He represents mainstream, conservative science (and is usually wrong). Professor Summerlee : A physical opposite to Challenger, a sceptic and a useful bickering partner for his fellow scholar. Indeed, it was a waste of energy, for if you were going to be angry with this man you would be angry all the time.” A model for portraits of “mad professors” thereafter. Professor Challenger: A squat bull-dog of a man and an arrogant, short tempered, genius. There are 4 main characters, each plays an important role in the story, and also in the story-telling by ensuring multiple points of view.

This expedition discovers a lost world where dinosaurs, ape-men and humans co-exist. The story is that of a scientific expedition sent to examine the reported claims by the iconic Professor Challenger that prehistoric life still exists on an inaccessible plateau in Brazil. Today we might say it was a delightful adventure story, keeping the thrills coming and the improbable plot clipping along at a pleasingly manic pace. The Lost World would once have been described as a “ Boy’s Own Story” or a “ a rollicking good yarn”. So it should be no surprise that The Lost World was a favourite read. I grew up near Crystal Palace (London), which boasts a Victorian park full of wonderful 19th century dinosaur sculptures. Long before I had heard of Sherlock Holmes I was an enthusiastic reader of Conan Doyle’s Professor Challenger stories. The Lost World, Arthur Conan Doyle (1912) – Review

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