A Princess of Mars

A Princess of Mars is an Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel, the first of his famous Barsoom series. This was Burroughs first novel, written before the legendary Tarzan series. This classic example of Early American pulp fiction is packed with swashbuckling swordplay exciting cliffhangers.

Although several attempts have been made to bring this classic to the screen, Disney Pictures is in production and will release the much anticipated scifi adventure film in 2010.

It is a seminal example of the planetary romance genre, which became highly popular in the decades to follow, and also has some elements of Westerns. It is set on a dying Mars, informed by ideas popularized by astronomer Percival Lowell in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

It inspired a number of well known 20th century science fiction writers, including Ray Bradbury, John Norman and Arthur C. Clarke, and was also inspirational for many scientists in the fields of space exploration and the search of extraterrestrial life, including scientist Carl Sagan, who read the novel as a child.