Arthur Conan Doyle's novel "The Lost World" follows a group of explorers as they travel to a remote plateau in South America and discover dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. The journalist Edward Malone convinces the eccentric Professor Challenger to lead an expedition to prove his claim of finding living dinosaurs. They are joined by Professor Summerlee and Lord John Roxton. After overcoming attacks by hostile tribes, the explorers are able to capture evidence of the lost world and return home, though Malone finds his love has married another in his absence. The novel was an early example of the science fiction genre and incorporated scientific descriptions alongside themes relevant to the Victorian era such as social Darwinism.

1. ARTHUR CONAN
DOYLE
«The Lost World»

2.  Born in Edinburgh on 22 May 1859.
 From 1876 to 1881: Studied medicine
at the University of Edinburgh.
 1885: Got married with Louisa
Hawkins died of tuberculosis (two
children).
 1907: Got married with Elizabeth
Leckie (three children).
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE’S
LIFE

3.  Released in 1912.
 Type of novel: First example of
«Science Fiction».
 Narrator: First person narration.
 Style: full of scientific descriptions.
THE LOST WORLD
The book Basic informations:

4. Main Characters
 Edward Malone - journalist
 Prof G.E. Challenger - scientist
 Prof Summerlee - scientist
 Lord John Roxton - explorer
Secondary Characters
 Gladys Hungerton - woman loved by Malone
 Mr McArdle - the editor
 Zambo and Gomez - Indians
BASIC INFORMATIONS
Settings
 London
 South America

5. PLOT
 The journalist Edward Malone asks to his editor to be sent in a far place to face a very dangerous
adventure to impress his lover Gladys Hungerton who promised to marry him after the demonstration
of his bravery. Malone is sent to the «strange» Prof Challenger who, after a violent first meeting,
agrees to talk with him about his fantastic discovery done during his last journey in South America: the
existence of some Jurassic creatures in the unexplored forest. The professor, because of the
insistence of the reporter, decides to illustrare his impressive discovery during a scientific meeting in
London when Challenger is mocked by the most of the scientists because he had no evidence of his
absurd theory, expecially by Prof Summerlee who will accept Challenger’s proposal to travel to
America to ascertain the truth with the company of Malone and John Roxton, a skilled and brave
explorer. So they fly to South America where they meet their guides, two native indians, Zamboo and
Gomez. They are introduced in the savage forest but Gomez destroys the bridge built to reach the
«plateau» after the passage of our heroes to revange his brother’s death killed time before by Roxton.
But Zamboo continues to be loyal and becomes the only possibility to send to London Malone’s
report-mails.

6. So the exlorers begin their trip in the forest discoverying a lot of Jurassic animal and prehistorical
plants but, unfortunately, a strange tribe of Ape-Men tries to kill the two professor and other native
indians of an other prehistorical but more «human» tribe. Malone and Roxton save them and
destroy the ape men tribe with the help of the Indian tribe and expecially the use of their modern
and fatal weapons, efficient also against the dangerous dinosaurs and for this reason the native
population do not want to let them go home but with the help of one them, the explorers are able
to reach the «normal world» and come back home. Back in London they organize a conference to
show their discoveries and, with the surprise of those presents, Prof Challenger frees a dinosaur in
the hall as incontrovertible evidence. Then Malone goes to Gladys to talk about his adventure and
he discovers that during his absence she had got married with an other inept men. Shocked he
reaches the other friends because Roxton had to give them something: real diamonds found in the
plateau that permitted them to realize their dreams.

7. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The Victorian
Age

8.  DECORUM: Victorians private
lives were subject to an
authoritarian male figure
consedered as a «refuge»..
 RESPECTABILITY:
peculiarity that distinguished the
middle class from the lower
ones, symbol of the hipocrisy of
this period.
THE VICTORIAN COMPROMISE
References in the novel:
Gladys Hungerton is the
stereotype of the perfect Victorian
woman because she wants a brave
man synonymous of protection: a
«Refuge» but at the end she
marries a banal man to underline
the hipocrisy of Victorian people.

9.  DARWINISM: based on
Darwin’s evolution theories but
adopted in social field to support
the idea of superiority of the race.
 POSITIVISM: philosofical
theory that gives total importance
to empirical and scientific
knowledge.
NEW THEORIES
References in the novel
The two professors are the symbol
of the total devotion and faith in
scientific knowledge but this is a
bit passed by the description of a
Jurassic land - unreal. Then the
Positivism is hidden behind their
racist behaviors against the native
indians considered as inferior.

10. THANK YOU FOR
YOUR
ATTENTION!
AND NOW…