It is interesting to imagine what would have happened if dinosaurs had not become extinct, but still lived in some part of the Earth. Surely, this would arouse the interest of all scientists. The reader has a good opportunity to travel to such a place with the help of Arthur Conan Doyle's book The Lost World. The novel was released about a century ago, but remains a popular adventure work and has been filmed more than once. Events quickly replace one another, the writer does not stop at reasoning, the heroes find themselves in dangerous situations, you worry about them and do not notice how you flip through page after page. This book is the first in a series about Challenger's adventures.

The novel tells the story of a unique British expedition to the uncharted lands of America. Professor Challenger found the notes of a deceased scientist, which told about the lost world. Civilization did not get there, and therefore dinosaurs, humanoid apes and primitive people still live there. Using the found diary, the professor went to that place, but as proof he was able to get only the wing of a lizard and take a few photographs. This was too little to prove to the scientific community the existence of a lost world.

The aspiring journalist Edward Malone wants to win the heart of his beloved, and therefore asks the publisher for a more difficult task to impress the girl. Then he is sent to interview the taciturn and strange Professor Challenger. The journalist manages to find a common language with the professor, and later he goes with him on a scientific expedition in search of the lost world. Also with them goes the skeptic scientist Summerlee and the traveler Roxton. What awaits them in uncharted lands? What dangers do they pose in themselves?

The work belongs to the genre of Science Fiction. It was published in 1912 by the White City Publishing House. The book is part of the "Professor Challenger" series. On our site you can download the book "The Lost World" in fb2, rtf, epub, pdf, txt format or read online. The rating of the book is 4.45 out of 5. Here you can also refer to the reviews of readers who are already familiar with the book and find out their opinions before reading. In the online store of our partner, you can buy and read a book in paper form.

Very briefly A young journalist as part of a research expedition finds himself in a mysterious Lost World inhabited by dinosaurs and warring tribes of Indians and ape.

A young Irishman, Edward Dan Malone, of the London Daily Gazette, is in love with the charming Gladys Hungerton. He tries to confess his love to her, but she stops this attempt. The girl dreams of being a wife, a faithful companion and like-minded person of the famous hero, so that the reflection of his glory falls on her. Gladys declares that he will give his hand and heart only to such a man.

Determined to accomplish an outstanding feat, Malone goes to the editor of the "Breaking News" section with a request to give him an assignment involving "adventures and dangers." After thinking, the editor offers Malone to expose one "charlatan, modern Munchausen" and sends the journalist to Professor George Edward Challenger. Some time ago, a professor brought back evidence from South America confirming that prehistoric animals still exist. The scientific community found this evidence to be falsified, which angered Challenger terribly. Since then, the professor fiercely attacks anyone who crosses the threshold of his house. Challenger especially hates journalists.

Introducing himself as a novice naturalist, Malone sends the professor a letter from the address of the magazine "Nature", in which he asks for a meeting. Soon a return letter arrives with an invitation, and Malone goes to Challenger. The professor, a small man with very powerful shoulders, a stately posture, a huge head, a low, booming voice and a square blue-black beard, very quickly exposes an imaginary naturalist. There is a fight between him and Malone. The case reaches the police, but the journalist refuses to bring charges against Challenger. Seeing in the journalist's behavior "some signs of decency," the professor changes his anger for mercy and shows the evidence he brought from the Amazon.

Traveling along the tributaries of the Amazon, Challenger ended up in the village of the Cucamas Indians, where a white man, the American artist Mapple White, had just died. Among his belongings, the professor found an album with images of an unusual plateau and a dinosaur, as if drawn from life. With the help of the Indians, Challenger found this plateau. He could not climb the steep cliffs, but he photographed a pterodactyl sitting on a tree, and brought with him a part of his wing and a huge dinosaur bone. Unfortunately, on the way home, Challenger's boat capsized, the pictures were hopelessly damaged, and the bones were deemed a hoax. According to the professor, this isolated plateau arose due to volcanic activity many millennia ago, during the Jurassic period, so prehistoric animals live there to this day.

Having finally convinced Malone of his discovery, Challenger invites him to a lecture at the Zoological Institute, which he intends to attend himself. At a lecture on the origin of terrestrial fauna, the professor questions the lecturer's words that prehistoric animals have become extinct long ago. Then Challenger offers to check the validity of his words and send a new expedition to the Amazon. Summerlee's comparative anatomy professor, "a tall, bilious old man," is invited to participate. He demands from Challenger the coordinates of the mysterious plateau, but the professor wants younger people to join the expedition, since "the journey will be fraught with many difficulties and dangers." Realizing that he has a chance to become a hero and win the heart of Gladys, Malone jumps up, but he is ahead of the tall, reddish Lord John Roxton, a famous sportsman, traveler and hunter. Challenger takes both on the expedition.

After the lecture, Roxton invites Malone to his place to get to know him better. He gives the journalist a good rifle and says that he has already been to South America... The lord fought with the Peruvian slave traders, protecting the local peasants, for which he received the nickname "The Scourge of God".

Committed to sending regular travel reports to the newspaper, Malone sets out. The travelers see Professor Challenger only at the pier, before leaving the steamer, where he gives them an envelope with coordinates, and demands to open it upon arrival in the city of Manaos on the Amazon, at a certain day and hour. From this point on, the narrative takes the form of the reports of Edward Malone.

Changing the ocean steamer to a river one, the expedition reaches the city of Manaos in the upper reaches of the Amazon. Despite his age, Professor Summerlee turns out to be a very hardy traveler. He is sure “that Challenger is a charlatan pure water". Lord John, in turn, believes in the expediency of the expedition and enjoys the journey through his beloved Amazon. While waiting for the deadline set by Challenger, the travelers hire servants-carriers: the giant Negro Sambo, two mestizos and three Bolivian Indians. One of the mestizos, Gomez, speaks English. It was he who Sambo once found eavesdropping on travelers' conversations.

Finally, it is time to open Challenger's letter, but only a blank sheet of paper appears in the envelope, which, according to Summerlee, confirmed the deception. At this time, on the threshold of the hacienda, where the travelers stopped, the professor himself appears. In this original way, Challenger joins and leads the expedition.

After making a three-day trip by steam boat up the Amazon, the travelers disembark at an Indian village. Challenger takes from the expedition members a promise to keep secret the geographical coordinates of the place where they are going. The professor hires two Indian canoes, in which the expedition is sent up the tributary of the Amazon, accompanied by the rumble of native drums: this means that the travelers have entered the forbidden territory. All this time, the professors argue about any reason and behave like big children.

Finally, Challenger leads the satellites into a reedy channel. Three days later, the channel becomes shallow, and the travelers go on foot. Ten days later, having overcome the bog, mountains and endless bamboo thickets, the expedition sets up camp at the foot of the red cliffs of the plateau, captured in the Maple White album. Not far from the plateau, a lonely cliff rises, on which Challenger saw a pterodactyl. In the morning, the companions decide to go around the plateau in order to find the path along which the artist overcame the inaccessible rocks.

On the way, they stumble upon an abandoned camp and find the landmarks with which Maple White marked their journey. In the dense thickets of bamboo, travelers find the skeleton of a white man, who was thrown from the top of the plateau by someone. Judging by the remains of personal belongings, this is an American, an artist's companion, about whom Challenger had heard. Maple White landmarks lead to the cave. Once there was a passage from the cave to the plateau, but now it is littered with stones. Disappointed travelers leave the cave and are attacked by stones. That same evening, a monster attacked their camp, in which the astonished Summerlee recognizes a pterodactyl. The scientist solemnly apologizes to his colleague.

After six days, the friends finish bypassing the mountain ridge, never finding a place convenient for climbing. After a little reflection, Challenger finds a way out. He climbs a cliff that rises flush with the plateau. A mighty beech grows on the edge of the cliff. The travelers chop it down with an ax, and the tree falls across the abyss, forming a bridge. As soon as the four travelers cross to the plateau, the mestizo Gomez throws a tree into a hit - so he avenges his brother, the slave owner, who was killed by Lord John. Gomez rejoices in revenge for a short time - Lord John removes him with a well-aimed shot. The second half-breed is killed by the faithful Sambo, and the frightened Indians scatter. Then the Negro climbs the cliff and sends food and equipment to his friends, while he himself remains in the camp at the foot of the rocks. Travelers find themselves prisoners of an impregnable plateau.

They camp under a huge gingko tree, surround it with thorny branches, and name the plateau after its discoverer, the artist Mapple White. In the morning, the friends begin to explore the surroundings of the camp and soon stumble upon a family of iguanodons. After passing through a dense forest, they find a deep depression, and in it - a colony of pterodactyls. Professor Challenger inadvertently gets their attention, and the fetid critters attack the researchers. Lord John has to shoot a gun, but the pterodactyls still manage to injure three travelers. Returning to the camp pretty shabby, they discover that someone has been here. An unknown creature entered the fence, descending from a gingko tree, and made a mess in the camp.

Pterodactyl bites are poisonous. Friends spend the whole day at the camp, and Malone thinks that they are being watched. Lord John does not stop thinking about the blue clay that he noticed in the nest of flying creatures. At night, a monster resembling a giant toad with huge fangs will attack the camp. Armed with a burning torch, Lord John drives the monster away from the fence. He does not want to shoot - he is afraid to attract someone more dangerous by noise. From this moment on, travelers do not go to bed without protection. In the morning, it turns out that the predatory dinosaur that attacked them tore up the iguanodon. Examining the remains, the researchers notice an incomprehensible blotch of gray asphalt on the skin. Travelers notice the same patches on other iguanodons.

In the afternoon, Summerlee raises the question of returning to England, but Challenger refuses to return home without a map of Maple White Country. It may take many months to explore the plateau, but Malone finds a solution. He climbs the gingko tree, one of the highest on the plateau. Climbing to the top of the tree, the journalist stumbles upon a creature with an almost human face, which is rapidly running away. From the top of Malone you can see almost the whole Country with a large lake in the center. Beyond the lake is a ridge of reddish rocks with holes in caves. The journalist sketches the map. The professors let the boy name the lake, and Malone calls it "Lake Gladys."

Excited by the success, Malone cannot sleep. He decides to go down to the lake on his own and explore the ridge with caves. Once in the night forest, the journalist is frightened, but goes forward out of sheer stubbornness. Reaching the lake, Malone discovers that the entrances to the caves are lit by bonfires, "which could only be kindled by a human hand." By the lake, the young man sees many unusual creatures, including a dinosaur drawn by Mapple White. On the way back, the journalist is chased by a toad-like monster. Running away from the predator, he falls into a trap pit, obviously dug by a man. Having hardly got out of the pit, Malone heads to the camp and suddenly hears a shot. He thinks his friends are looking for him, but when he gets there, he finds the camp ruined and empty.

Rushing to the edge of the plateau, Malone sees that one of the Indians has returned, and asks the faithful Sambo to send him for help to the nearest native village. For the rest of the day, Malone unsuccessfully searches for missing friends, and then settles down for the night in an empty camp. In the early morning he is awakened by Lord John, all scratched up, in torn clothes. He grabs weapons, provisions and leads Malone away from the camp, into the dense and thorny thickets. Hiding, Lord John says that the ape-men attacked the camp and wanted to kill them, but, fortunately, Professor Challenger turned out to be surprisingly similar to the leader of the ape-man tribe. The leader mistook the professor for relatives, and the rest of the animals tied up and dragged away to their village. Soon, several short Indians were brought there. The ape-men took them to a platform near the cliff and threw them down one by one. Apparently this was their usual ritual. Professor Challenger was free to move around the village. He loosened the shackles of Lord Roxton, and he managed to escape. Lord John fears that the ape-men will sacrifice Summerlee as well.

Malone and Lord John are in time. Having made devastation in the ranks of the ape-men, they save not only the professors, but also the surviving Indians. Taking the remaining weapons and food from the camp, they take refuge in the thickets, where they spend the night. In the morning, ape men find their refuge, one of the animals attacks Malone, and the friends again have to save themselves. One of the Indians turns out to be the son of a chief. He takes his friends to the caves where his tribe lives. Travelers are received with honor and signs are asked to help deal with the ape-man tribe. The next morning, the Indian warriors set out on a campaign, with the help of the travelers' firearms, they deal with the ape-men, and the females and cubs are taken into slavery.

After the battle, the travelers become guests of honor of the Indian tribe. When asked to show the way to the outside world, the Indians respond with refusals - they do not want to let go of strangers with wonderful weapons. For some time, travelers live near the lake, observing unseen animals and feeding on the meat of iguanodons, which serve as pets to the Indians. It turned out that asphalt patches on the skin of the lizards are something like a stigma.

Friends hope for help from Sambo, who has already sent for help. Challenger, meanwhile, finds a geyser with a flammable gas and tries to construct a balloon, while Lord John, wearing what looks like a wicker basket, visits the nest of pterodactyls. He is still interested in blue clay.

The travelers do not have time to resort to the invention of the Challenger. The son of the leader does not want to restrain the people who saved the tribe, and gives them a plan for one of the caves. Friends investigate it and find a way out of the plateau. At night, they leave the Land of Maple White, taking a heavy load with them. Just at this time, the help promised by Sambo arrives.

Arriving in London, the professors speak at a meeting of the Zoological Institute, where they are again ridiculed, and the photographs brought from the plateau are called fakes. However, this time Challenger has stronger evidence. A huge box with a living pterodactyl, caught by Lord John, is brought into the hall. The lizard begins to fly around the hall, people scatter in panic, and the animal flies out the window. The next day he is seen flying across the Atlantic. Professor Challenger becomes a triumphant.

Malone comes to Gladys, hoping for reciprocity, and discovers she is married to a "little reddish subject." The journalist is interested in what feat this man performed to win the hand and heart of the impregnable Gladys. It turned out that she became the wife of an ordinary clerk from a notary office.

In the evening, friends gather at Lord John's, and he shows them a box full of rough diamonds. It was not for nothing that he was interested in blue clay - this is the kind of clay that accompanies the diamond placers in Kimberley. Lord John divides the diamonds equally. To his own share, he wants to organize a second expedition to the Lost World, and Malone decides to join him.

For the vast majority of readers, Arthur Conan Doyle is the author of detective stories and the literary father of detective Sherlock Holmes. But on his account there are other works, albeit not as popular as stories about the adventures of the great detective. The story "The Lost World" also belongs to them. summary which we will try to explain to you.

Here Sir Arthur appears before the readers as a science fiction writer. The author turns to the flora and fauna of the Jurassic period, making a bold assumption that dinosaurs, still living in hard-to-reach and little-studied corners of the earth, could well have survived on our planet. At the time of this writing, the least explored place on the planet was, however, there and now there are many places where "the foot of a white man has not gone," as the author's contemporaries liked to say.

Conan Doyle - The Lost World

Let's start over with the summary. The Lost World begins with a declaration of love. Up-and-coming reporter Edward Malone is asking for the hand and heart of his beloved Gladys. The girl refuses him for the reason that he is too ordinary for her sublime nature, and that only an outstanding and courageous person, capable of performing risky acts for the sake of love, can expect to become her husband. Impressed by such a rebuke, our hero rushes to the editor, demanding to immediately send him to the most risky place on Earth. So that he can make an outstanding report from there. A life-wise editor satisfies the request of an ambitious young man. The most dangerous assignment turns out to be the task of interviewing the notorious Professor Challenger, who became famous throughout London for his pathological dislike of the journalistic fraternity. Malone can only agree to this assignment, and after a little fight with the professor, he receives an invitation to attend a press conference at which Challenger is to make a sensational statement.

As all readers of the book "The Lost World" have already guessed, the summary of which we are presenting, this statement is that dinosaurs are not extinct. The professor himself saw them during his expedition, but was unable to save the evidence. The scientific community ridiculed such a bold statement, but nevertheless decided to organize another expedition, consisting of Challenger's opponent Professor Summerlee and independent public representatives. Naturally, our hero decides to become this very representative from the press. The second candidate was the famous hunter Lord John Roxton.

The composition of the commission is approved, and a group of daredevils leaves for South America. There, Challenger unexpectedly joins them and decides to personally lead the expedition. After numerous adventures, they come to the foot of the plateau, on which the lost world is located.

The summary of the story does not imply detailed retelling the twists and turns of the plot, the interested person will read them himself in the book, but we will only outline the outline of the work. By the will of fate and a criminal conspiracy, our heroes find themselves cut off from the world on this mysterious plateau and are forced not only to observe dinosaurs as researchers, but also to save their lives, which are actively attacked by carnivorous lizards.

After numerous adventures, the expedition still manages to leave the lost world. A summary of their journey was recorded by our reporter, and he provides it to his office immediately upon his return. A new conference is gathering, now four of them claim that dinosaurs are alive. But again there are skeptics who do not believe in this. If earlier only the words of Challenger were questioned, now they are expressing distrust of the message of our heroic four. But Challenger, taught by bitter experience, presents a living pterodactyl to the audience, which fully confirms the veracity of his statements.

Our travelers are proclaimed almost national heroes, and the young lover hurries to his Gladys in order to repeat the attempt to offer a hand and heart. Now he can count on reciprocity, since thanks to him a whole lost world has been discovered.

Conan Doyle Arthur.

Lost World. Poisoned Belt. When the world cried out (compilation)

Arthur conan doyle

“The Lost World. The Poison Belt. When the World Screamed "

© Book Club "Family Leisure Club", Russian edition, 2008, 2011

© Book Club "Family Leisure Club", translation and decoration, 2008

lost World

I lead my readers
The path of the plot, ghostly and unsteady, -
A young man in whom the husband's voice is still quiet,
Or a man with a childish smile.

Foreword

Mr. E. D. Malone hereby formally declares that all judicial restrictions and charges of defamation have now been unconditionally withdrawn by Professor J.E. guaranteed that he would not obstruct its publication and distribution.

Chapter I
There is always an opportunity to accomplish a feat

Mr. Hungerton, the father of my beloved, was truly the most tactless man on earth. He resembled a sloppy parrot with feathers flowing down, quite good-natured, however, but completely concentrated on his own silly person. If anything could make me give up my Gladys, it was just the thought of such a test. I am convinced that deep down in his heart he sincerely believed that I came to Chestnuts three times a week solely for the pleasure of being in his company, and especially to listen to his discourses on bimetallism 1
The bimetallic standard is a monetary system based on two metals, usually gold and silver. (Note trans.)

- an area in which Mr. Hungerton considered himself a major authority.

That evening, I listened for an hour to his monotonous chatter about the symbolic value of silver, about the depreciation of the rupee. 2
…rupees ...- Rupee (from Sanskrit. Rupee - minted silver) - the currency of India and other countries.

And about the fairness of exchange rates.

“Imagine,” he exclaimed in his weak voice, “that the whole world would simultaneously present all debts for payment, insisting on their immediate repayment! What would happen in the current monetary system?

Of course, I replied that I personally would have gone broke, after which Mr. the assembly of its Masonic lodge 3
... the Masonic lodge. - See vol. 1 commentary on p. 391-392. (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

Finally, I was alone with Gladys, and the decisive moment came, on which our fate depended! All evening I felt like a soldier who was waiting for the signal to set out on a hopeless mission and in whose soul the hope of victory was constantly replaced by the fear of defeat.

What a proud, dignified posture, a thin profile against the background of red curtains ... How beautiful Gladys was! And yet so far from me! We were friends, just good friends; I never managed to take her beyond the usual friendship that I could have with any of my fellow Gazette reporters — absolutely sincere, absolutely cordial, and absolutely devoid of gender division. I am outraged when a woman behaves towards me too openly and freely. It does no honor to a man 4
I am outraged when a woman behaves towards me too openly and freely. It does no honor to a man.- Here and later in this paragraph, Malone expresses the considerations of A. Conan Doyle himself - a principled opponent of suffrageism and extreme forms of female emancipation. J. D. Carr quotes the words of A. Conan Doyle during the parliamentary elections of 1905 in front of voters: "When a man returns home after a whole day of work, I do not think he dreams of meeting a politician in a skirt at his hearth" (Carr J. D. The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ... - p. 155). (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

Where real attraction arises, it should be accompanied by timidity and doubt - remnants of old, immoral times, when love and compulsion often went hand in hand. A bowed head, eyes averted to the side, a trembling voice, an uncertain gait - these are true signs of passion, and certainly not a firm gaze and open speech. During my short life I have already managed to assimilate this, or have inherited it at the level of generic memory, which we call instinct.

Gladys was the embodiment of the best feminine qualities. Someone might find her cold and harsh, but this impression was deceiving. Dark skin with an almost oriental bronze tint, raven hair, slightly plump but graceful lips, large clear eyes - all the signs of a passionate nature were present in it. But I sadly had to admit that until now I had not been able to reveal the secret of how to give it all a way out. But come what may, I must end this uncertainty and open up to Gladys tonight. She may reject me, but it’s better to be rejected by a lover than to accept the role of a brother.

I was seized by my thoughts and was about to break the prolonged awkward silence when she looked at me with dark eyes and shook her proud head, smiling reproachfully.

- Ted, I guess you want to propose to me. I would not like that; let everything remain as it is, it will be much better.

I moved my chair a little closer to her.

- But how did you know that I was going to propose to you? I asked with genuine surprise.

- Women always feel it. I assure you that no woman in the world can be caught off guard by such things. But ... Oh Ted, our friendship was so bright and joyful! What a pity to ruin everything! Do you not feel how wonderful it is when a young woman and a young man, being alone, can calmly talk to each other, as we are now?

“I really don’t know, Gladys. You see, I can calmly talk in private only with ... with the boss railway station... “I don’t know why this official came to my mind, but it just so happened, and Gladys and I laughed. - This does not suit me in any way. I would like my arms to hug you, so that your head is pressed against my chest ... Oh Gladys, I would like ...

Noticing that I was about to make some of my wishes come true, Gladys jumped out of her chair.

“You ruined everything, Ted,” she said. - Everything is so beautiful and natural until such conversations begin! What a pity! Why can't you control yourself?

- I was not the first to come up with all this, - I made excuses. - Everything is very natural. This is Love.

“Well, if two are in love, it may be different. I have never experienced such feelings.

- But you must experience them - with your beauty, with your beautiful soul! Oh Gladys, you are made for love! You just have to love!

- You just need to wait for this feeling to come.

“But why can't you love me, Gladys? Is it my appearance or something else?

Slightly softening, she stretched out her hand and with a graceful and condescending gesture pulled my head back. Then, with a wistful smile, she looked into my eyes.

“That's not the point,” Gladys said finally. - You are by nature a young man not self-confident, so I can calmly tell you this. Everything is much more complicated.

- My character?

She nodded gravely.

- I'll fix it, just tell me what I have to do for this! Sit down and let's talk it over. Okay, let's not discuss it, just sit down!

She looked at me with surprise and doubt, which was dearer to me than her complete trust. When you put our conversation on paper, everything seems primitive and crude, although perhaps it only seems to me. Anyway, Gladys sat down again.

- Now tell me what you dislike about me?

“I love another person,” she said.

It was my turn to jump out of my chair.

“This is not a specific person,” she explained, laughing at the expression on my face. - This is still an ideal. I haven’t met the man I mean yet.

- Tell me about him. What does he look like?

- Oh, he may be very much like you.

- How nice of you! Okay, what is there in him that is not in me? At least hint - he is a teetotaler, vegetarian, aeronaut, theosophist 5
…theosophist…- Here: a mystic endowed with a special, "superhuman" wisdom. (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

Superman 6
…superman... - One of the central concepts of the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), formulated by him in the works "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" (1883-1884), "Beyond Good and Evil" (1886), "The Will to Power" (1889) etc. According to F. Nietzsche, a superman is strong personality, whose will, desires and deeds are not subject to the "slave morality" of the masses. (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

I will definitely try to change, Gladys, just tell me what you would like.

My unusual pliability made her laugh.

“Well, first of all, I don’t think my ideal would speak that way,” Gladys said. “He should be a harder, more determined man and not indulge so readily in silly girlish whims. But above all, he must be a person capable of making decisions, capable of acting, capable of fearlessly facing death; a person ready for great deeds and unusual events. I could love not even the person himself, but the glory he won, because its reflection would fall on me. Think of Richard Burton! 7
Burton, Richard Francis (1821-1890) - British traveler, writer, poet, translator, ethnographer, linguist, hypnotist, swordsman and diplomat. Famous for his exploration of Asia and Africa, as well as exceptional knowledge different languages and cultures. (Note trans.)

When I read his biography, written by his wife, I understand her love! And Lady Stanley! 8
…lady Stanley... - The wife of the English journalist and African explorer Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904), who in 1871-1872, as a correspondent for the New York Herald newspaper, participated in the search for the missing English traveler D. Livingston and found him. In addition, GM Stanley discovered the source of the Congo River, Lake Edward, the Ruwenzori massif, the upper reaches of the Nile, and others. Author of the books How I Found Livingstone, In the Wilds of Africa, and others. (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

Have you read the wonderful last chapter of her book about her husband? These are the kind of men women are ready to idolize with all their souls. Such love does not humiliate a woman, but exalts her even more and brings her the honor of the whole world as the inspirer of great deeds.

Gladys was so beautiful in her impulse that again I almost crumpled our sublime conversation; however, I managed to pull myself together, and I continued the argument.

“But everyone cannot be Burtons or Stanleys,” I objected, “and besides, not everyone has the opportunity to somehow excel - I, for example, never had such a chance. And if I was, I would not fail to use it.

- But such chances are constantly around. This is what distinguishes a real man; I want to say that he is looking for them. It is impossible to keep him. I have never met such a gentleman, but, nevertheless, I think that I know him well. There is always an opportunity to accomplish a feat 9
There is always an opportunity to accomplish a feat... - Original: “There are heroisms all round us”. A probable paraphrase from “The Old Woman Izergil” (1895) by M. Gorky, where the title character says to the narrator: “And when a person loves feats, he always knows how to do them and will find where it is possible. In life, you know, there is always a place for exploits. And those who do not find them for themselves are simply lazy or cowards, or do not understand life, because if people understood life, everyone would want to leave behind their shadow in it "(Gorky M. Collected Works: V 16 t. - M .: Pravda, 1979. - T. 1: Stories 1892-1897. - P. 79). // In A. Conan Doyle, this phrase is also uttered by a woman, and also addressing a man: “But such chances are constantly around. This is what distinguishes a real man; I want to say that he is looking for them. It is impossible to hold him back. I have never met such a gentleman, but, nevertheless, I think that I know him well. There is always an opportunity to perform a feat that is just waiting for its hero. The lot of a man is to perform heroic acts <…> ". And a little further: "It should happen by itself, because you simply cannot restrain yourself, because it is in your blood, because the person within you longs to prove himself in a heroic act." // And between these two monologues - the author seems to reinforce the allusion - Gladys mentions Russia, where the balloon of a certain French hero was brought. \\ It is known that the early works of M. Gorky, including "The Old Woman Izergil", became extremely popular in the Old and New Worlds in the 1900s: they were translated into all major European languages, and A. Conan Doyle could well have been with them familiar. In addition, the heroic-romantic aspiration of the early M. Gorky should have been close to the neo-romanticism of A. Conan Doyle.(Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

Who is just waiting for his hero. The lot of men is to do heroic deeds, and women are to reward them with their love. Just remember the young Frenchman who took off in a hot air balloon last week! A stormy wind was blowing, but since the launch had been announced in advance, he insisted on this flight. In twenty-four hours he was thrown by a hurricane over a thousand and a half miles, and he fell somewhere in the middle of the vastness of Russia. This is the kind of man I mean. Think only of his beloved and how other women should be jealous of her! I would also very much like all the ladies to envy me, because I have such a husband.

“I could do the same for you.

“But you shouldn't have done it just for my sake. This should happen by itself, because you simply cannot restrain yourself, because it is in your blood, because the person inside you longs to prove himself in a heroic act. Now tell me: when last month you wrote about the Wigan mine explosion 10
…in wigan… - Wigan is a city in Lancashire, a large coal mining region in the west of England. (Here and below, in some separately not specified cases, we used informative linguistic and cultural comments by IM Vader from the publication: Conan Doyle A. The Lost World. English language for students of the II course ped. in-tov / Processing. text, after. and comments. I. M. Vader. - L .: Education, 1974.) (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

Could you go down there yourself to help these people, despite the suffocating smoke?

- I was already going down.

- You didn't tell me about it.

- And what, in fact, was there to talk about?

- I did not know that. Gladys looked at me with interest. - It was a bold act.

- I had to do it. If you want to write a good report, you definitely need to visit the scene.

- What a prosaic motive! There is no trace of romance. And yet, no matter what guides you in doing so, I am glad that you went down into the mine. Gladys held out her hand to me with such dignity and grace that I could not resist kissing her. - Maybe I just stupid woman with romantic fantasies in my head. And yet for me they are very real, they are part of myself, and therefore I cannot resist them. If I ever get married, it’s only for famous person!

- Why not?! I exclaimed. - Men are inspired by women like you. Just give me a chance and you will see how I use it! In addition, you yourself said that men should look for an opportunity to accomplish a feat, and not wait until it presents itself to them. Take, for example, Clive - a simple official, but he conquered India! 11
General Robert Clive (1725-1774) - conqueror of India and the first British governor of Bengal. (Note trans.)

Damn it, the world will hear more from me!

Gladys amused again by my Irish passion.

- And what? - she said. - You have everything you need for this - youth, health, strength, education, energy. I already regretted that I started this conversation, and now I am glad, very glad, because he awakened such thoughts in you!

- And if I can ...

Her soft hand, like warm velvet, touched my lips.

“Not another word, sir! You were supposed to show up for evening duty at your editorial office half an hour ago; I still hesitated to remind you of this. Maybe someday, when you win your place in the world, we will return to this conversation.

So I found myself on the street again on this foggy November evening; when I chased my tram to Camberwell 12
... Camberwell ... - See Vol. 1 of the present. ed., comment on p. 396. (Commentary Candidate of Philology Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

My heart was on fire. I firmly decided that I must, without wasting a single day, find for myself a noble deed worthy of my beloved. But who, who in this immense world could then imagine what an incredible form this act would be destined to take and what unusual steps would lead me to this?

In the end, it may seem to the reader that the first chapter has nothing to do with my story; nevertheless, without her, there would be no narration at all, because only when a person comes out to meet the world with the thought that there is always an opportunity to accomplish a feat, and with a burning desire in his heart to find his way, only then he is without regret changes the settled life, as I did, and rushes in search of an unknown country, ghostly and mystical, where great adventures and great rewards await him.

You can imagine how I, an unremarkable employee of the Daily Gazette, suffered in my office, overwhelmed with a passionate desire right now, if possible, to perform a feat worthy of my Gladys! What drove her when she suggested that I risk my life for her glory? Heartlessness? Or maybe selfishness? Such a thought could have occurred to a mature man, but by no means an ardent twenty-three-year-old boy, burning in the flame of first love.

Chapter II
Try your luck with Professor Challenger

I've always liked McArdle, our news editor — a grumpy, hunched over, red-haired old man; I hope he liked me too. Of course, Beaumont was the real boss; but he lived in a rarefied atmosphere of some transcendental Olympic heights, from where it is impossible to discern events less significant than the international crisis or the split in the cabinet. Sometimes we saw how he walked lonely and majestically into the holy of holies - to his study; his eyes were hazy, and his thoughts were hovering somewhere over the Balkans or the Persian Gulf. For us, he was something unearthly, while McArdle was his first deputy, with whom we had to deal. When I entered the room, the old man nodded to me and pushed his glasses up to his bald spot.

“So, Mr. Malone, from what I've heard, you're doing well,” he said affably in a Scottish accent.

I thanked him.

- The report on the explosion in the coal mines was just great. Like the fire in Southwark 13
Southwark is an administrative region in South London. (Note trans.)

There is a real grip in your descriptions. So why do you need me?

“I wanted to ask you a favor.

His eyes ran in fright, avoiding meeting mine.

- Hmm, what do you mean?

“Do you think, sir, could you send me from our newspaper on some assignment or special assignment?” I would do my best to deal with it successfully and bring you good material.

"What kind of assignment are you talking about, Mr. Malone?"

“Something like that, sir, about adventure and danger. I am really ready to do everything that depends on me. The more difficult the task, the more it will suit me.

“It looks like you just can't wait to part with your own life.

- More precisely, to find a worthy use for it, sir.

“My dear Mr. Malone, this is all very… very sublime. But I'm afraid the days of this kind of assignment are over. The cost of a "special assignment," as you have deigned to put it, is unlikely to be repaid by its results. And, of course, only an experienced person with a name who enjoys the confidence of the public can cope with such a matter. Large blank spots on the map have long been mastered, and there is no room for romance on earth. However ... wait a minute! He added suddenly, and a smile crossed his face. - The mention of white spots on the map gave me an idea. How about exposing one con man - modern-day Munchausen - and making him a laughingstock? You could publicly convict him of lying, because he deserves it! Eh, that would be great! How do you like this proposal?

- Anywhere, for anything - I'm ready for anything.

McArdle thought for a few minutes.

“I just don’t know if you can establish contact, or at least talk to this person,” he finally said. - Although it looks like you have a kind of talent for building relationships with people - I think it's a matter of mutual understanding, in some kind of animal magnetism 14
…animal magnetism... - According to some scientific, but mostly pseudo-scientific ideas of the 19th century, a special vital force that causes in a person the ability to influence people hypnotically or telepathically. (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

The vitality of youth or something like that. I myself feel it myself.

“You are very kind to me, sir.

"Then why don't you try your luck with Professor Challenger of Enmore Park?"

I must say that this stunned me somewhat.

- With Challenger ?! I exclaimed. - With Professor Challenger, the famous zoologist? With the one who broke Blundel's head from the Telegraph 15
... from "Telegraph" ... - "Daily Telegraph" - see vol. 1 of the present. ed. comment on p. 393. (Commentary Candidate of Philology Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

The news editor smiled grimly.

- So you refuse? Didn't you just say that adventure beckons you?

“But only in the interests of the cause, sir,” I replied.

- That's it. I don't think Challenger is always that hot-tempered. It seems to me that Blundel reached out to him at the wrong moment, or perhaps in the wrong way. Maybe you will be lucky and show more tact when dealing with the professor. I am sure this is definitely what you are looking for, and the Gazette will gladly publish such material.

“Actually, I know almost nothing about Challenger,” I said. “I only remember his name in connection with the Blundel incident.

“I have some sketches, Mr. Malone, that might help you. I've been following the professor for a while now. McArdle took out a sheet of paper from a drawer. - Here is the general information I have collected about him. I will briefly give you only the most important.

Challenger, George Edward. Born in Largs, Scotland in 1863. He graduated from school in Largs, then the University of Edinburgh. In 1892 he was an assistant at the British Museum. In 1893 - Assistant Curator of the Department of Comparative Anthropology 16
…anthropology… - Anthropology (from the Greek? Nthr? Pos - man and logos - word, concept, doctrine) - the doctrine of the origin and evolution of man. It emerged as an independent science in the middle of the 19th century. (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

In the same year, he resigned from this position as a result of bilious squabbles with the leadership. He was awarded the Craiston Medal for scientific work in the field of zoology. He is a member of a number of foreign scientific societies - there is a whole paragraph in small print: Belgian Scientific Society, American Academy of Sciences in La Plata 17
…in La Plata ...- La Plata is a city in Argentina, the administrative center of the province of Buenos Aires. (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

And so on and so forth. Former President of the Society of Paleontologists 18
…British Association... - That is, the British Dissemination Association scientific knowledge... Founded in 1831, it holds annual forums of scientists with reports on the latest scientific achievements. (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

Section "H" British Association 19
…paleontologists... - Paleontology (from the Greek palaiуs - ancient, ontos - a creature - and logos - a word, concept, doctrine) - the science of extinct, preserved only in the form of fossil remains, plants and animals. (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

… etc. Publications: “Some observations on the structure of the skull in Kalmyks”, “Notes on the evolution of vertebrates” and numerous articles, including “Weismann's fundamental mistake 20
…Weismann error… - According to the theory of the German neo-Darwinian biologist August Weismann (1834–1914), the transmission of hereditary traits occurs thanks to the special carriers of genetic information contained in the germ plasma. (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

“, Which caused a fierce discussion at the Zoological Congress in Vienna. Hobbies: hiking, mountaineering. Address: Enmore Park, Kensington, West London 21
Address: Enmore Park, Kensington, West London. - English addresses often contain neither street name nor house number. Instead, the name of the house (here: Enmore Park), district (here: Kensington), and part of the city (here: West London) is indicated. (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

Here, take this for now, I have nothing else for you today.

I put the sheet in my pocket.

“Just a minute, sir,” I blurted out hastily, when I realized that I saw before me not McArdle's red face, but his pink bald spot. “I still don’t understand why I should interview this gentleman. What did he do?

The red face of the editor appeared in front of my eyes again.

- Two years ago, Challenger went on an expedition to South America alone. Came back last year. He has no doubt been to South America, but refuses to say exactly where. The professor began to talk about his adventures in a very vague way, and when someone began to find fault with the details, he generally closed himself like an oyster. Either something amazing really happened to this person, or he breaks all records of lies, which is much more likely. Challenger has several damaged photos that are said to be fake. He is so hot-tempered that he immediately pounces on those who begin to ask him questions, and simply lets the reporters down the stairs. From my point of view, due to his passion for science, he is obsessed with a desire for murder and megalomania. Just the kind of person you want, Mr. Malone. Now go ahead and see what you can get out of it. You are an old enough boy to stand up for yourself. In any case, you are protected by the Employers' Liability Act.

His grinning red face again turned into a pink oval of a bald head, bordered by a reddish fluff of hair. Our conversation was over on this.

Leaving the editorial office, I went to the Savage club 22
London Club of Actors, Artists, Entertainers, etc .; founded in 1857. (Note trans.)

But instead of going there, leaned on the parapet on the terrace of Adelphi 23
Sadelfi ... - Variety Theater in London. (Commentary Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor A.P. Krasnyashchikh)

And he began to pensively look at the unhurried dark waters of the river. On fresh air I always thought better. I took out a list of Professor Challenger's accomplishments and re-read it by the light of an electric torch. After that, something that I could call nothing less than inspiration awoke in me. As a newspaperman, based on what I heard, I understood that I had no chance of establishing contact with this absurd professor. But the trials twice mentioned in his short biography, could only mean one thing - Challenger was fanatically devoted to science. So maybe this is the vulnerability, thanks to which I can get to him? Anyway, I had to try.

I don’t know about you, but I am always seized with admiration before the time when listening to a lecture on scientific discoveries and expeditions was as natural as it was for us to go to the cinema. When educated people discussed among themselves not petty gossip, but the latest scientific achievements, scientific works dispersed like hot cakes, and not knowing about the latest discoveries was the height of ignorance and an act unworthy for a real gentleman. I still admire these people who are ready to go into the unknown, to meet the dangers, in order to prove that they are right.

Therefore, I love, as before, "The Lost World" - for this all-consuming faith in the possibilities of man. As a child, I relive this admiration for the courage and tenacity of Professor Challenger and his fellow opponent Summerlee, the thirst for the adventures of Malone and John Roxton, who went on a long journey not for gold or jewelry - for knowledge. To sail the Amazon, wade through the jungle, find the lost plateau, plunge into the magical and unique, enchanting and dangerous world ancient monsters!

Reading these superbly written pages, descriptions of the wonders of distant countries, the picks of two scientists, my passion for science, study, reading was born in childhood, which remained for my whole life and helped out so many times in difficult moments.

"You must go to the feat because you cannot otherwise, because this is your nature, because the masculine principle in you requires its expression!" What else can you say about a person who craves knowledge, adventure and discovery? Therefore, go ahead: find your "Lost World"!

Score: 8

"It's not a fact yet!" - Professor George Edward Challenger

And my acquaintance with this story took place very early and it began not with a book or a movie, but the way of acquaintance was related to both of them. It's just that one day my father loaded a new filmstrip into the filmoscope. This time it was not a fairy tale, but something new. The pterodactyl depicted in the first frame was enough to rivet my attention ...

The book was read the very next day, leaving behind a vivid, indelible, or rather even indestructible impression. The amazing adventures of four brave Britons in the wilds of South America are firmly imprinted in my memory. Mystery, travel, unknown dangers, discoveries and explorations, the romance of the unknown, the desire for adventure, a good dose of humor and even mistress irony, beating one of the heroes with a bag over the head at the end of the novel - that's what this novel is. It is in no way possible to tear yourself away from reading - this book is such that, falling into your hands, it will not allow you to release it from them until you read to the last point, and only then, under the first rays of dawn, you can wearily lower your head on the pillow.

It is impossible not to mention Professor Challenger, created by the author, who, along with Sherlock Holmes, from my point of view, is his most successful literary hero... A rock man, an enthusiast of science, a colossus that will pass where others turn back, a person with his own opinion, who will not climb into his pocket for a word, a genius and a kind person with a big heart. Scientists are frequent guests on the pages of books, especially in science fiction. But no one managed to surpass the scale of personality and charisma of Professor Challenger.

Since then, I adore books about white spots on the map of the planet and about cryptozoology, and all thanks to this novel - the king of both of these disappearing subgenres and I can not help myself. Thousands of satellites have been launched into Earth's orbit, the area occupied by the jungle of South America and not only is rapidly decreasing under the influence of man, scientists have long proved the absurdity of hopes of meeting extinct species, but I still want to believe. I still read with interest about Bigfoot, a monster from the Scottish Loch Ness, Congolese Mokele-Mbembe, Olgoi-Horhoy from the Gobi Desert and others. You understand intellectually that the arguments of the skeptics are practically indestructible, but there is still hope. However, there is still some chance - to the ocean depths. Once they have already given the world a sensation in the form of coelacanth, maybe one day they will reveal another of their secrets?

Score: 10

Delight and mass positive emotions, here is the result of reading this novel. The Lost World is one of the works that can not only interest, but literally lure into their world. How? First of all, a stunning plot, you do not have time to really comprehend one event, as it is already replaced by another no less exciting. Even in the novel, adventure romance and the desire for the unknown are captivated, this is so lacking in modern life. “No, give me a rifle in hand, boundless space and boundless breadth of the horizon, and I will go in search of what is worth looking for,” says Lord Roxton, and it is difficult to disagree with him. The worst thing when reading such works is all kinds of important and not so things that make you distracted.

It is impressive that Arthur Conan Doyle seeks to explain the survival of prehistoric creatures (and the fact that they have not been discovered for many centuries) from a scientific point of view. It seems that if the author simply wrote that the dinosaurs survived, just because not all corners of the earth have been explored, the work would have lost a lot. Although a number of questions arise, of course. For example, why didn't pterodactyls and other flying animals try to immigrate, what prevented them from flying away? Or could a limited number of representatives of a biological species, in such a small space, reproduce a population for many years? However, this is already nit-picking and boring.

It is curious that the heroes, practically without hesitation, intervened in the life of the plateau and upset the balance, exterminating the monkeys. In the fiction of the twentieth century, the problem of first contact with new forms of life is often given a lot of attention, and it is emphasized how important it is not to harm the lives of aborigines. However, I think no one began to feel sorry for the monkeys. There is no need to be tolerant again. Run into it, get it. Pleased that Professor Challenger did not reveal the location of Maple White Country. Otherwise, the fate of the Saimakovskaya Mastodonia, where hunters-tourists came in large numbers, would have awaited her.

Well, as for the ideas inherent in the novel, then, I liked the lesson learned by Malone - you do not need to indulge the whims of narcissistic young ladies. You can be exposed to dangers in the name of science, in order to prove the limitless possibilities of a person, or at worst for your own pleasure and adrenaline. If you decide on a reckless act for the sake of a person of the opposite sex, you need to make sure that she is worthy of it.

Score: 9

1912 the best about Holmes (the first three novels and the first three collections) has been published, but who said that the author, having changed his role, will not be able to rise again to such heights of writing skills? Here we have just such an example.

Amazing heroes. A completely wild (even in appearance) Challenger; the ever-skeptical but strong-minded, Summerlee; the true hunter - as we imagine them - Roxton; even the shaggy Malone - they all fell into the cohort of heroes who are never forgotten.

Narration. This is some kind of diamond (albeit not completely processed, but striking us with the radiance of its facets) - "The cranial pointer is a constant factor" - and a completely wild fight between Challenger and Melone; some kind of internal "investigation" made by Challenger - and an explanation thereof to Malone (reminds Holmes, I must say); "It's not a fact yet!" - and the verbal duel between Challenger and Summerlee, which ended with the organization of the expedition; Malone's "test" by John Roxton, revealing his suitability for the expedition. Everything is alright; everything is remembered at a time, and never leaves you. Travel to Maple White Plateau - I used to find this passage boring (as a child), but not now. If you read it carefully - everything looks extremely interesting - you, together with the heroes, are moving towards an unknown secret. A tense climb on the tepui, ending with an episode that makes the adventure extremely dangerous at once. And - further - and a very organic humor appears: Challenger, Summerlee and the primitive tick; Malone and the great ape; and the perfect pearl - Challenger and Gorilloid !. And then They come - at first indistinguishable in the darkness, but Mighty. Terrible and Hungry; then - already obvious and visible; described quite decently; at the level of knowledge of that time. I cannot find anything superfluous in the narrative; absolutely nothing.

The only complaint I have about this novel is that it seemed to me that having started well, from the moment the Indians appeared, Conan Doyle seemed to “crumple up” the narrative. Then, however, it straightens out again. And excellent ending episodes - shaming unbelievers; discovering the fact that Malone is a goof; and the amazing sudden (but appropriate) enrichment of the heroes.

Who doesn't dream of something like this in childhood? It then comes to the understanding that this is the 21st century; that there are no unexplored places on Earth; that you can, within a maximum of days, get to any point of such a huge (earlier) world, and connect from this point with any person, anywhere on the Earth; that dinosaurs became extinct; and that all the Romance of Far Wanderings is gone forever.

Only by reading and rereading such novels can you regain the Feeling of the Extraordinary; and childhood impressions. This is the author's greatest gift and the reader's greatest delight.

Only 10 points.

Score: 10

I believe this book has remained and will remain the best story about disappeared worlds. All subsequent books and films on this topic, especially the film adaptation of The Lost World itself, cannot be compared with it. Let there is no such plateau on Earth and cannot be. Now let it be considered that iguanodons moved on four legs, and stegosaurs tried to get up on two legs. It's hard for me to imagine a bipedal stegosaurus, but experts know better. All the same, the first and most impressive acquaintance with the disappeared world most often occurs in the book of Conan Doyle.

The Lost World is a kind of exemplary adventure story. The plot keeps from beginning to end, with each chapter capturing more and more. There are no side lines to distract attention. There are no lengthy scientific or pseudo-scientific comments that would still be outdated in a few years. Instead, vivid, highly embossed pictures of what is happening, creating an almost cinematic effect. Easy clear language. Peculiar heroes, forever sinking into memory. And the whole story is accompanied by a light kind smile.

And one more secret of the author, perhaps the most important one. He loved people. Well, what can happen if a tyrant, a pedant, an adventurer and a journalist come together? Sir Arthur has one of the prettiest companies in all adventure literature.

Score: 10

I absolutely liked and like the book, both in childhood and now! What do you think, what happens if you take a journalist, an English aristocrat who is also an excellent hunter, two eccentric professors who have their own point of view and a bunch of bold hypotheses? Throw this company in South America, in one secluded corner, to explore the cliff about which the local Indians have long been a bad name. Read on and you will plunge into an unforgettable world of incredible adventures - fetid swamps, impenetrable thickets, unprecedented animals, dinosaurs, Indians, monkey-men - whatever you come across on your way - there is a place for fantasy to roam!

I confess that films and TV series filmed on this topic (and, often, based on the same book) cannot be compared with a book, which is much more pleasant to read, because the author gives the reader room for imagination, and what has not been written is more than replenished own thoughts and plots. And this is much better than watching a rubber or computer-drawn dinosaur. Nice reading. An adventure that you want to experience over and over again :)

Score: 10

One of the most beloved books of childhood. However, rereading after many years, I could not tear myself away. You know that this is a fairy tale, that it does not happen that way, that the entire Earth has been surveyed from satellites! But still! What if it exists such a plateau in the Amazon!

The novel will be of interest to many more generations of children and adolescents, captivating them with adventures and future discoveries.

Conan Doyle's language and style is easy to read, vivid and imaginative. And what are the unique protagonists! Great descriptions of nature. When you read “how scary it was at night in the forest!”, You yourself experience these feelings.

A magical adventure novel.

Score: 9

“Have I not noticed any signs of callousness in the nature of this woman before? Didn't he feel, proudly obeying her command, that the love that sends a person to certain death or makes him risk his life is worth little? Didn't I struggle with the thought that always returned to me that only the appearance of this woman is beautiful, that her soul is darkened by the shadow of self-love and impermanence? Why was she so captivated by everything heroic? Is it because the accomplishment of a noble deed could be reflected on her without any effort, without any sacrifice on her part? "

The novel is read in one breath. Thanks to Doyle's skill, literally with a couple of words you immediately forget and find yourself in the world invented by the author. From reality there are only your hands and fingers turning the pages, and your eyes reading the lines.

If you do not run strictly according to the plot, then it all starts with the fact that four brave men are sent to previously unexplored territory in South America in order to prove or disprove the theory of life on it of prehistoric creatures. Someone is attracted by scientific interests, and wants to show the whole world a magnificent intellect. Someone wants to challenge this nonsense, and prove to everyone once and for all that his opponent is just an upstart and worthless. Someone out of a thirst for adventure. And some because of love. But they all came together for one purpose - to go with strangers, or unfamiliar, people to another mainland to a hitherto unknown country, and spend an unforgettable weekend side by side)

It cannot be said that I really liked the novel. But it’s also impossible to say that you didn’t like it. Quite interesting. He slammed his eyes a couple of times and already read it. Young journalist Malone's storytelling is very simple and casual. There are no drawn-out scenes or a lot of "water" in speeches.

Everything that happens is so colorfully and masterfully described that you do not doubt the veracity of this story for a second (at some moments it really seemed to me that these were the notes of a journalist and all this real story), and you see everything with your own eyes in your imagination. Everything is so detailed, vivid and clearly written. Perhaps one of the few adventure novels (although this is a fantasy) that I would like to reread.

These are the manners of 20th century England, their style of communication, dress, and so on. Every little thing in the novel is delicious. And every little thing is given due attention so that a certain puzzle is assembled from these little things, and not a blooper.

In general, it turned out not a review, but some kind of a set of words)))

Enjoy your reading, everyone.

Score: 9

This is one of the few works in the genre of science fiction that do not lose their relevance after a century. Maybe because the topic is still burning, or maybe because it was written by the Master! An exciting plot from the first pages - what could be better for a grateful reader who began acquaintance with the Author's texts from Etude in crimson tones. Refined syllable, humor, and most importantly - a more or less scientifically grounded plot. Minor inconsistencies, for example

Spoiler (plot disclosure) (click on it to see)

the extraordinary vitality of ancient reptiles when firing at them from a rather serious firearm

It can be explained only by some ignorance of the Author regarding the metabolism of reptiles, which is quite forgivable to him. With books like "The Lost World", you should start studying biology, it will be much more interesting!

Score: 10

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the writing of The Lost World. And I am glad that I did read this wonderful work. If I’m not mistaken, Arthur Conan Doyle was the first to write work of fiction about dinosaurs. Or rather, in which there are dinosaurs. I fall more and more in love with the work of this author, he has a beautiful manner of storytelling, a wonderful plot and, of course, great characters. Professor Challenger is a find of the author. In this novel he became the troublemaker of the London society and academia declaring that in South America he saw the dinosaurs of the Jurassic period. He becomes the subject of ridicule and mockery. This person is not used to such treatment, he is impulsive, sharp-tongued, but he really is a scientific luminary and then, so that to dispel all doubts, an expedition is equipped to confirm the facts about the existence of dinosaurs. Its participants are the reporter of the Daily Gazette Edward Dan Malone, a young and ambitious guy, a great traveler and hunter John Roxton, a man without fear and reproach, a mediocre scientist Summerlee, and of course a professor Challenger. In the future we will see a lot of adventures and a lot of action. The novel is captivating and not My favorite moments in this book are when Challenger was confused with the leader of humanoid apes, only because of this our heroes survived, but at the end of the book the unbelieving scientific community is given a pterodactyl chick, when scientists are frightened " flowed down my thighs “made me laugh.

A magnificent work that will be read with pleasure in a hundred years.

Score: 9

A wonderful adventure novel. Only extinct animals give it a fantastic flavor, and so is the novel about travelers, distant countries, jungles and adventures. I read it as a teenager and I really liked it. I liked my spirit of adventurism, my heroes, so dissimilar in appearance, but kindred in spirit, and of course dinosaurs. Who doesn't want to look at them with just one eye?

Before that, I had not read anything except Holmes, fearing that I would be disappointed in the author's lack of invention on new colorful characters. Now, I understand how wrong I was, but I don’t reproach myself for it. After all, a new world is opening up for me, in addition to the one that showed itself in this novel. Arthur Conan Doyle's Adventure World!

Score: 10

I don't like detective stories, and therefore I decided to start my acquaintance with the work of Arthur Conan Doyle with his most famous (after the cycle about Sherlock Holmes, of course) works. And I got great pleasure.

First of all, I would like to note the talent of the author as a storyteller. His detailed and highly imaginative descriptions were simply built into the head, in fact, leaving the imagination without work. They helped to represent as best as possible the main characters, and the events, and the very land of Meple White with its inhabitants. The heroes of the novel should be singled out separately. They are real, bright, charismatic, and not necessarily sympathetic (as in the case of Professor Challenger). But it is impossible not to admire them. The heroes of the novel have a lot to learn: honesty, courage, composure, mutual assistance, generosity, dedication, and so on.

Of course, the dinosaur theme is almost a win-win option to draw attention to a piece. And in the hands of a master, this theme is able to turn an ordinary "walker" into a real classic of adventure literature. If you wish, you can find fault with the author on the part of scientific nature, although on some issues he (in the person of his heroes) demonstrates impeccable awareness and encyclopedic knowledge. But the author does not emphasize at all on the proof of the existence of dinosaurs in our time (although the plot is built on this), but on the impressions and adventures of the heroes. And thus reveals the characters, showing them from different angles. In the end, the novel is written in the form of a diary-report - and this is also a coup.

The undoubted advantage of the book is humor. There is not much of it, just a little bit, but it is always appropriate and flawless.

After reading The Lost World, I learned that for a while Arthur Conan Doyle was the highest paid writer in the world. And, apparently, rightly so. If his works still cause pure delight among readers (already sophisticated, whom it is difficult to surprise), then I can imagine what a sensation they caused during the years of their writing. In other words, read The Lost World. This is a very entertaining book. Classics of the genre!

Score: 10

In works of this type, there is always a danger that the main characters will turn out to be only an appendix to dinosaurs and other inhabitants of the world they discovered. This, it seems to me, ruined all the adaptations of this novel, which very often for some reason strayed far from the original. And in vain. After all, there is complete order with the heroes, perhaps even greater than with the adventures.

The mighty charismatic Challenger, after meeting whom the word "professor" will never again be associated with a good-looking old man. The skeptic Summerlee, who then nobly admits his mistake and sees nothing shameful in it. The classic adventurer Roxton. A somewhat naive and glorious journalist Malone, who embarked on a journey to win the heart of the girl Gladys. All of them turned out to be characteristic and lively, it was interesting to watch them without any dinosaurs. And it is thanks to them that the novel remains interesting even a century after its publication.