The Lost World

By: Arthur Conan Doyle

Narrated by: John Richmond

The Lost World is a novel by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Released in 1912, it tells the story of an expedition to a plateau in the Amazon basin where prehistoric animals still survive. The character of Professor Challenger was introduced in this book. The novel also describes a war between Native Americans and a vicious tribe of ape-like creatures.

Scottish-born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930) was a major innovator in the field of crime fiction. His other works include science-fiction stories, historical novels, plays and romances, poetry, and non-fiction.

Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

Public Domain (P)2009 RNIB

Warm and Wild British Adventure

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a prolific writer of much more than Sherlock Holmes mysteries, was a friend of the explorer Percival Fawcett (see “The Lost City of Z”). Fawcett vanished on a South American expedition in 1925, having told Doyle of seeing “monstrous tracks of unknown origin” in Bolivia. Thus, the inspiration was probably set for a grand account of great adventure in a post-Victorian world.

It’s the first time I’ve ever heard the “p” pronounced in “pterodactyl.” But unlike Fawcett’s unspeakable miseries in multiple explorations of the Amazon Basin, this is a gentlemen’s yarn, ably narrated by John Richmond (1912-1992) in the most authentic of British intonations.

It would be the first of Doyle’s five stories featuring Professor Challenger, a pompous, abrasive, but unarguably brilliant scholar.

Fawcett had written in his memoirs that “monsters from the dawn of man’s existence might still roam these heights unchallenged, imprisoned and protected by unscalable cliffs.” Which is exactly as Professor Challenger finds them, and the many surprises that follow.

Not unlike a Sherlock Holmes enigma, there is an engaging story and character development among an ensemble cast, and the eventual moment when everything comes together and makes perfect sense, no matter how many dinosaurs and apes have been involved along the way. It is a kind of story constructed with great care and no small degree of cleverness, and makes for a highly enjoyable listen. Incidentally, the advisory about this being a “vintage recording” presents no problems at all.

Fun book, but characters are muddled

This is a fun book to listen to, but it was difficult at times to understand which character was supposed to be speaking. The narrator would sometimes stay in one character's voice throughout several lines of dialogue between several characters and it would take me a minute to realize that it wasn't just one character that was speaking. This made listening a little confusing. The book is fun though and it was mostly an enjoyable listen.

Re-reading

I first read this in the 60s in elementary school and it was one of my favorites. Reading it again as an adult I was stricken with the blatant racism and misogyny. I guess it has to be taken as “a product of the times” but from my current perspective it was cringe-worthy.

Charming and brisk

Written as if in dispatches from an intrepid reporter, which I imagine matched the serial installments for The Strand, where the story was first published in 1912. I was very glad I chose to listen to the vintage audiobook narrated by actor John Richmond, who was born in that same year. Whatever the recording’s faults by modern standards, they are more than made up for by hearing a voice so close in age to the source material. Little wrinkles in diction that have been lost to time are captured. Talk about a lost world!