom who seeks to protect the red planet and win the heart of Princess Dejah Thoris. He fights his way through hostile Green Martian tribes, false gods, and arctic tyrants, ultimately uniting rival Martian nations to become Warlord of Mars.

Tarzan of the Apes Born John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, he grows up among wild primates after his parents perish in Africa. He struggles constantly between the civilized world of his birthright and the untamed jungle, repeatedly returning to the wild to defend his home, his wife Jane, and native allies.

David Innes A young adventurer who drives an experimental iron mole into the Earth's interior, discovering the lost world of Pellucidar. He seeks to liberate human tribes from the telepathic Mahar reptilians, establish a unified empire, and earn the love of Dian the Beautiful.

Billy Byrne A cynical Chicago street brawler who relies purely on physical violence to survive the city slums. Shanghaied onto a pirate vessel, he endures shipwrecks, head-hunter attacks, and false murder charges, slowly developing a sense of honor, chivalry, and moral responsibility.

In Its Own Voice

"A Fair Captive from the Sky"

This chapter heading marks the dramatic arrival of Dejah Thoris, the Martian princess whose capture sets John Carter's grand inter-planetary saga into motion.

"Back to the Primitive"

This entry records Tarzan's repeated rejection of European high society in favor of the untamed African jungle where he reigns supreme.

"TOWARD THE ETERNAL FIRES"

This early chapter title describes David Innes's harrowing descent through the Earth's crust aboard the mechanical prospector before discovering the world of Pellucidar.

What It's Really About

Underneath its fast-paced action and cliffhanger structure, the work explores the tension between civilization and primal instinct. It repeatedly questions whether modern human refinement weakens the individual, suggesting that physical courage, moral honor, and survival instincts are forged through direct confrontation with wild environments. Across interplanetary deserts, subterranean jungles, and urban alleyways, the text tests whether noble character is innate or built through adversity.

Why Read It Today

This index offers a complete architectural view of early twentieth-century adventure literature. Readers who appreciate the history of pulp magazine fiction, speculative worldbuilding, and lost-world tropes will find immense value in seeing how these classic sagas were constructed and serialized. The structural layout captures the rapid pacing, episodic structure, and melodramatic narrative beats that defined an entire era of popular storytelling.

Reading through these chapter frameworks reveals the historical evolution of science fiction and fantasy conventions before they became modernized. While readers should expect period-typical melodramatic framing, traditional gender dynamics, and binary morality, the sheer scope of imagination remains striking. It serves as an essential companion for collectors, researchers, and devoted fans of classic pulp fiction who want to navigate Edgar Rice Burroughs's vast literary output.

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