The Lost World

Arthur Conan Doyle, 1912

Adventure Early science fiction

A young reporter seeks an assignment dangerous enough to make him a hero.

Read the book Contents

Length: 16 chapters
Reading time: About 5 hr 17 min
Words: 75,441

About the book

Edward Malone wants more from life than routine reporting, partly because the woman he loves admires heroic deeds. His request for a dangerous assignment points him towards Professor Challenger and an expedition beyond familiar scientific knowledge.

Conan Doyle joins the reporter's personal ambitions to a story of exploration. Malone's conversational account makes room for comedy as well as discovery, particularly when professional pride enters the discussion. The contrast between a young man's wish to prove himself and the demands of investigating evidence gives the adventure its initial momentum.

The real dinosaurs in the book

Challenger’s plateau is home to animals known from fossils. See what they really looked like on Dinosaur Vault:

Iguanodon: the herds in the glade
Stegosaurus: the beast in Maple White’s sketchbook
Allosaurus: Challenger’s guess for the night hunter
Megalosaurus: Summerlee’s guess

On these lists

Adventure Early science fiction

This edition

Text from Standard Ebooks, who proofread and typeset it and dedicate their edition to the public domain. Arthur Conan Doyle died more than 70 years ago, so the work is out of copyright in the UK. Includes the original epigraph, foreword.