Thuvia, Maid of Mars

infobox Book |
name = Thuvia, Maid of Mars
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Edgar Rice Burroughs,
illustrator = J. Allen St. John
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Barsoom
genre = Science fiction novel
publisher = A. C. McClurg
release_date = October, 1920
media_type = Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
pages = 256 pp, 10 pictorial plates (first edition hardcover)
isbn = ISBN N/A
preceded_by = The Warlord of Mars
followed_by = The Chessmen of Mars

"Thuvia, Maid of Mars" is a science fiction novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fourth of the "Barsoom" series. Burroughs began writing it in April, 1914, and the finished story was first published in "All-Story Weekly" as a serial in three parts on April 8, 15, and 22, 1916. It was later published as a complete novel by A. C. McClurg in October, 1920.

Plot introduction

In this novel the focus shifts from John Carter, Warlord of Mars, and Dejah Thoris of Helium, protagonists of the first three books in the series, to their son, Carthoris, prince of Helium, and Thuvia, princess of Ptarth. Helium and Ptarth are both prominent Barsoomian city state/empires, and both Carthoris and Thuvia were secondary characters in the previous two books.

Plot summary

Carthoris is madly in love with Thuvia. This love was foreshadowed at the end of the previous novel. There is one problem however as Thuvia is promised to Kulan Tith, Jeddak of Kaol. On Barsoom nothing can come between an engagement between man and woman except death, although the new suitor may not cause that death. Thus it is that Thuvia will have none of him. This situation leaves Carthoris in a predicament.

As Thuvia suffers the common Burroughsian heroine's fate of being kidnapped and in need of rescue, Carthoris' goal is abetted by circumstances. Thus he sets out to find the love of his life. His craft is sabotaged and he finds himself deep in the undiscovered south of Barsoom, in the ruins of ancient Aaanthor. Thuvia's kidnappers, the Dusar, have taken her there as well and Carthoris is just in time to spot Thuvia and her kidnappers under assault by a green man of the hordes of Torquas. Carthoris leaps to her rescue in the style of his father.

The rescue takes our hero and his love to ancient Lothar, home of an ancient fair human race gifted with the ability to create lifelike phantasms from pure thought. They use large numbers of phantom bowmen sided with Banths (Barsoomian lions) to defend themselves from the hordes of Torquas.

The kidnapping of Thuvia is done in such a way that Carthoris is blamed. This ignites a war between the red nations of Barsoom. Will Carthoris be back in time with Thuvia to stop the war from breaking loose? Will Carthoris' love ever be answered by the promised Thuvia?

Throw in geopolitical complications between the two realms in which they are such conspicuous figures and an impending airship battle between the same, lost cities, savage creatures, and the fabulous phantom bowmen of Lothar, and you have the recipe for thrills, chills and high adventure of the best kind.

Trivia

The phantom bowmen of Lothar were likely an inspiration for decidedly non-phantom but equally legendary bowmen of Loh in Kenneth Bulmer's series of "Dray Prescot" planetary romances. Fact|date=July 2008

Copyright

The copyright for this story has expired in the United States and, thus, now resides in the public domain there. The text is available via Project Gutenberg.

External links

* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/72 Text of the novel at Project Gutenberg]
* [http://www.erblist.com/erblist/thuviasum.html Edgar Rice Burroughs Summary Project page for "Thuvia, Maid of Mars"]