The Cave Girl

by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Waldo Smith-Jones shipwrecked from Boston, desperately tries to survive on a lost island of primitive men and beasts. Given the name of Thandar, he strives for the hand of Princess Nadara amid misunderstandings. If a rescue ship arrives, what will they do?

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Fiction, Science Fiction, Classics, Pulp, Speculative Fiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1913

About the author

Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

You always get a fast paced action filled story from Mr Burroughs. Entertaining read. Recommended

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cave Girl is the story of a very well educated, effete young man who is castaway on an island of uncivilized cave people. With the help and inspiration of an unclad, beautiful, feral young woman he overcomes his overly-cultured upbringing, toughens up, and eventually accepts and embraces his surroundings. Originally published in The All-Story magazine in July of 1913, The Cave Girl had many of the same plot points as his better-known series stories, and was one of his most popular single volume adventure novels. It's fun to see Waldo Emerson Smith-Jones transform into Thandar the Brave, and the theme of the wilderness being preferable to urban life was a constant for Burroughs. Social conventions have obviously changed in the last century, but ERB will always be one of the greatest adventure storytellers.

[Jeneé · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!

Edgar Rice Burroughs is amazing.

I'm glad he wrote so many books, but I will be sad when I run out of them to read.

He was writing sci-fi way before his time. His books have an extreme cheesiness to them, but that's what makes them amazing. It's like Burroughs tried to pack as much adventure and danger as he could into his stories to make them as epic as possible.

And his main characters are always the most badass people possible and they can never fail, and even when they get themselves into a tough situation they always get out of it untouched and save the day.

I actually discovered E.R.B when I was at the bookstore and I saw the cover for A Princess of Mars and bought it just cause it looked and sounded so cheesy. And then it ended up being one of my favorite books.

The Cave Girl (like most of ERB's books) have the most lovable characters, and is full of adventure and edge of your seat suspense.

[Wendi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to give it three stars, just because I can really understand what a fun read this would be for a certain type of 13 year old boy (and their grown up fathers). However, since I am not a boy nor a grown man with nostalgia for this sort of thing, the formulaic story, the ridiculous number of coincidences, the hereditary determinism, the classicism as well as other 'isms just don't quite work for me, although even I appreciated Waldo Emerson Smith-Jones growing beyond his sniveling, pasty, tubercular, non-fiction reading, weedy, impractical self into a magnificent species of manhood who understands the art and need of self-defense. I also liked that Nadara is a resourceful girl always looking for the chance to help her man in the art of self-defense instead of cowering behind trees and screaming "Waldo, oh, Waldo!" (anybody else watch Hart to Hart back in the day?) But still, 2 stars it is.

[Wreade1872 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh boy, i was not looking forward to this after my last Burroughs experience but you know what, it was pretty damn good.
A posh nerdy bookworm gets washed up on an island full of cavemen. He's helped by a girl who teaches him to survive and he eventually becomes the great warrior she already mistakenly beleives him to be.
Its good solid stuff with surprisingly strong characterization for a Burroughs story.

The Cave Man, the sequel or continuation of Cave Girl depending on your point of view or edition, is a real mixed bag. There's some great dramatic turns in the plot but its marred by many last minute rescues and Deux Ex Machina's.
Also the author clearly didn't reread Cave Girl before writing this as there are a number of elements which contradict the previous story.
Luckily all the investment in the characters garnered in Cave Girl kept me interested despite the flaws.

[J.A. Ironside · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure this was supposed to be quite as funny as I found it but Rice Burroughs can certainly keep you turning pages. Enjoyable, undemanding and considering it was published in 1925 not nearly as sexist or racist as I expected. Only a couple of cringeworthy can't believe you wrote that moments and they were included in ignorance based on the time it was writen. There are books written today which are much more prejudiced. It's fascinating watching the evolution of sci-fi as a genre.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the hero here. He starts as a civilized wimp and ends as a great warrior. This is one of the more humorous of ERB's works, but it works well with the adventure.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 2 out of 5]

ENGLISH: This is one of the lesser novels by Burroughs, in all the meanings of the word, as it is also one of the shortest. Its plot is typical of Burroughs: a weakling Western young man is marooned on an island peopled by wild people, rises little by little until physical preeminence, and wins the "princess."

A quote: ...he felt his heart swell with an emotion which he feared was pride in brutal, primitive, vulgar physical prowess.

ESPAÑOL: Esta es una de las novelas menores de Burroughs, en todos los sentidos de la palabra, pues es también una de las más cortas. Su trama es típica de Burroughs: un joven occidental enclenque naufraga en una isla poblada por salvajes, asciende poco a poco hasta la preeminencia física y conquista a la "princesa".

Una cita: ...sintió que su corazón se hinchaba con una emoción que temió fuese orgullo ante la destreza física brutal, primitiva y vulgar.

[itchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

eponymous sentence:
p46: It was foolish, of course, and he fully realized the fact; but his silly mind would insist upon attributing them to the cave girl--Nadara.

ocr:
p56: She .must have circled back toward the brook for some reason; but by far the greatest cause for rejoicing was the fact that Nadara's trail alone was there.

p60: The first one she dodged, and as the arm went up to strike again, Thandar threw his spear-arm far back and with a mighty forward surge drove his light weapon across the hundred feet that separated him from Flatfoot It was an awful risk--there was not a foot to spare between the hairy breast that was his target and the beautiful head of the fair captive.

p64: "Very well," she replied; "you may come if you wish, though it is neither necessary nor as I wvould have it...."

p68: Just as the men from the yacht, which Mr. John Alden Smith-Jones had despatched to the ,South Seas in search of his missing son, emerged from the forest into a view of the valley and the cliffs a cave man and his mate clambered over the brow of the latter and disappeared toward the hills beyond.

This is basically a gender-swapped Tarzan with the POV at a gender-swapped Jane.

[David B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Washed up on the shore of a South Pacific island, delicate asthmatic Boston blue blood Waldo Emerson Smith-Jones transforms into the powerful warrior Thandar the Brave due to the love of a good woman and the restorative benefits of a primitive lifestyle.

Edgar Rice Burroughs simultaneously denigrates the life of the intellectual, venerates the hard-won practical virtues of a frontier lifestyle, and upholds the innate superiority of Anglo Saxon nobility. Upon this foundation of questionable values, the old master builds a mostly thrilling narrative that succeeds despite a relatively prosaic setting for an ERB adventure—nary a dinosaur or a carnivorous plant man in sight, just cavemen, pirates, and the occasional panther. The plotting gets ever sloppier as the story goes along, with ever more unbelievable coincidences. But that shouldn’t deter a Burroughs fan, because his strengths are on display as well. Nadara is a more capable heroine than most Burroughs women.

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[Wechselbalg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waldo Emerson Smith-Jones is stranded in jungle far from civilisation. He is an intelligent, well educated, but physically weak coward.
This savage new world holds dangers and challenges Waldo is unable to manage.
How can a man, who lives through books and has no idea of what the struggle to stay alive in a place like this means, learn to trade the safety of books and a caring mother for physical strengh and courage.
For Waldo it seems impossible.
When he meets the cave girl, Nadara Waldo Emerson Smith-Jones' life will probably change forever. Many adventures are waiting and it is up to him to make them his.

Edgar Rice Burroughs is one of my favourite authors and about this book: adventure, cave men, all that in a world, far away from civilisation; I love the book!
Wish there was a sequel.

[Isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful discovery--an ERB I hadn't read. Many things to fix, and painted with a broad, occasionally cringe-worthy brush. But all in all a good read, fun, interesting, evocative & loved the flat-footed confusion at the idea of a spear.

[Tana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went through a Burroughs phase when I was about 11. I decided I would reread some of them to see what I thought as an adult. Surprisingly this book was entertaining. And an awfully quick read.

[Jolanta K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zajímavý příběh, nejsou tam žádná hluchá místa, pořád se něco deje. Někdy jsem zapomněla i jít se najíst jak to bylo napínavé. Prostě klasický Burroughs. Takže příběh za 5 hvězdiček. Co se týče překladu tak je to děs. Překladatelka si to měla aspoň po sobě přečíst co za bludy vypouští do světa. Škoda takové krásné a hodnotné, dnes už klasické knížky, že utrpěla šrám v podobě špatného výběru překladatele.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Burroughs novel. I have been reading and rereading Burroughs since I first discovered him back in the mid 1950s. And will continue to read him.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, in spite of the very "pulpy" writing, you know, damsel in distress, weak man finds his inner strength, rescues damsel. Burroughs puts in his usual primitive person who is superior to others is actually from the aristocracy and this makes them superior even if they know nothing about European culture junk. Yes, Burroughs was sexist, racist, and classist. Still, he wrote amusing, imaginative stories, if one can just kind of sliiiiide past the bad spots.

The Cave Girl is sometimes paired in one book with its sequel The Cave Man (creative titles, Burroughs!). I've finished The Cave Girl and will review (If one can consider what I write to be "reviews") The Cave Man separately, although they are often published together.

[Ralph Calhoun · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good Burroughs romp, very much his typical hero and the girl mis-communicating and lots of varied threads amazingly coming together, and as always I loved it! I try to explain to my wife that much of the way I treat her is based on the unselfish love that ERB male characters (Tarzan, John Carter, and Waldo) treat their loves. I've read so many Burroughs over my 51 years that I'm not always sure if I've read some of them until I get into the book. But hey I'm working my way through most of them again and loving it.

[Slinkyboy · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Waldo Emerson Smith-Jones was not overly courageous. He had been reared among surroundings of culture plus and ultra- intellectuality in the exclusive Back Bay home of his ancestors. He had been taught to look with contempt upon all that savored of muscular superiority, such things were gross, brutal, primitive. It had been a giant intellect only that he had craved, he and a fond mother, and their wishes had been fulfilled. At twenty-one Waldo was an animated encyclopedia, and about as muscular as a real one."

[Kelvin Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Cave Girl" (1913) by Edgar Rice Burroughs grabbed me from the first paragraph. Wimpy, sickly Waldo Emerson Smith-Jones, the son of wealthy Boston parents, is the only survivor of a shipwreck that dumps him on a jungle island. There he encounters primitive, hostile inhabitants and a beautiful but also primitive woman named Nadaar. The story of Waldo’s slow transformation from spoiled mama’s boy to strong, resourceful “Thandar” is riveting. Strongly recommended.

[Mark Smiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written over a century ago, this book has all the adventure a person could want. ERB follows the tired and true pattern of a man and woman falling in love, being separated, brought together, losing each other again and finally rejoined in the end. How he did this over the course of his Mars series and Tarzan books while still keeping it fresh and new is a great and wonderful puzzle. Thanks for the great read. This will go on my shelf with all the other ERB titles.

[Asher Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The works of Mr. Burroughs are not very literary in nature, and when you read much of his work, his plot and character formulas become quite apparent.
Nevertheless, most of his books are short and filled with enough action and respectable ideals and virtues, that I cannot help but enjoy them.
The Cave Girl is one of his better works, possibly because it combines some winning elements of his better known works--most notably Tarzan, A Princess of Mars, and At the Earth's Core.

[Teemu Öhman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luolatyttö kuuluu Edgar Rice Burroughsin varhaisempaan tuotantoon. Hän kirjoitti kirjan alkupuoliskon (The Cave Girl) vuonna 1913, jolloin hän sai aikaiseksi paljon muutakin, mm. kuuluisammat ja myös paremmat teoksensa Maan uumenissa (ensimmäinen Pellucidar-kirja) ja Marsin sotavaltias (kolmas Mars-kirja). Kirjan toisen puoliskon (The Cave Man) Burroughs sai valmiiksi vuonna 1914, jolloin hän kirjoitti lisäksi mm. Tarzanin pedot (kolmas Tarzan-kirja), Marsin neidon (neljäs Mars-kirja) ja Ikuisen päivän maan (toinen Pellucidar-kirja).

The Cave Girl julkaistiin tuoreeltaan All-Story -lehdessä vuonna 1913, mutta The Cave Man All-Story Weekly -lehdessä vasta vuonna 1917. Kirjaversiota saatiin odottaa vuoteen 1925 saakka, jolloin se ilmestyi myös suomeksi Alpo Kupiaisen kääntämänä ja Kariston kustantamana. Nyt lukemani kirja oli tuosta painoksesta Gutenbergiin tehty Kindle-versio.

Luolatyttö on periaatteessa perinteinen ERBin viidakkoseikkailu, mutta siinä on joitakin huomionarvoisia seikkoja. Kirja on sikäli kadonnut maailma -tyylilajin scifiä, että niin luolatyttö Nadaran (jonka nimi tuli ainakin itselleni puskista – joko multa jäi joku rivi lukematta, tai sitten kyse oli ERBin kiireestä tai suomentajan mokasta) heimolaiset kuin varsinkin ”ilkeät miehet” ovat kivikauden väkeä. ”Ilkeät miehet” itse asiassa vastaavat suunnilleen tuon aikakauden käsitystä neandertalinihmisistä. Kadonneen maailman tarinoita ERBillä oli toki paljon muitakin.

Ehkä merkittävin ero perinteiseen Burroughs-tuotantoon on salskea sankarimme. Jo hänen nimensä kertoo kaiken oleellisen: Waldo Emerson Smith-Jones. Yskäänsä parantamaan lähtenyt haaksirikkoinen Waldo on erittäin suojattua elämää viettänyt bostonilainen kirjaviisas arkajalka, ei mikään ylivoimainen atleetti kuten Tarzan tai John Carter. Waldo antaakin Burroughsille mahdollisuuden naureskella yläluokalle hieman tavallista enemmän.

Kohdattuaan klassisen urhean, kauniin ja älykkään Burroughs-prinsessa Nadaran pelkurimaisesta Waldosta sukeutuu tämän opeilla Thandar eli rohkea. Vanha Waldo kyllä putkahtelee esiin koko kirjan ajan, sillä kun esimerkiksi miekkailun jaloa taitoa ei bostonilaispiireissä suvaittu, osa taisteluista menee brutaaliksi luolamiestappeluksi, koska Thandar/Waldo ei hallitse (puu)miekan käsittelyä.

Waldon nimi tietysti viittaa amerikkalaiseen filosofiin Ralph Waldo Emersoniin (1803–1882). Filosofia.fi-sivustolla filosofi, FT Heikki A. Kovalainen toteaa hänen teoksestaan Nature ((1836) mm. näin: ”...Emerson kuuluttaa ’alkuperäistä suhdetta maailmankaikkeuteen’, ja tällainen pyrkimys tarkasteltavien ilmiöiden omakohtaiseen koettelemiseen voidaan nähdä hänen koko tuotantoaan läpäiseväksi teemaksi. Myöhempään tuotantoon Naturesta kantautuu myös näkemys luonnon tuntemisen ja elämän laadun keskinäisestä yhteydestä...”. Kovalaisen mukaan Emerson itse kirjoitti myöhemmin: ”Ihmisen tulisi oppia tunnistamaan ja tarkkaamaan sitä valonsädettä, joka säihkyy hänen mielensä läpi, enemmän kuin välkettä runoilijoiden ja viisaiden taivaalta.” En harrasta filosofiaa, mutta väittäisin, että tällainen Emersonin ajattelu heijastuu hyvin vahvasti paitsi Luolatytössä, myös koko Burroughsin erittäin laajassa tuotannossa.

Burroughsin ystävät savat Luolatytöstä sen mitä osaavat odottaakin, tosin Waldon hahmon myötä piristävästi hieman tavallisuudesta poikkeavalla otteella. Burroughsin kirjojen joukossa Luolatyttö menee parempaan puoliskoon, joskin loppu tuli hieman turhan nopeasti. Ilmeisesti lehden sanamäärä tuli vastaan juonenkuljetuksen kannalta vähän liian äkkiä. Huikeita sattumia oli tietenkin omaan makuuni pikkuisen liikaa, mutta ei niin paljon kuin Burroughsilla pahimmillaan. Pikkiriikkistä miinusta tulee siitä, että eräässä ohikiitävässä kohtauksessa Thandar kohteli koiraa aika karusti, mikä oli yllättävää ja ikävää, eikä omien muistikuvieni mukaan ollenkaan ERBille tyypillistä, vaikka aikakaudelle ominaista käytöstä se toki oli. Sitä paitsi se oli sinä tilanteessa aika välttämätöntä.

Luolatyttö on sikälikin hieman poikkeava teos ERBin kaanonissa, että siinä ei ole viitteitä muihin teoksiin, enkä ainakaan muista, että muissa kirjoissa siihen viitattaisiin. Näin ollen joku voisi väittää, ettei se kuulu samaan laajaan ERB-universumiin kuin valtaosa hänen muusta tuotannostaan. Siinä ei kuitenkaan ole mitään sellaista, mikä sotisi ERB-universumiin sijoittamista vastaan. Päin vastoin: kuten tiedämme, Burroughsilla oli näitä kadonneita maailmoja siellä sun täällä, ja niiden joukkoon Luolatytön tapahtumapaikat Tyynellä valtamerellä solahtavat sujuvasti. Ainakin oman näkemykseni mukaan Luolatyttö siis kiistatta kuuluu osaksi ERB-universumia.

Sata vuotta vanha Alpo Kupiaisen suomennos soljuu yhä mainiosti. Erityisesti minua miellytti ilmeisesti jyrsijään (tai paikoin kaiketi mihin tahansa pieneen nisäkkääseen) viitannut sana ”nakertaja”. Ahdasmielisimmät sensuroijat ja mielensäpahoittajat löytävät Luolatytöstä kymmenkunta n-sanaa, eikä ikävien ihmissyöjien kuvaus heitä varmasti myöskään miellytä. Itämaiset merirosvot ovat heille kenties hivenen vaikeammin paheksuttavia, piraattien joukossa kun on niin hyviksiä kuin pahiksiakin. Nykymittapuulla kirjan kaksi naishahmoa ei tietysti sekään ole tarpeeksi.

Kokonaisuutena Luolatyttö oli kelpo pläjäys varhaista Burroughsia. Vanhan seikkailukirjallisuuden ja pulpin ystävien näkökulmasta homma toimii. Muiden ei tietysti kannata vaivautua.

4-/5

[Seth Kenlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this now. I've read A LOT of ERB, and this so far is his usual great story of a modern person coming face to face with something brutal from humanity's past. ERB is great. Cave girls aren't bad, either.

[Nathan Shumate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, naturally, it's terribly racist and sexist and ethnocentrist, but it's also loads of fun. The fact that the protag starts out as a skinny hypochondriac before being shipwrecked on Caveperson Island makes him into a proper Burroughsian hero is an added twist to the fun.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

great adventure, holds up well with time

[Chuck Rollhauser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tarzan in reverse! A young man is shipwrecked and finds a young woman living with a primitive tribe. Love ensues. Burroughs had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he wrote this gem.

[Chellie Pearl Paas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a fun adventure novel, a well told sequence of events, not overly wordy, the love story is also well narrated and the twist at the end was wonderful

[D.E. Tompkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edgar Rice Burroughs at his best: Adventure.

[Cynthia Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

This is one of Burroughs less known books and it is a shame that he didn't write a sequel. This is in the same type of book as his Tarzen epics

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one back in 1975.