Editing Edgar Rice Burroughs

{{Short description|American writer (1875–1950)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:
Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name          = Edgar Rice Burroughs
| image         = E-R-Burroughs.jpg
| alt           = Edgar Rice Burroughs
| caption       =  <!-- in YYYY (need date at least) -->
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1875|9|1}}
| birth_place   = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], US
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1950|3|19|1875|9|1}}
| death_place   = [[Encino, California]], US
| resting_place = [[Tarzana, California]], US
| occupation    = Novelist
| period        = 1911–1950
| genre         = [[Adventure fiction|Adventure]], [[Fantasy fiction|fantasy]], [[Lost world (genre)|lost world]], [[sword and planet]], [[planetary romance]], [[soft science fiction]], [[Western (genre)|western]]
| notableworks  = {{plainlist|
* ''[[Tarzan (book series)|Tarzan]]'' series
* ''[[Barsoom]]'' series}}
| awards        = [[Inkpot Award]] (1975)<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot| title = Inkpot Award | website= comic-con.org| date = December 6, 2012| access-date = September 12, 2020| archive-date = January 29, 2017| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170129155249/http://www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot| url-status = live}}</ref>
| spouse        = Emma Centennia Hulbert (1900–1934) (divorced)<br />[[Florence Gilbert]] (1935–1941) (divorced)
| children      = 3, including [[John Coleman Burroughs]]
| relatives     = [[James Pierce]] (son-in-law)
{{Infobox military person
   |embed        = yes
   |embed_title  = Military service
   |allegiance   = United States
   |branch       = [[United States Army]]
   |serviceyears = {{hlist|1894–1897|1917–1919|1941–1945}}
   |unit         = {{Plain list|
* [[Michigan Military Academy]] (1894–95)
* [[7th Cavalry Regiment|B Troop, 7th Cavalry]] (1896–97)
* [[Illinois Reserve Militia|2nd Illinois Reserve Infantry]] (1917–19)
}}
   |rank         = {{hlist|[[Cadet]]|[[Trooper (rank)|Trooper]]|[[Major (rank)|Major]]|[[War correspondent]]}}
   |battles      =
[[American Indian Wars|Indian Wars]]
* [[Apache Wars]]
* [[Fort Grant, Arizona|Fort Grant]]
[[First World War]]
* [[United States home front during World War I|Home Defense]]
[[Second World War]]
* [[Pacific War]]
   |awards       =
  }}
| signature      = Edgar Rice Burroughs signature.svg
}}

'''Edgar Rice Burroughs''' (September 1, 1875&nbsp;– March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the [[adventure fiction|adventure]], [[science fiction]], and [[fantasy (genre)|fantasy]] [[genre fiction|genres]]. Best known for creating the characters [[Tarzan]] (who appeared in [[Tarzan (book series)|a series of twenty-four books]] by him) and [[John Carter of Mars|John Carter]] (who was a recurring character in [[Barsoom|a series of eleven books]]), he also wrote the ''[[Pellucidar]]'' series, the ''[[Amtor]]'' series, and the ''Caspak'' trilogy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Original Works < Edgar Rice Burroughs |url=https://www.edgarriceburroughs.com/original-works/ |access-date=December 26, 2023 |publisher=Edgar Rice Burroughs |language=en-US |archive-date=December 26, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231226200205/https://www.edgarriceburroughs.com/original-works/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Tarzan was immediately popular, and Burroughs capitalized on it in every possible way, including a syndicated Tarzan [[comic strip]], [[films]], and [[merchandise]]. Tarzan remains one of the most successful fictional characters to this day and is a [[cultural icon]]. Burroughs's California ranch is now the center of the [[Tarzana, Los Angeles|Tarzana neighborhood]] in [[Los Angeles]], named after the character.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tarzana and Tarzana Ranch, California |url=https://www.tarzana.ca/ |access-date=December 26, 2023 |website=tarzana.ca |archive-date=December 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223225753/https://www.tarzana.ca/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Burroughs was an explicit supporter of [[eugenics]] and [[scientific racism]] in both his fiction and nonfiction; Tarzan was meant to reflect these concepts.

==Biography==
===Early life and family===
Burroughs was born on September 1, 1875, in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]],{{efn|He later lived for many years in the Chicago suburb [[Oak Park, Illinois|Oak Park]].}} the fourth son of Major George Tyler Burroughs, a businessman and [[American Civil War|Civil War]] veteran, and his wife, Mary Evaline (Zieger) Burroughs. Edgar's middle name is from his paternal grandmother, Mary Coleman Rice Burroughs.<ref>{{cite book | year = 2010 | title = Descendants of Edmund Rice: The First Nine Generations | edition= CD}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.edmund-rice.org/era5gens/ |title= Edmund Rice Six-Generation Database Online |publisher= [[Edmund Rice (1638)]] Association |access-date= January 27, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110725005839/http://www.edmund-rice.org/era5gens/ |archive-date= July 25, 2011 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name= "Schneider 2004 296">{{cite book | last = Schneider | first = Jerry L | year = 2004 | title = The Ancestry of Edgar Rice Burroughs | publisher = Erbville Press | isbn = 978-1-4357-4972-6 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcBg6irPpVcC | format = Google Books |page= 296}}</ref>

Burroughs was of English and [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] ancestry, with a family line that had been in North America since the [[colonialist|Colonial]] era.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://globalfirstsandfacts.com/2017/08/16/edgar-rice-burroughs/|title=Edgar Rice Burroughs|date=August 16, 2017|access-date=March 12, 2018|archive-date=March 12, 2018 |website= globalfirstsandfacts.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180312083449/http://globalfirstsandfacts.com/2017/08/16/edgar-rice-burroughs/|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Through his Rice grandmother, Burroughs was descended from [[settler]] [[Edmund Rice (colonist)|Edmund Rice]], one of the English [[Puritan]]s who moved to [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] in the early 17th century. He once remarked: "I can trace my ancestry back to [[Deacon]] Edmund Rice."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burroughs |first=Edgar Rice |url=https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300191h.html |title=Escape on Venus |publisher=Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. |year=1946 |language=English |chapter=Chapter 6 |archive-date=March 17, 2025 |access-date=January 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250317133114/http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300191h.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Burroughs side of the family was also of English origin, having emigrated to Massachusetts around the same time. Many of his ancestors fought in the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]]. Some of his ancestors settled in Virginia during the colonial period, and Burroughs often emphasized his connection with that side of his family, seeing it as romantic and warlike.<ref name="Schneider 2004 296"/><ref name=":0">Taliaferro, John. ''Tarzan Forever: The Life of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Creator of Tarzan''. pp. 15, 27.</ref>

Burroughs was educated at a number of local schools then at  [[Phillips Academy]] in [[Andover, Massachusetts]], and then the [[Michigan Military Academy]]. He graduated in 1895, but he failed the entrance exam for the [[United States Military Academy]] at West Point, so instead he enlisted with the [[7th U.S. Cavalry]] in [[Fort Grant, Arizona|Fort Grant]], [[Arizona Territory]]. However, he was diagnosed with a heart problem and thus ineligible to serve, so he was discharged in 1897.<ref name = "slotkin">{{Cite book | last = Slotkin | first = Richard | author-link = Richard Slotkin | title = Gunfighter Nation | publisher = University of Oklahoma Press | page = 196 | isbn = 0-8061-3031-8| year = 1998}}</ref>

[[File:Bookplate of Edgar Rice Burroughs.jpg|thumb|Burroughs's [[bookplate]], showing Tarzan holding the planet Mars, surrounded by other characters from his stories and symbols relating to his personal interests and career.]]
[[File:Letter from Edgar Rice Burroughs to Ruthven Deane 1922.jpg|thumb|Typescript letter, with Tarzana Ranch letterhead, from Burroughs to [[Ruthven Deane]], explaining the design and significance of his [[bookplate]]]]
After his discharge, Burroughs worked at a number of different jobs. During the Chicago [[influenza]] epidemic of 1891, he spent half a year at his brother's ranch on the [[Raft River]] in [[Idaho]] as a [[cowboy]]. He drifted afterward, then worked at his father's Chicago battery factory in 1899. He married his childhood sweetheart, Emma Hulbert (1876–1944), in January 1900.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ERB Biography < Edgar Rice Burroughs |url=https://www.edgarriceburroughs.com/erb-biography/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Edgar Rice Burroughs |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1903, Burroughs joined his brothers, [[Yale]] graduates George and Harry, who were, by then, prominent Pocatello area ranchers in southern Idaho, and partners in the Sweetser-Burroughs Mining Company, where he took on managing their ill-fated [[Snake River]] [[gold dredge]], a classic bucket-line dredge. The Burroughs brothers were also the sixth cousins, once removed, of famed miner [[Kate Rice]] who, in 1914, became the first female prospector in the Canadian North. Journalist and publisher [[C. Allen Thorndike Rice]] was also his third cousin.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://edmund-rice.org/library/ERA_Entertainers.pdf | last= Rice | first= Michael A.| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924095805/http://edmund-rice.org/library/ERA_Entertainers.pdf | archive-date=September 24, 2015 | publisher= Edmund Rice (1638) Association, Inc.| title= Meet Some of Edmund Rice's Descendants: Notable Writers & Entertainers| page= 11| access-date= October 11, 2017}}</ref>

When the new mine proved unsuccessful, the brothers secured for Burroughs a position with the [[Oregon Short Line Railroad]] in Salt Lake City.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://offbeatoregon.com/1503b.edgar-rice-burroughs-in-oregon.html| last= John| first= Finn |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170804205616/http://offbeatoregon.com/1503b.edgar-rice-burroughs-in-oregon.html |archive-date=August 4, 2017 | website= Offbeat Oregon| title= Ill-starred gold-mining venture worked out well for Tarzan fans| date= March 8, 2015 | access-date= October 11, 2017}}</ref> Burroughs resigned from the railroad in October 1904.{{Sfn | Holtsmark | 1986 | pp = [https://archive.org/details/edgarriceburroug0000holt <!-- quote="Idaho and his father in Chicago". --> 3]–[https://archive.org/details/edgarriceburroug0000holt <!-- quote=Emma. --> 4]}}

===Later life===
By 1911, around age 36, after seven years of low wages as a pencil-sharpener wholesaler, Burroughs began to write fiction. By this time, Emma and he had two children, Joan (1908–1972), and Hulbert (1909–1991).{{Sfn | Holtsmark | 1986 | p = 5}} During this period, he had copious spare time and began reading [[pulp magazine|pulp-fiction magazines]]. In 1929, he recalled thinking that:

{{quote | "[...] if people were paid for writing rot such as I read in some of those magazines, that I could write stories just as rotten. As a matter of fact, although I had never written a story, I knew absolutely that I could write stories just as entertaining and probably a whole lot more so than any I chanced to read in those magazines."<ref>{{cite web |first=Edgar Rice |last=Burroughs |date=1929-10-27 |url=http://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0052.html |title=How I Wrote the Tarzan Stories |work=[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]], [[New York World]] (Sunday supplement) |publisher=ERBZine.com |access-date=September 4, 2010 |archive-date=September 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100904031424/http://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0052.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

In 1913, Burroughs and Emma had their third and last child, [[John Coleman Burroughs]] (1913–1979), later known for his illustrations of his father's books.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Obituaries / Danton Burroughs, 1944–2008; Tarzan Creator's Heir Protected the Legacy.|last=Nelson|first=V. J.|date=May 15, 2008|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest| }}}}</ref>

In the 1920s, Burroughs became a pilot, purchased a [[Security Airster S-1]], and encouraged his family to learn to fly.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=AOPA Pilot|date=May 2014|title=A Plane-Crazy America}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Joan Burroughs|url=http://www.erbzine.com/mag11/1104.html|access-date=February 14, 2015|archive-date=August 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150803022233/http://www.erbzine.com/mag11/1104.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Daughter Joan married ''Tarzan'' film actor [[James Pierce]]. She starred with her husband as the voice of ''Jane'', during 1932–1934 for the ''[[Tarzan (radio program)|Tarzan]]'' radio series.

Burroughs divorced Emma in 1934, and, in 1935, married the former actress [[Florence Gilbert]] Dearholt, who was the former wife of his friend (who was then himself remarrying), [[Ashton Dearholt]], with whom he had co-founded Burroughs-Tarzan Enterprises while filming ''The New Adventures of Tarzan''. Burroughs adopted the Dearholts' two children. He and Florence divorced in 1942.{{Sfn | Holtsmark | 1986 | pp = 12–13}}

Burroughs was in his late 60s and was in [[Honolulu]] at the time of the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Rising Sun|url=https://archive.org/details/risingsundecline00tola|url-access=registration|last=Toland|first=John|date=1970|publisher=Random House|isbn=0-8129-6858-1|edition=2003 Modern Library Paperback|page=220}}<!--|access-date=September 23, 2015 --></ref> Despite his age, he applied for and received permission to become a [[war correspondent]], becoming one of the oldest U.S. war correspondents during [[World War II]]. This period of his life is mentioned in [[William Brinkley]]'s bestselling novel ''[[Don't Go Near the Water (novel)|Don't Go Near the Water]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 19, 2024 |title=Edgar Rice Burroughs {{!}} Biography, Books, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edgar-Rice-Burroughs |access-date=March 1, 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=June 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624183641/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edgar-Rice-Burroughs |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Death===
After the war ended, Burroughs moved back to [[Encino, California]], where after many health problems, he died of a heart attack on March 19, 1950, having written almost 80 novels. He is buried in Tarzana, California, US.{{Sfn | Holtsmark | 1986 | pp = 13–15}}

At the time of his death he was believed to have been the writer who had made the most from films, earning over US$2&nbsp;million in royalties from 27 Tarzan pictures.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety177-1950-03#page/n198/mode/1up|title='Tarzan' Paid Off Big to Burroughs|page=7|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=March 22, 1950|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref>

The [[EMP Museum#Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame|Science Fiction Hall of Fame]] inducted Burroughs in 2003.<ref name = SFAwards/><ref name=sfhof-old />

==Literary career==
Aiming his work at the [[Pulp magazine|pulps]]—under the name "Norman Bean" to protect his reputation—Burroughs had his first story, ''[[Under the Moons of Mars]]'', [[Serial (literature)|serialized]] by [[Frank Munsey]] in the February to July 1912 issues of ''[[The All-Story]]''.<ref name=isfdb/><ref name="moonsofmars">"[https://www.erbzine.com/mag4/0419.html The Hillmans' Virtual Visit to The Nell Dismukes McWhorter Memorial Edgar Rice Burroughs Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730223509/https://www.erbzine.com/mag4/0419.html |date=July 30, 2020 }}" (with photographs). ''ERBzine'' 4(19).</ref><ref name="robinson">[[Frank M. Robinson|Robinson, Frank M.]] 2000. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130316102657/http://www.all-story.com/issues.cgi?action=show_story&story_id=69 The Story Behind the Original All-Story]." ''[[American Zoetrope]]'' 4(1). Archived from the [http://www.all-story.com/issues.cgi?action=show_story&story_id=69 original] on March 16, 2013. Retrieved April 8, 2013.</ref>{{efn|name=pseud |A poem by Burroughs was published on October 15, 1910, in the ''Chicago Tribune'' as "by Normal Bean", and two more were published in the ''Tribune'' in 1914 and 1915.<ref name = isfdb /> "Norman" was an ''All-Story'' typesetter's presumptive correction of "Normal".<ref name =robinson /> Burroughs used his own name for his other publications.<ref name= isfdb/>}} ''Under the Moons of Mars'' inaugurated the ''[[Barsoom]]'' series, introduced John Carter, and earned Burroughs US$400 ($11,922 today). It was first published as a book by [[A. C. McClurg]] of Chicago in 1917, entitled ''[[A Princess of Mars]]'', after three Barsoom sequels had appeared as serials and McClurg had published the first four serial [[Tarzan]] novels as books.<ref name=isfdb />

Burroughs soon took up writing full-time, and by the time the run of ''Under the Moons of Mars'' had finished, he had completed two novels, including ''[[Tarzan of the Apes]]'', published from October 1912 and one of his most successful series.{{fact|date=September 2023}}

Burroughs also wrote popular science fiction and fantasy stories involving adventurers from Earth transported to various planets (notably [[Barsoom]], Burroughs's fictional name for [[Mars]], and [[Venus series|Amtor]], his fictional name for [[Venus]]), lost islands ([[The Land That Time Forgot (novel)|Caspak]]), and into the interior of the [[Hollow Earth]] in his ''[[Pellucidar]]'' stories. He also wrote Westerns and historical romances. Besides those published in ''All-Story'', many of his stories were published in ''[[Argosy (magazine)|The Argosy]]'' magazine.{{fact|date=September 2023}}

[[Tarzan]] was a cultural sensation when introduced. Burroughs was determined to capitalize on Tarzan's popularity in every way possible. He planned to exploit Tarzan through several different media including a syndicated Tarzan [[comic strip]], movies, and merchandise. Experts in the field advised against this course of action, stating that the different media would just end up competing against each other. Burroughs went ahead, however, and proved the experts wrong – the public wanted Tarzan in whatever fashion he was offered. Tarzan remains one of the most successful fictional characters to this day and is a [[cultural icon]].{{fact|date=September 2023}}

In either 1915 or 1919, Burroughs purchased a large ranch north of Los Angeles, California, which he named "Tarzana". The citizens of the community that sprang up around the ranch voted to adopt that name when their community, [[Tarzana, Los Angeles|Tarzana, California]], was formed in 1927.<ref>{{Citation | publisher = NOAA | url = http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/research/divisions/sd/communityprofiles/California/Tarzana_CA.pdf | place = US | title = Tarzana Community Profile | access-date = July 4, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120204074346/http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/research/divisions/sd/communityprofiles/California/Tarzana_CA.pdf | archive-date = February 4, 2012 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}.</ref> Also, the unincorporated community of [[Tarzan, Texas]], was formally named in 1927 when the [[US Postal Service]] accepted the name,<ref name="holtsmark9-10">{{Harvnb | Holtsmark | 1986 | pp = 9–10}}.</ref> reputedly coming from the popularity of the first (silent) ''[[Tarzan of the Apes (1918 film)|Tarzan of the Apes]]'' film, starring [[Elmo Lincoln]], and an early "Tarzan" comic strip.{{fact|date=September 2023}}

In 1923, Burroughs set up his own company, [[Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.]], and began printing his own books through the 1930s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Celebrates a Century in Publishing |url=https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/edgar-rice-burroughs-inc-celebrates-century-publishing |access-date=January 23, 2024 |website=lapl.org |language=en |archive-date=January 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123145038/https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/edgar-rice-burroughs-inc-celebrates-century-publishing |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Reception==
Because of the part Burroughs's science fiction played in inspiring real exploration of Mars, [[Burroughs (crater)|an impact crater]] on Mars was named in his honor after his death.<ref name="sagan19780528">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/28/archives/growing-up-with.html |title=Growing up with Science Fiction |last=Sagan |first=Carl |date=May 28, 1978 |work=The New York Times |access-date=December 12, 2018 |page=SM7 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211180058/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/28/archives/growing-up-with.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In a ''[[Paris Review]]'' interview, [[Ray Bradbury]] said of Burroughs: {{quote|"Edgar Rice Burroughs never would have looked upon himself as a social mover and shaker with social obligations. But as it turns out – and I love to say it because it upsets everyone terribly – Burroughs is probably the most influential writer in the entire history of the world. By giving romance and adventure to a whole generation of boys, Burroughs caused them to go out and decide to become special."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/6012/ray-bradbury-the-art-of-fiction-no-203-ray-bradbury|title=Ray Bradbury, The Art of Fiction No. 203|first=Interviewed by Sam|last=Weller|date=2019-02-04|volume=Spring 2010|issue=192|magazine=theparisreview.org|access-date=February 4, 2019|archive-date=February 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217231105/https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/6012/ray-bradbury-the-art-of-fiction-no-203-ray-bradbury|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

In ''[[Something of Myself]]'' (published posthumously in 1937) [[Rudyard Kipling]] wrote: "My ''Jungle Books'' begat Zoos of <nowiki>[imitators]</nowiki>. But the genius of all the genii was one who wrote a series called ''Tarzan of the Apes''. I read it, but regret I never saw it on the films, where it rages most successfully. He had 'jazzed' the motif of the ''Jungle Books'' and, I imagine, had thoroughly enjoyed himself. He was reported to have said that he wanted to find out how bad a book he could write and 'get away with', which is a legitimate ambition."<ref>{{cite book|first=Rudyard|last=Kipling|title=Something of Myself|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.525263|year=1937|publisher=Macmillan & Co.|location=London|chapter=8: Working Tools}}</ref>

By 1963, [[Floyd C. Gale]] of ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]'' wrote when discussing reprints of several Burroughs novels by [[Ace Books]], "an entire generation has grown up inexplicably Burroughs-less". He stated that most of the author's books had been out of print for years and that only the "occasional laughable Tarzan film" reminded the public of his fiction.<ref name="gale196306">{{Cite magazine
 |last=Gale
 |first=Floyd C.
 |date=June 1963
 |title=Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf
 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v21n05_1963-06#page/n67/mode/1up
 |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction
 |pages=135–138
}}</ref> Gale reported his surprise that after two decades his books were again available, with [[Canaveral Press]], [[Dover Publications]], and [[Ballantine Books]] also reprinting them.<ref name="gale196310">{{Cite magazine
 |last=Gale
 |first=Floyd C.
 |date=October 1963
 |title=Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf
 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v22n01_1963-10#page/n59/mode/1up
 |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction
 |pages=119–123
}}</ref>

Few critical books have been written about Burroughs. From an academic standpoint, the most helpful are Erling Holtsmark's two books: ''Tarzan and Tradition''<ref>Holtsmark, Erling B. ''Tarzan and Tradition: Classical Myth in Popular Literature''. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1981.</ref> and ''Edgar Rice Burroughs'';<ref>Holtsmark, Erling B. ''Edgar Rice Burroughs''. Twayne's United States Author Series. Boston: Twayne, 1986.</ref> Stan Galloway's ''The Teenage Tarzan: A Literary Analysis of Edgar Rice Burroughs' ''Jungle Tales of Tarzan;<ref>Galloway, Stan. ''The Teenage Tarzan: A Literary Analysis of Edgar Rice Burroughs' ''Jungle Tales of Tarzan. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010.</ref> and Richard Lupoff's two books: ''Master of Adventure: Edgar Rice Burroughs''<ref name="auto">Lupoff, Richard. Master of Adventure: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2005.</ref> and ''Barsoom: Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Martian Vision''.<ref>Lupoff, Richard. ''Barsoom: Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Martian Vision.'' Baltimore: Mirage Press, 1976.</ref> Galloway was identified by [[James E. Gunn (writer)|James Edwin Gunn]] as "one of the half-dozen finest Burroughs scholars in the world";<ref>Gunn, James. Foreword. The Teenage Tarzan by Stan Galloway. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010. p. 3.</ref> Galloway called Holtsmark his "most important predecessor".<ref>Preface. p. 5.</ref>
{{Eugenics sidebar}}
Burroughs strongly supported [[eugenics]] and [[scientific racism]]. His views held that English nobles made up a particular heritable elite among [[Anglo-Saxons]]. [[Tarzan]] was meant to reflect this, with him being born to English nobles and then adopted by talking apes (the [[Mangani]]). They express eugenicist views themselves, but Tarzan is permitted to live despite being deemed "unfit" in comparison and grows up to surpass not only them but [[black Africans]], whom Burroughs clearly presents as inherently inferior. In one Tarzan story, he finds an ancient civilization where eugenics has been practiced for over 2,000 years, with the result that it is free of all crime. Criminal behavior is held to be entirely hereditary, with the solution having been to kill not only criminals but also their families. ''[[Lost on Venus]]'', a later novel, presents a similar [[utopia]] where forced sterilization is practiced and the "unfit" are killed. Burroughs explicitly supported such ideas in his unpublished nonfiction essay ''I See A New Race''. Additionally, his ''Pirate Blood'', which is not [[speculative fiction]] and remained unpublished after his death, portrayed the characters as victims of their hereditary criminal traits (one a descendant of the corsair [[Jean Lafitte]], another from the [[Jukes family]]).<ref>[https://meridian.allenpress.com/idd/article/39/3/221/8262/Disney-s-Tarzan-Edgar-Rice-Burroughs-Eugenics-and ''Disney's Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs' Eugenics, and Visions of Utopian Perfection''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912214315/https://meridian.allenpress.com/idd/article/39/3/221/8262/Disney-s-Tarzan-Edgar-Rice-Burroughs-Eugenics-and |date=September 12, 2020 }}, J. David Smith; Alison L. Mitchell
''Ment Retard (2001) 39 (3): 221–225''.</ref> These views have been compared with [[Nazi eugenics]] – though noting that they were popular and common at the time and that Burroughs expressed great contempt for Nazism and fascism<ref name="auto"/><ref>Harvey, Ryan. [http://www.blackgate.com/2011/09/13/edgar-rice-burroughs%e2%80%99s-venus-part-3-carson-of-venus/ "Edgar Rice Burroughs's Venus, Part 3: ''Carson of Venus''".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920064657/https://www.blackgate.com/2011/09/13/edgar-rice-burroughs%E2%80%99s-venus-part-3-carson-of-venus/ |date=September 20, 2020 }} ''Black Gate''</ref> – with his ''[[Lost on Venus]]'' being released the same year the Nazis took power (in 1933).<ref>[https://www.blackgate.com/2011/08/30/edgar-rice-burroughs%E2%80%99s-venus-part-2-lost-on-venus/ ''Edgar Rice Burroughs's Venus, Part 2: Lost on Venus''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912222156/https://www.blackgate.com/2011/08/30/edgar-rice-burroughs%E2%80%99s-venus-part-2-lost-on-venus/ |date=September 12, 2020 }}, by Ryan Harvey, August 30, 2011, ''Black Gate Magazine''.</ref>

In 2003, Burroughs was inducted into the [[Museum of Pop Culture#Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame|Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfadb.com/Science_Fiction_Hall_of_Fame|title=Science Fiction Hall of Fame – Winners by Year|website=SFADB|access-date=December 6, 2022|archive-date=August 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803153518/http://www.sfadb.com/Science_Fiction_Hall_of_Fame|url-status=live}}</ref>

As of 2025, there exists a significant special collection of Edgar Rice Burroughs' various works at the [[Oak Park Public Library]]. Consisting of many rare books of his Tarzan, Mucker, Barsoom, Pellucidar, Venus, Caspak, and Moon series, the collection was developed due to Burroughs' own connection to the city, being where he wrote several of his first works, those being the Tarzan and Marian stories. Beyond the rare editions, the collection also holds a number of newspaper clippings, ephemera, correspondence between Burroughs and others, as well as various old Tarzan films. Much of the initial collection was gathered during a block party held in 1975 by a group called CHEETAH (Citizens Holding Exercises Extolling Tarzan's Anniversary Here) and compiled by Florence Moyer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Special Collections |url=https://www.oppl.org/read-listen-watch/special-collections/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Oak Park Public Library |language=en-US |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113092320/https://www.oppl.org/read-listen-watch/special-collections/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Selected works==
{{Main |Edgar Rice Burroughs bibliography}}

===''Barsoom'' series (aka Martian series)===
{{Main |Barsoom}}
# ''[[A Princess of Mars]]'' (1912)
# ''[[The Gods of Mars]]'' (1913)
# ''[[The Warlord of Mars]]'' (1914)
# ''[[Thuvia, Maid of Mars]]'' (1916)
# ''[[The Chessmen of Mars]]'' (1922)
# ''[[The Master Mind of Mars]]'' (1927)
# ''[[A Fighting Man of Mars]]'' (1930)
# ''[[Swords of Mars]]'' (1934)
# ''[[Synthetic Men of Mars]]'' (1939)
# ''[[Llana of Gathol]]'' (1941)
# ''[[John Carter of Mars (collection)|John Carter of Mars]]'' (1964, two stories from 1940 and 1943)

===''Tarzan'' series===
{{Main |Tarzan}}
# ''[[Tarzan of the Apes]]'' (1912)
# ''[[The Return of Tarzan]]'' (1913)
# ''[[The Beasts of Tarzan]]'' (1914)
# ''[[The Son of Tarzan]]'' (1915)
# ''[[Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar]]'' (1916)
# ''[[Jungle Tales of Tarzan]]'' (stories 1916–1917)
# ''[[Tarzan the Untamed]]'' (1919)
# ''[[Tarzan the Terrible]]'' (1921)
# ''[[Tarzan and the Golden Lion]]'' (1922)
# ''[[Tarzan and the Ant Men]]'' (1924)
# ''[[Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (novel)|Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle]]'' (1927)
# ''[[Tarzan and the Lost Empire]]'' (1928)
# ''[[Tarzan at the Earth's Core]]'' (1929)
# ''[[Tarzan the Invincible]]'' (1930)
# ''[[Tarzan Triumphant]]'' (1931)
# ''[[Tarzan and the City of Gold]]'' (1932)
# ''[[Tarzan and the Lion Man]]'' (1933)
# ''[[Tarzan and the Leopard Men]]'' (1932)
# ''[[Tarzan's Quest]]'' (1935)
# ''[[Tarzan the Magnificent (novel)|Tarzan the Magnificent]]'' (1936)
# ''[[Tarzan and the Forbidden City]]'' (1938)
# ''[[Tarzan and the Foreign Legion]]'' (1947, written in 1944)
# ''[[Tarzan and the Tarzan Twins]]'' (1963, collects 1927 and 1936 children's books)
# ''[[Tarzan and the Madman]]'' (1964, written in 1940)
# ''[[Tarzan and the Castaways]]'' (1965, stories from 1940 to 1941)
# ''[[Tarzan: The Lost Adventure]]'' (1995, rewritten version of 1946 fragment, completed by [[Joe R. Lansdale]])

===''Pellucidar'' series===
{{Main |Pellucidar}}
# ''[[At the Earth's Core (novel)|At the Earth's Core]]'' (1914)
# ''[[Pellucidar (novel)|Pellucidar]]'' (1915)
# ''[[Tanar of Pellucidar]]'' (1929)
# ''[[Tarzan at the Earth's Core]]'' (1929)
# ''[[Back to the Stone Age]]'' (1937)
# ''[[Land of Terror]]'' (1944, written in 1939)
# ''[[Savage Pellucidar]]'' (1963, stories from 1942)

===''Venus'' series===
{{Main |Venus series}}
# ''[[Pirates of Venus]]'' (1932)
# ''[[Lost on Venus]]'' (1933)
# ''[[Carson of Venus]]'' (1938)
# ''[[Escape on Venus]]'' (1946, stories from 1941 to 1942)
# ''[[The Wizard of Venus]]'' (1970, written in 1941)

===''Caspak'' series===
# ''[[The Land That Time Forgot (novel)|The Land That Time Forgot]]'' (1918)
# ''[[The People That Time Forgot (novel)|The People That Time Forgot]]'' (1918)
# ''[[Out of Time's Abyss]]'' (1918)

===''Moon'' series===
* ''Part I: The Moon Maid'' (1923, serialized in ''Argosy'', May 5 – June 2, 1923)
* ''Part II: The Moon Men'' (1925, serialized in ''Argosy'', February 21 – March 14, 1925)
* ''Part III: The Red Hawk'' (1925 serialized in ''Argosy'', September 5–19, 1925)
These three texts have been published by various houses in one or two volumes. Adding to the confusion, some editions have the original (significantly longer) introduction to Part I from the first publication as a magazine serial, and others have the shorter version from the first book publication, which included all three parts under the title ''[[The Moon Maid]]''.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.erbzine.com/mag7/0767.html | title = ERBzine | access-date = November 15, 2007 | archive-date = August 22, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070822043321/http://www.erbzine.com/mag7/0767.html | url-status = live }}.</ref>

===''Mucker'' series===
* ''[[The Mucker (novel)|The Mucker]]'' (1914)
* ''[[The Return of the Mucker]]'' (1916)
* ''[[The Oakdale Affair]]'' (1918)

===Other science fiction===
* ''[[The Monster Men]]'' (1913)
* ''[[Beyond Thirty|The Lost Continent]]'' (1916; a.k.a. ''Beyond Thirty'')
* ''[[The Resurrection of Jimber-Jaw]]'' (1937)
* ''[[Beyond the Farthest Star (novel)|Beyond the Farthest Star]]'' (1942)

===Jungle adventure novels===
* ''[[The Cave Girl]]'' (1913, revised 1917)
* ''[[The Eternal Lover]]'' (1914, rev. 1915; A.K.A. ''The Eternal Savage'')
* ''[[The Man-Eater]]'' (1915)
* ''[[The Lad and the Lion]]'' (1917)
* ''[[Jungle Girl (novel)|Jungle Girl]]'' (1931; A.K.A. ''The Land of Hidden Men'')

===Western novels===
* ''[[The Bandit of Hell's Bend]]'' (1924)
* ''[[The War Chief (novel)|The War Chief]]'' (1927)
* ''[[Apache Devil]]'' (1933)
* ''[[The Deputy Sheriff of Comanche County]]'' (1940)

===Historical novels===
* ''[[The Outlaw of Torn]]'' (1914)
* ''[[I am a Barbarian]]'' (1967; written in 1941)

===Other works===
* ''[[Minidoka: 937th Earl of One Mile Series M]]'' (1998; written in 1903)
* ''[[The Mad King]]'' (1914, rev. 1915)
* {{ill|The Girl from Farris's|qid=Q19088302|short=yes|italic=yes}} (1916) {{wikisource-inline|The Girl from Farris's|''The Girl from Farris's''|single=true}}
* ''[[The Rider (novel)|The Rider]]'' (1918)
* ''[[The Efficiency Expert (novel)|The Efficiency Expert]]'' (1921)
* ''[[The Girl from Hollywood]]'' (1922)
* ''[[Marcia of the Doorstep]]'' (1924)
* ''[[You Lucky Girl!]]'' (1927)
* ''[[Pirate Blood]]'' (1970; written in 1932)
* ''[[Forgotten Tales of Love and Murder]]'' (2001; stories from 1910 to 1944)
* ''[[Brother Men]]'' (2005; nonfiction)

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography |Speculative fiction }}
* [[Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.]]
* [[Mars in fiction]]
* [[Otis Adelbert Kline]]
* [[Sword and planet]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist |refs =
<ref name=isfdb>{{isfdb name |143}} (ISFDB). Retrieved April 8, 2013.</ref>

<!-- awards refs -->
<ref name=SFAwards>[http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit20.html#711 "Burroughs, Edgar Rice"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016201850/http://locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit20.html#711 |date=October 16, 2012 }}. ''The Locus Index to SF Awards: Index of Literary Nominees''. [[Locus Publications]]. Retrieved April 8, 2013.</ref>
<ref name=sfhof-old>{{Citation|url=http://www.midamericon.org/halloffame/ |title=Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame |publisher=Mid American Science Fiction and Fantasy Conventions |access-date=March 22, 2013 |type=official website of the hall of fame to 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521070009/http://www.midamericon.org/halloffame/ |archive-date=May 21, 2013 }}.</ref>}}

===Bibliography===
* {{Citation | last = Holtsmark | first = Erling B. | title = Edgar Rice Burroughs | publisher = Twain | location = Boston | year = 1986 | isbn = 0-8057-7459-9 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/edgarriceburroug0000holt }}
* {{Citation | last = Spence| first = Clark C. | title = History of Gold Dredging in Idaho | publisher = University Press of Colorado | location = Boulder | year = 2015 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gqh_DAAAQBAJ&q=Sweetser-Burroughs+Mining+Company&pg=PA330 | isbn = 978-1-60732-474-4}}
* {{Citation | last = Porges| first = Irwin| title = Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Man Who Created Tarzan | publisher = Brigham Young University Press |location = Salt Lake City | year = 1975 }}

==Further reading==
* ''[[Master of Adventure: The Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'' by [[Richard A. Lupoff]]
* ''Tarzan Forever: The Life of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Creator of Tarzan'' by John Taliaferro
* ''Golden Anniversary Bibliography of Edgar Rice Burroughs'' by [[Henry Hardy Heins|the Rev. Henry Hardy Heins]]
* ''[[Tarzan Alive]]'' by [[Philip Jose Farmer]]
* ''Burroughs's Science Fiction'' by Robert R. Kudlay and Joan Leiby
* ''Tarzan and Tradition'' and ''Edgar Rice Burroughs'' by Erling B. Holtsmark
* ''Edgar Rice Burroughs'' by Irwin Porges
* ''Edgar Rice Burroughs'' by Robert B. Zeuschner
* ''The Burroughs Cyclopædia'' ed. by Clark A. Brady
* ''A Guide to Barsoom'' by John Flint Roy
* ''Tarzan: the Centennial Celebration'' by [[Scott Tracy Griffin]]
* ''Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Descriptive Bibliography of the Grosset & Dunlap Reprints'' by B.J. Lukes

==External links==
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/edgar-rice-burroughs}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=48}}
** [http://gutenberg.net.au/plusfifty-a-m.html#burroughs Works by Edgar Rice Burroughs] at [http://gutenberg.net.au Project Gutenberg Australia]
* {{FadedPage|id=Burroughs, Edgar Rice|name=Edgar Rice Burroughs|author=yes}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Edgar Rice Burroughs}}
* {{LCAuth|n80039681|Edgar Rice Burroughs|347|}}
* {{Librivox author |id=698}}
* [https://www.ERBzine.com/chaser ERB C.H.A.S.E.R Directory] Complete Edgar Rice Burroughs Illustrated Bibliography by Bill Hillman's ERBzine.com
{{sister project links|author=yes|wikt=no|n=no|b=no|v=no|d=Q148234}}
* {{official website |http://www.edgarriceburroughs.com/|name=Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.}} (official website)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/19991003234114/http://www.scifan.com/writers/bb/BurroughsEdgar.asp Bibliography] on SciFan
* {{isfdb name|143}}
* [https://wikilivres.org/wiki/Edgar_Rice_Burroughs Works by Edgar Rice Burroughs]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
* [https://www.sites.google.com/site/erburroughsuk1steditions/home / 1st UK editions list with pictures of the books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223153700/https://www.sites.google.com/site/erburroughsuk1steditions/home |date=February 23, 2022 }}
* {{sfhof |1061 |Edgar Rice Burroughs}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130628105429/http://marsbooks.libsyn.com/ The Fantastic Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs] (podcasts)
* [http://www.ERBzine.com/ ERBzine.com]
* [https://www.sites.google.com/view/edgarriceburroughsukpaperbacks/home Edgar Rice Burroughs UK Paperbacks] list of UK 1st edition paperbacks

{{Burroughs (books)|state=expanded}}
{{Tarzan}}
{{Barsoom}}
{{Caspak trilogy}}
{{Inkpot Award 1970s}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burroughs, Edgar Rice}}
[[Category:Edgar Rice Burroughs| ]]
[[Category:1875 births]]
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[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
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