Izzy´s eBook Library - The Devil-tree of El Dorado: A Novel by Frank Aubrey

The Devil-tree of El Dorado: A Novel
Author: Frank Aubrey
Published: 1896
eBook creator: e.c.menting
eBook created: 2022-02-07
Keywords: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Lost Civilizations, South America -- fiction, Jungle Adventure -- fiction
Copyright: Public domain where copyright is “Life+90” or less, and in the USA.
Source: MobileRead

One of a loosely-linked trio of books about a “lost civilization” in South America, featuring the mysterious giant Monella. These are: the prequel, “A Queen of Atlantis” (1898); “The Devil-tree of El Dorado” (1896); and “King of Death” (1903).

A trio of adventurers explore the then-exotic and forbidding plateau of Roraima, to find the lost city of Manoa (El Dorado).

“Mt. Roraima [in South America] is believed to have inspired the setting for Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1912 classic “The Lost World,” where prehistoric creatures survived on a plateau. It certainly fits the bill. Defended by seemingly impenetrable 400-metre-high cliffs, the flat summit of Mt Roraima is home to many species found nowhere else on Earth. These endemic plants and animals have developed to be truly out of this world.”

(— from the Lonely Planet book “The World’s Great Wonders,” 2014).

Frank Aubrey beat Doyle to the punch by 15 years. This “lost world” novel is somewhat reminiscent of the style of Edgar Rice Burroughs (“Pellucidar,” etc.) or Robert E. Howard (“Conan,” etc.)