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The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phoenician
Tracks Adventures Of A Man In England As He Is Reborn Through Many Incarnations, From The Time Of Julius Caesar, To Elizabethan England.
329 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1890
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79 people want to read
About the author
Edwin Lester Arnold
91 books7 followersEdwin Lester Linden Arnold, (1857 – 1 March 1935) was an English author. Most of his works were issued under his working name of Edwin Lester Arnold.
Son of Sir Edwin Arnold. Most of his childhood was spent in India, but he returned to England to study agriculture and ornithology. He became a journalist in 1883, and published his first books 1877 and 1887 before writing his first novel The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phoenician. Phra was first published in 24 parts in the prestigious Illustrated London News, and later published in book form in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Son of Sir Edwin Arnold. Most of his childhood was spent in India, but he returned to England to study agriculture and ornithology. He became a journalist in 1883, and published his first books 1877 and 1887 before writing his first novel The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phoenician. Phra was first published in 24 parts in the prestigious Illustrated London News, and later published in book form in the United States and the United Kingdom.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 1, 2019
I was lucky enough to find an online copy of this on Google Play . I really don’t understand why anyone would give this book 1 star for being too wordy! Yes, the author loves words, but he loves the sensuous power of words, the atmosphere you can create if you have a broader vocabulary than our best sellers of today. He swept me on so that I finished it during the three days I was on holiday.
There’s not much plot - loads of incidents but not an overarching plot. Basically a traveling Phoenician, a warrior of great renown, rescues a slave girl, falls in love, and after any number of historical battles, falls asleep. He then wakes up in another century, where he meets another woman.....This continues until he wakes in Elizabethan England. No explanation is ever given or sought for Phra’s century-long naps. I do not have the background to comment on the historical accuracy of the various times his Rip Van Winkle character travels through, but I suspect, given a choice between an exciting adventure and historical accuracy, the author would have told historical accuracy to go hang. It’s wonderful fun nevertheless, and told with great delight.
There’s not much plot - loads of incidents but not an overarching plot. Basically a traveling Phoenician, a warrior of great renown, rescues a slave girl, falls in love, and after any number of historical battles, falls asleep. He then wakes up in another century, where he meets another woman.....This continues until he wakes in Elizabethan England. No explanation is ever given or sought for Phra’s century-long naps. I do not have the background to comment on the historical accuracy of the various times his Rip Van Winkle character travels through, but I suspect, given a choice between an exciting adventure and historical accuracy, the author would have told historical accuracy to go hang. It’s wonderful fun nevertheless, and told with great delight.
January 5, 2009
"The Wonderful Adventures of Phra The Phoenician" is the first fictional book from Edwin Lester Lindon Arnold (1857 - March 1, 1935). He wrote several non-fictional works prior to it, but this was his first attempt at escapist literature, and though it is often ignored, this work, as well as others by Arnold are likely influences on Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series. Many people consider Phra to be the inspiration for John Carter, and others believe that Arnold's "Lieutenant Gullivar Jones: His Vacation" was the inspiration behind the setting.
When judged on its own, this book is not a great one. Arnold's style is much too slow for the genre. What another would state in one paragraph, Arnold takes three or four to tell, if not more. Yet, all the elements of escapist literature are here: the young virile hero; the women; the adventure; the battles; the glories; and the failures. Though a Phoenician, the adventures take place almost exclusively in Britain. Phra comes there in his first life, taking the beautiful Blodwen (whom he rescued from the slave trade) back to her native home. Each of Phra's lives ends with an invasion. His first death occurs during the time of Caesar's invasion of Britain. Next comes the Saxons chasing the Romans out, and then the Norman invasion, and then the invasion of France followed by the Elizabethan age. Each episode has its own unique twist, and each one a love interest.
Too often, Arnold is obvious in where he is going with the story, and takes too long in getting there. This leaves the reader waiting for the story to catch up with them. This is especially true in his love triangle episode where Phra becomes a knight and heads off to fight the French, and it is very apparent when he wakes in Elizabethan times to everyone other than Phra, who should have already been well aware of the feelings associated with his long periods of rest. Those are two examples, though the predictability and slow realization in the story is not limited to those episodes.
Nothing can save this narrative though, it is simply too much for a casual reader or even someone who is interested in adventure stories to wade through. Even looking at it from a influence perspective, one is better off reading about it than they are actually reading it. Phra is better relegated to the past; though ordinarily a work like this would be interesting from a historical perspective, this one fails to be worthwhile even as that. I cannot recommend it.
When judged on its own, this book is not a great one. Arnold's style is much too slow for the genre. What another would state in one paragraph, Arnold takes three or four to tell, if not more. Yet, all the elements of escapist literature are here: the young virile hero; the women; the adventure; the battles; the glories; and the failures. Though a Phoenician, the adventures take place almost exclusively in Britain. Phra comes there in his first life, taking the beautiful Blodwen (whom he rescued from the slave trade) back to her native home. Each of Phra's lives ends with an invasion. His first death occurs during the time of Caesar's invasion of Britain. Next comes the Saxons chasing the Romans out, and then the Norman invasion, and then the invasion of France followed by the Elizabethan age. Each episode has its own unique twist, and each one a love interest.
Too often, Arnold is obvious in where he is going with the story, and takes too long in getting there. This leaves the reader waiting for the story to catch up with them. This is especially true in his love triangle episode where Phra becomes a knight and heads off to fight the French, and it is very apparent when he wakes in Elizabethan times to everyone other than Phra, who should have already been well aware of the feelings associated with his long periods of rest. Those are two examples, though the predictability and slow realization in the story is not limited to those episodes.
Nothing can save this narrative though, it is simply too much for a casual reader or even someone who is interested in adventure stories to wade through. Even looking at it from a influence perspective, one is better off reading about it than they are actually reading it. Phra is better relegated to the past; though ordinarily a work like this would be interesting from a historical perspective, this one fails to be worthwhile even as that. I cannot recommend it.
Read
August 25, 2021A nice 19th Century romance with plenty of action. Nowadays suitable perhaps for an early- or pre-teen. I liked it.
November 29, 2019
First published in book form in 1890, the premise of this novel is both simple and intriguing: The hero of the title occasionally falls into a death-like sleep lasting 300 to 500 years, a blessing and a curse, as he is often torn from his loved ones, yet allowed to witness centuries of English history. Because the book was originally published as a 26 part serial in the Illustrated London News, it has an episodic feel, well-suited to the content, but sometimes a bit redundant in its battles and adventures. (The edition I read, published years ago by Newcastle, used fairly small and sometimes flawed type, so I would recommend a different version.) I enjoyed the book greatly, nonetheless, and never seemed to grow tired of his waking from his centuries-long sleep and rediscovering the way things had changed. I found Phra's love of battle, glorified in one of the episodes, somewhat distasteful in light of the horror that is war, but the last episode in the book is particularly well-done, and Phra's sorrow at continually finding love only to lose it, is often poignant.
October 22, 2024
Our ancient hero Phra has a severe case of Rip van Winkle Syndrome and sleep-hops his way through history, while occasionally being stalked by one of his dead wives.
This was very surprisingly good but only if you like purple prose. If your a fan of the 'full stop' for example you might be sorry to see him so infrequently, as most sentences seem to be about half a page long :) .
As with Arnold's protagonist from 'Gulliver of Mars', our hero this time is kind of an idiot, not to mention a bit of an ass (think 'Bruce Campbell' in the 'Evil Dead' films :P). However while that added to the frustration of reading Gulliver it adds to the comedy of this.
If you can get past the florid style this is a great romance/adventure romp through the ages.
A final warning however, as with all of this authors works it will leave you with many an unanswered question.
This was very surprisingly good but only if you like purple prose. If your a fan of the 'full stop' for example you might be sorry to see him so infrequently, as most sentences seem to be about half a page long :) .
As with Arnold's protagonist from 'Gulliver of Mars', our hero this time is kind of an idiot, not to mention a bit of an ass (think 'Bruce Campbell' in the 'Evil Dead' films :P). However while that added to the frustration of reading Gulliver it adds to the comedy of this.
If you can get past the florid style this is a great romance/adventure romp through the ages.
A final warning however, as with all of this authors works it will leave you with many an unanswered question.
November 9, 2015
I really really enjoyed this book. At times very difficult to read either because of the language used or because my electronic copy had many OCR errors on each page. Very clever story of a soldier who dies shortly after he falls in love each time and then reawakens 300 years later. A courtship in the middle bogs down a little. The last part which is nearly steampunk fiction doesn't flow well with the rest of the book but the ending is good. I'm glad I toughed it out. It was a long 350 pages.
September 16, 2019
Minus a star for overuse of the words Jove and Hoth. Another loss for some amateurish and sloppy writing. Still, silly fun.
February 4, 2022
A unique time travel story before HG Well quintessential The Time Machine. Phra the Phoenician gives quirky realism to true love's everlasting haunts and grace.
November 25, 2023
This has to be the most overwritten book I've ever read, and yet it has considerable charm. A Phoenician merchant travels to pre Roman Britain and becomes a great warrior, then, near the heights of success, falls asleep for several hundred years. He wakes in a new era, rises to success, and falls asleep. Repeat. In each era he finds a beautiful woman to love, some of whom seem to be possessed by the spirit of his first love in the Isles.
The language here is quite beautiful, although--as I mentioned--it's way overwritten. Every paragraph drips with description that runs on and on. It's a long book and would have been better to have been cut by a third. The vocabulary, though, is a lot of fun. I don't see many writers who delight in archaic words the way Arnold does. I'm one of those myself.
I started reading this because I'd heard from various sources that this book was an influence on Edgar Rice Burroughs' development of his John Carter character. That proposal rests on four fairly slender threads. 1. the book was published before ERB's works, although there is no evidence that I can find that ERB ever read it or even knew about it. 2. the character of Phra is always a warrior in every age, and ERB describes John Carter in the same way. 3. Phra lives for a very very long time, and ERB also describes John Carter in the same way, although he makes no mention of any long sleeps or any origin scene for Carter. 4. Phra doesn't seem to age beyond 30 or so and ERB also describes John Carter in this way. My conclusion is that the connection is tantalizing but tentative. Other possible influences on ERB's depiction of Carter's long life include "The Wandering Jew," Cain from the Bible, and Melmoth the Wanderer. ERB certainly knew of these characters.
The language here is quite beautiful, although--as I mentioned--it's way overwritten. Every paragraph drips with description that runs on and on. It's a long book and would have been better to have been cut by a third. The vocabulary, though, is a lot of fun. I don't see many writers who delight in archaic words the way Arnold does. I'm one of those myself.
I started reading this because I'd heard from various sources that this book was an influence on Edgar Rice Burroughs' development of his John Carter character. That proposal rests on four fairly slender threads. 1. the book was published before ERB's works, although there is no evidence that I can find that ERB ever read it or even knew about it. 2. the character of Phra is always a warrior in every age, and ERB describes John Carter in the same way. 3. Phra lives for a very very long time, and ERB also describes John Carter in the same way, although he makes no mention of any long sleeps or any origin scene for Carter. 4. Phra doesn't seem to age beyond 30 or so and ERB also describes John Carter in this way. My conclusion is that the connection is tantalizing but tentative. Other possible influences on ERB's depiction of Carter's long life include "The Wandering Jew," Cain from the Bible, and Melmoth the Wanderer. ERB certainly knew of these characters.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews