The "classic" adventure novels in Horror by Candlelight Forum

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The "classic" adventure novels

Author	Comment
Scathach80	The "classic" adventure novels	Lead	[-]
Mar 5 10 9:32 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Many horror and monster novels of the 1800's and early 1900's have "classic" status-Dracula, Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, Mr. Hyde, etc. However, I tried to think of which adventure novels might have similar status. So, a preliminary list: James Fenimore Cooper's novels about Natty Bumpo Haggard's Allan Quatermain novels Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels Orczy's Scarlet Pimpernel novels Burrough's Tarzan and to a lesser degree John Carter novels C.M. Mulford's Hopalong Cassidy novels
Buzz Dixon		#1	[-]
Mar 6 10 1:47 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Odyssey by Homer Just about anything by Allister McLean Or Talbot Mundy www.SnokieStories.com www.BuzzDixon.com http://twitter.com/snokiestories
Wich2		#2	[-]
Mar 6 10 10:16 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Not a bad start; but I don't think ACD's Holmes stories really fit the bill. Classic "Mystery," more than Classic "Adventure" (in the largely physical sense you seem to mean the word here.) -Craig
luluthebeast		#3	[-]
Mar 6 10 11:18 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Jack London and Herman Melville!
Omega Man		#4	[-]
Mar 6 10 12:03 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo A number of Jules Verne novels Rafael Sabatini's The Sea Hawk, Captain Blood and Scaramouche Classic Cold War adventures: Ian Fleming's James Bond "Dammit, it's jammed!" www.eccentric-cinema.com
sirharryflashman		#5	[-]
Mar 6 10 1:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days certainly fits the bill rather nicely. I will have to disagree with Craig, in that I do very much believe ACD's Holmes novels are actually adventure stories more than they are classic mysteries. Specifically, I'm thinking of The Sign of Four, although the others fit the bill too. SIGN really is a late Victorian 'romance' novel, which is not to be confused with the modern definition of romance attached to love or sexuality, but rather the classical meaning of 'romance' as simply being a fictitious tale of heroes and adventure, often with a chivalric element. The Sign of Four features a damsel in distress, a lost treasure, exotic locales, clever heroes, grotesque villains, gripping chase sequences, danger, violence, and yes, even a love story. There is little there in the way of either classic 'whodunnit' or anything beyond perfunctory 'howdunnit' elements that normally characterize classic mysteries. In SIGN the narrative itself and the characters populating the story are the focus, rather than the mechanics of discovery. In the words of ACD: "It is a romance!" cried Mrs. Forrester. "An injured lady, half a million in treasure, a black cannibal, and a wooden-legged ruffian. They take the place of the conventional dragon or wicked earl." "And two knights-errant to the rescue," added Miss Morstan, with a bright glance at me. Classic adventure? Sure... Cheers, Charles Prepolec Gaslight Grimoire Blog: News, Interviews and Updates Sherlock Holmes News: Sherlock Holmes in Films, Books and Media
Wich2		#6	[-]
Mar 6 10 2:17 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Charles, I'll happily meet you partway on two points: - Doyle's sweeping novels are more "adventurous" than most of his short stories - The "mystery" itself in the Sherlock stories, as has been said from pretty early on, is often not of the very best construction! I still maintain, though, that in the greater sense of the type of "Adventure" found in the Dumas, London, Cooper, Haggard, and Burroughs yarns cited above, ACD's Holmes stories are not really a good match. (Now, his Challenger and Gerard stories are another thing entirely...) And really, I think that the saga of the Great Detective, the Good Doctor, and their friends & enemies, is more a matter of Character Study/Picture of a Time & Place than either Adventure OR Mystery. Best, -Craig Last Edited By: Wich2 Mar 6 10 2:20 PM. Edited 1 times.
Monsterpal		#7	[-]
Mar 6 10 10:59 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	How about TREASURE ISLAND or KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES?
Wich2		#8	[-]
Mar 6 10 11:12 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	For sure on both. TREASURE remains one of the best. Ever.
georgechastain		#9	[-]
Mar 7 10 9:47 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Anthony Hope's PRISONER OF ZENDA, etc. P.C. Wren's BEAU GESTE, etc. Rudyard Kipling! Victor Hugo (LES MISERABLES, THE MAN WHO LAUGHS, etc.) Jack London's THE SEA WOLF Achmed Abdullah's THE THIEF OF BAGDAD "Edgar Wallace's" KING KONG Some other Edgar Wallace? Johnston McCulley's THE CURSE OF CAPISTRANO / THE MARK OF ZORRO Some Dickens (TALE OF TWO CITIES, OLIVER TWIST, etc.)? John Buchan's THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS, other Richard Hannay novels etc. Zane Grey? (if Fenimore Cooper is acceptable, why not a lot of other frontier sagas, which were certainly very high adventures to earlier generations) H. Rider Haggard's SHE and others in addition to the Quatermains A.E.W. Mason's THE FOUR FEATHERS C.S. Forester's Hornblower series, THE AFRICAN QUEEN "Sapper's" Bulldog Drummond series Sax Rohmer's FU MANCHU series, etc. William Hope Hodgson? S. Fowler Wright? M.P. Shiel? John Taine? The pulp series like DOC SAVAGE, THE SHADOW, OPERATOR #5 (especially the "Purple Invasion" series of 13 issues -- the WAR AND PEACE of the pulps), THE SPIDER, G-8, etc. etc. etc. Some dime novel series even earlier? ... and a heaping handful of others we could easily put together from the lists on the backs of late issues of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED (LORNA DOONE, TWO YEARS BEFORE THEMAST, WITH FIRE AND SWORD, ad infinitum)... p.s. Finally, if "graphic" sagas could be considered, the Disney duck comic book adventures by Carl Barks (the Homer of comics), the Prince Valiant newspaper strips by Hal Foster, the Tarzan strips by Foster and Burne Hogarth, the Dick Tracy strips by Chester Gould, the Terry & the Pirates and Steve Canyon strips by Milton Caniff, the Flash Gordon strips by Alex Raymond, the Li'l Abner strips by Al Capp, the Little Orphan Annie strips by Harold Gray, and a few others of similar calibre. Last Edited By: georgechastain Mar 7 10 11:45 AM. Edited 3 times.
Scathach80		#10	[-]
Mar 7 10 6:00 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thank you for the replies. I suppose the Lord of the Rings and Lensmen might count somwhere. Perhaps Nick Carter (it did last 104 years-121 if you count Nick Carter vs. Fantomas novelization). Regarding comic strips and comic books, I will exclude them, although many would assert out that some properties that started in comic strips and comic books did gain "iconic" status. Sidebar: I have elsewhere pointed out how rarely the "classic" horror authors wrote sequels to their works. Adventure story writers seemed less sequel averse. The original authors wrote sequels to the 39 Steps, Prisoner of Zenda, King Solomon's Mines, The Pioneers (Natty Bumpo), etc.
Scathach80		#11	[-]
Mar 7 10 7:16 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Also, another contrast between the "classic" horror writers and "classic" adventure writers; the "classic" horror writers tended to set their stories in roughly then contemporary times and in their own countries (e.g. Mr. Hyde in London, Dracula in London), with Marry Shelley as an exception (since no part of Frankenstein takes place in Britain). However, if anyone can name a counterexample, feel free to do so.
Scathach80		#12	[-]
Mar 7 10 7:18 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Robert E. Howard perhaps
gene phillips		#13	[-]
Mar 8 10 2:04 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Definitely Howard's stronger works qualify-- PHOENIX ON THE SWORD, BEYOND THE BLACK RIVER and HOUR OF THE DRAGON for three. I don't think he quite managed to get an epic scope in most of his non-Conan stuff, though I have my favorites among those works too.
Monsterpal		#14	[-]
Mar 8 10 4:06 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	BEAU GESTE, THE FOUR FEATHERS, KIDNAPPED, MICHAEL STROGOFF.
georgechastain	Standup Comics	#15	[-]
Mar 9 10 5:51 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	From ClassicsCentral.Com, a complete list of all the CLASSIC COMICS (first 34) / CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED published. Not all novels, and probably not all "classics" by modern notions, but a good indication of what was considered appropriately stimulating literature for youngsters in the decades these comics were produced, 1941-1971 -- though there were a few "horror" covers on things like JEKYLL & HYDE and HUNCHBACK and PRINCE & THE PAUPER that were tamed down for later editions (check out the website to see them and all the other covers!). 1. THE THREE MUSKETEERS Alexandre Dumas 2. IVANHOE Walter Scott 3. THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO Alexandre Dumas 4. THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS James Fennimore Cooper 5. MOBY DICK Herman Melville 6. TALE OF TWO CITIES Charles Dickens 7. ROBIN HOOD . 8. ARABIAN NIGHTS . 9. LES MISERABLES Victor Hugo 10. ROBINSON CRUSOE Daniel Defoe 11. DON QUIXOTE Miguel DeCervantes 12. RIP VAN WINKLE & HEADLESS HORSEMAN Washington Irving 13. DR JEKYLL & MR. HYDE Robert Louis Stevenson 14. WESTWARD HO! Charles Kingsley 15. UNCLE TOM'S CABIN Harriet Beecher Stowe 16. GULLIVER'S TRAVELS Jonathan Swift 17. THE DEERSLAYER James Fennimore Cooper 18. THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME Victor Hugo 19. HUCKLEBERRY FINN Mark Twain 20. THE CORSICAN BROTHERS Alexandre Dumas 21. THREE FAMOUS MYSTERIES Doyle-Poe-Maupassant 22. THE PATHFINDER James Fennimore Cooper 23. OLIVER TWIST Charles Dickens 24. A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT Mark Twain 25. TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST R H Dana Jr 26. FRANKENSTEIN Mary W Shelley 27. THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO . 28. MICHAEL STROGOFF Jules Verne 29. THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER Mark Twain 30. THE MOONSTONE William Wilkie Collins 31. THE BLACK ARROW Robert Louis Stevenson 32. LORNA DOONE R D Blackmore 33. THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES Arthur Conan Doyle 34. MYSTERIOUS ISLAND Jules Verne 35. THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII Bulwer-Lytton-Edward 36. TYPEE Herman Melville 37. THE PIONEERS James Fennimore Cooper 38. THE ADVENTURES OF CELLINI . 39. JANE EYRE Charlotte Bronte 40. MYSTERIES Edger Allan Poe 41. TWENTY YEARS AFTER Alexandre Dumas 42. SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON Jonathan Wyss 43. GREAT EXPECTATIONS Charles Dickens 44. MYSTERIES OF PARIS Eugene Sue 45. TOM BROWN'S SCHOOL DAYS Thomas Hughes 46. KIDNAPPED Robert Louis Stevenson 47. TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA Jules Verne 48. DAVID COPPERFIELD Charles Dickens 49. ALICE IN WONDERLAND Lewis Carroll 50. TOM SAWYER Mark Twain 51. THE SPY James Fennimore Cooper 52. THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES Nathaniel Hawthorne 53. CHRISTMAS CAROL Charles Dickens 54. THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK Alexandre Dumas 55. SILAS MARNER George Eliot 56. TOILERS OF THE SEA Victor Hugo 57. SONG OF HIAWATHA Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 58. THE PRAIRIE James Fennimore Cooper 59. WUTHERING HEIGHTS Emily Bronte 60. BLACK BEAUTY Anna Sewell 61. THE WOMAN IN WHITE Wilkie Collins 62. WESTERN STORIES Bret Harte 63. THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY Edward Everett Hale 64. TREASURE ISLAND Robert Louis Stevenson 65. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN-AUTOBIOGRAPHY . 66. CLOISTER AND THE HEARTH Charles Reade 67. THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS Jane Porter 68. JULIUS CAESAR William Shakespeare 69. AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS Jules Verne 70. THE PILOT James Fennimore Cooper 71. THE MAN WHO LAUGHS Victor Hugo 72. THE OREGON TRAIL Francis Parkman 73. THE BLACK TULIP Alexandre Dumas 74. MR. MIDSHIPMAN EASY Frederick Marryat 75. THE LADY OF THE LAKE Walter Scott 76. THE PRISONER OF ZENDA Anthony Hope 77. THE ILIAD Homer 78. JOAN OF ARC . 79. CYRANO DE BERGERAC Edmond Rostand 80. WHITE FANG Jack London 81. THE ODYSSEY Homer 82. THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE Robert Louis Stevenson 83. THE JUNGLE BOOK Rudyard Kipling 84. THE GOLD BUG ETC Edgar Allan Poe 85. THE SEA WOLF Jack London 86. UNDER TWO FLAGS Ouida 87. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM William Shakespeare 88. MEN OF IRON Howard Pyle 89. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT Dostoyevsky 90. GREEN MANSIONS W H Hudson 91. THE CALL OF THE WILD Jack London 92. MILES STANDISH Longfellow 93. PUDD'NHEAD WILSON Samuel L Clemens 94. DAVID BALFOUR Robert Louis Stevenson 95. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Erich Maria Remarque 96. DANIEL BOONE John Bakeless 97. KING SOLOMON'S MINES H Rider Haggard 98. THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE Stephen Crane 99. HAMLET William Shakespeare 100. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY Nordhoff & Hall 101. WILLIAM TELL Frederick Schiller 102. THE WHITE COMPANY Arthur Conan Doyle 103. MEN AGAINST THE SEA Nordhoff & Hall 104. BRING 'EM BACK ALIVE Frank Buck 105. FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON Jules Verne 106. BUFFALO BILL . 107. KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES Talbot Mundy 108. KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE . 109. PITCAIRN'S ISLAND Nordhoff & Hall 110. A STUDY IN SCARLET Arthur Conan Doyle 111. THE TALISMAN Walter Scott 112. THE ADVENTURES OF KIT CARSON . 113. THE FORTY FIVE GUARDSMEN Alexandre Dumas 114. THE RED ROVER James Fennimore Cooper 115. HOW I FOUND LIVINGSTONE Henry M Stanley 116. THE BOTTLE IMP Robert Louis Stevenson 117. CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS Rudyard Kipling 118. ROB ROY Walter Scott 119. SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE Richard Harding Davis 120. HURRICANE Nordhoff & Hall 121. WILD BILL HICKOK . 122. THE MUTINEERS Charles Boardman Hawes 123. FANG AND CLAW Frank Buck 124. THE WAR OF THE WORLDS H G Wells 125. THE OX-BOW INCIDENT Walter Van Tilburg Clark 126. THE DOWNFALL Emile Zola 127. THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS Edmond About 128. MACBETH William Shakespeare 129. DAVY CROCKETT . 130. CAESAR'S CONQUESTS Julius Caesar 131. THE COVERED WAGON Emerson Hough 132. THE DARK FRIGATE Charles Boardman Hawes 133. THE TIME MACHINE H G Wells 134. ROMEO AND JULIET William Shakespeare 135. WATERLOO Erckmann-Chatrian 136. LORD JIM Joseph Conrad 137. THE LITTLE SAVAGE Frederick Marryat 138. JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH Jules Verne 139. REIGN OF TERROR G A Henty 140. ON JUNGLE TRAILS Frank Buck 141. CASTLE DANGEROUS Walter Scott 142. ABRAHAM LINCOLN . 143. KIM Rudyard Kipling 144. FIRST MEN IN THE MOON H G Wells 145. THE CRISIS Winston Churchill 146. WITH FIRE AND SWORD Henry K Sienkiewicz 147. BEN HUR Lew Wallace 148. BUCCANEER . 149. OFF ON A COMET Jules Verne 150. THE VIRGINIAN Owen Wister 151. WON BY THE SWORD G A Henty 152. WILD ANIMALS I HAVE KNOWN Ernest Thompson Seton 153. THE INVISIBLE MAN H G Wells 154. THE CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC Francis Parkman 155. THE LION OF THE NORTH G A Henty 156. THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO Bernal Diaz Del Castillo 157. THE LIVES OF THE HUNTED Ernest Thompson Seton 158. THE CONSPIRATORS Alexandre Dumas 159. THE OCTOPUS Frank Norris 160. THE FOOD OF THE GODS H G Wells 161. CLEOPATRA H Rider Haggard 162. ROBUR THE CONQUEROR Jules Verne 163. THE MASTER OF THE WORLD Jules Verne 164. THE COSSACK CHIEF Nikolai Gogol 165. THE QUEEN'S NECKLACE Alexandre Dumas 166. TIGERS AND TRAITORS Jules Verne 167. FAUST Goethe 168. IN FREEDOM'S CAUSE G.A. Henty 169. NEGRO AMERICANS Last Edited By: georgechastain Mar 9 10 5:57 PM. Edited 1 times.
Scathach80		#16	[-]
Apr 18 10 8:43 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	As Jess Nevins pointed out, many Jules Verne novels referenced each other, so, yes, they might count as series.
monochrome		#17	[-]
Apr 18 10 9:48 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini is high on my to read list but I see some inspiration here too.
gene phillips		#18	[-]
Apr 18 10 5:38 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've read the first four BULLDOG DRUMMOND novels. They're not great literature but they are great pulp in the company of Sax Rohmer and RE Howard. I wouldn't consider JEKYLL AND HYDE to be an adventure story but a lot of Stevenson would qualify, though TREASURE ISLAND's the only one I've read. I'd definitely include NOTRE DAME DE PARIS and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA on a "best list."
Monsterpal		#19	[-]
Apr 18 10 6:19 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	KIM by Rudyard Kipling, if it's not already been mentioned.
Scathach80		#20	[-]
Jan 21 11 7:31 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	georgechastain, thank you for bringing up Zorro. Almost one hundred years later, one can still find Zorro memorabilia for sale quite easily. Robert E. Howard has much the same situation, although one should note that his properties did not raise as much attention till longer after his day. Last Edited By: Scathach80 Jan 21 11 7:37 PM. Edited 1 times.

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The "classic" adventure novels

The "classic" adventure novels