Lost on the Moon; Or, in Quest of the Field of Diamonds

The Great Marvel #5

by Roy Rockwood

Roy Rockwood was a house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate for boy's adventure books. The name is mostly well-remembered for the Bomba, the Jungle Boy (1926-1937) and Great Marvel series (1906- 1935). The Stratemeyer Syndicate was the producer of a number of series for children and adults including the Nancy Drew mysteries, the Hardy Boys, and others. The Stratemeyer Syndicate was the creation of Edward Stratemeyer, whose ambition was to be a writer à la Horatio Alger. He succeeded in this ambition (eventually even writing eleven books under the pseudonym "Horatio Alger"), turning out inspirational, up-by-the-bootstraps tales. In Stratemeyer's view, it was not the promise of sex or violence that made such reading attractive to boys; it was the thrill of feeling "grown-up" and the desire for a series of stories, an "I want some more" syndrome. Works written under that name Five Thousand Miles Underground; or, The Mystery of the Centre of the Earth (1908), Jack North's Treasure Hunt (1907) and Lost on the Moon; or, In Quest of the Field of Diamonds (1911).

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1911

About the author

Roy Rockwood was a house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate for boy's adventure books. The name is most well-remembered for the Bomba the Jungle Boy and Great Marvel series.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lost on the Moon was the fifth book in The Great Marvel series published by Cupples & Leon, and was written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate by Howard R. Garis, famous for creating Uncle Wiggly, under the Roy Rockwood house name. Having visited both Terran poles and the center of the Earth, our intrepid heroes jaunted to Mars in the previous book and set their sites on Luna for this volume. Though it is one of the earliest examples (the book was published in 1911) of interplanetary exploration via spaceship intended for younger readers, some of the science is really bad... even for the time. Rather than wearing spacesuits, the team dresses warmly and carry around little wands that emit oxygen they hold near their faces to breathe. The racial stereotyping is wince inducing, but it's an interesting historical example of YA science fiction.

[Richard Crooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Juvenile science fiction published in 1911. Quaint, fun to read the "scientific" explanations. 100 year old stereotyping will make you cringe, but otherwise a fast read.