Beyond Thirty aka The Lost Continent by Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1916.
I’m not a Burroughs fan. I find him way too dependent on coincidence. And the plot is hardly surprising – Pan-American naval officer accidentally crosses the forbidden Longitude 30 W, meets a barbarian queen in Britain, instantly falls in love with her after rescuing her from some baddies, gets separated from her, and, after some whopping coincidences and a whirlwind tying up of plot threads, is reunited with her.
But it is also usually unappreciated how politically topical and even satirical Burroughs could be on occasion. Here, amidst the adventure, are wry bits of satire on what the consequences of the Great War could be for European civilization and white imperialism. And, just maybe, there’s also a swipe on the sanctimonious of the Wilson Administration on the brink of entering WWI. Burroughs’s fans, of course, will want to read this. And those interested in cultural responses to the war might want to take a quick look at this one too.
World War One Content
- Living Memory: Yes.
- On-Stage War: Yes — continuation of war into alternate future.
- Belligerent Area: Yes — continuation of war into alternate future.
- Home Front: No.
- Veteran: No.
MarzAat 
2 thoughts on “World War One in Fantastic Fiction: Beyond Thirty”