Caprona (island)
Encyclopedia
Caprona is a fictitious island in the literary universe of Edgar Rice Burroughs
's Caspak trilogy, including The Land That Time Forgot
, The People That Time Forgot
, and Out of Time's Abyss.
Burroughs postulates a unique biological system for his lost world, in which the slow progress of evolution in the world outside is recapitulated as a matter of individual metamorphosis. This system is only hinted at in The Land That Time Forgot; presented as a mystery whose explication is gradually worked out over the course of the next two novels, it forms a thematic element serving to unite three otherwise rather loosely linked stories.
The island is also called Caspak by its native humanoid inhabitants - thus the name of the trilogy.
Caprona is referenced in Alan Moore
's almanac The World of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
, and in Alberto Manguel
and Gianni Guadalupi's 1980 tome, The Dictionary of Imaginary Places
.
' adaptations of The Land That Time Forgot and The People That Time Forgot
, and in the 2009 Asylum
adaptation of The Land That Time Forgot
, although the Asylum version re-imagines the island as existing within the Bermuda Triangle
.
's Mysterious Island
are probably partial inspirations for the popular television series Lost
, and the creators of that show have cited other influences, including the novel Lord of the Flies
, the movie Cast Away
and the video game Myst
.
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
's Caspak trilogy, including The Land That Time Forgot
The Land That Time Forgot (novel)
The Land That Time Forgot is an Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel, the first of his Caspak trilogy. His working title for the story was "The Lost U-Boat." The sequence was first published in Blue Book Magazine as a three-part serial in the issues for September, October and November 1918...
, The People That Time Forgot
The People That Time Forgot (novel)
The People That Time Forgot is an Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel, the second of his Caspak trilogy. The sequence was first published in Blue Book Magazine as a three-part serial in the issues for September, October and November 1918, with The People That Time Forgot forming the second...
, and Out of Time's Abyss.
The Island
In the first novel, Caprona is described as a land mass near Antarctica, first reported by the (fictitious) Italian explorer Caproni in 1721, the location of which was subsequently lost. The island is ringed by high cliffs, making it inaccessible to all but the most intrepid explorers. It has a tropical river teeming with primitive creatures extinct elsewhere and a thermal inland sea, essentially a huge crater lake, whose heat sustains Caprona’s tropical climate.Burroughs postulates a unique biological system for his lost world, in which the slow progress of evolution in the world outside is recapitulated as a matter of individual metamorphosis. This system is only hinted at in The Land That Time Forgot; presented as a mystery whose explication is gradually worked out over the course of the next two novels, it forms a thematic element serving to unite three otherwise rather loosely linked stories.
The island is also called Caspak by its native humanoid inhabitants - thus the name of the trilogy.
Caprona is referenced in Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
's almanac The World of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The World of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The world of The League of Extraordinary Gentleman is a fictional universe created by Alan Moore in the comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, where all of the characters and events from literature coexist...
, and in Alberto Manguel
Alberto Manguel
Alberto Manguel is a Canadian Argentine-born writer, translator, and editor. He is the author of numerous non-fiction books such as The Dictionary of Imaginary Places , A History of Reading , The Library at Night and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey: A Biography ; and novels such as News...
and Gianni Guadalupi's 1980 tome, The Dictionary of Imaginary Places
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places is a book written by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi. It takes the form of a catalogue of fantasy lands, islands, cities, and other locations from world literature—"a Baedecker or traveller's guide...a nineteenth-century gazetteer" for mental...
.
Films
Caprona is featured in several films, including 1975 and 1977 Amicus ProductionsAmicus Productions
Amicus Productions is a British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England. It was founded by American producer and screenwriter Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg.-Horror:...
' adaptations of The Land That Time Forgot and The People That Time Forgot
The People That Time Forgot (film)
The People That Time Forgot is a 1977 fantasy/adventure film based on the novel The People That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was produced by Britain's Amicus Productions, all directed by Kevin Connor...
, and in the 2009 Asylum
The Asylum
The Asylum is an American film studio and distributor which focuses on producing low-budget, usually direct-to-video productions. The studio has produced titles that capitalize on productions by major studios; these titles have been dubbed "mockbusters" by the press.-History:The Asylum was founded...
adaptation of The Land That Time Forgot
The Land That Time Forgot (2009 film)
The Land That Time Forgot is a 2009 science fiction film by independent American film studio The Asylum. The film is an adaptation of the 1918 Edgar Rice Burroughs novel of the same name, and a re-make of the 1975 Amicus film starring Doug McClure...
, although the Asylum version re-imagines the island as existing within the Bermuda Triangle
Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances....
.
Influences
Caprona, along with Jules VerneJules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
's Mysterious Island
The Mysterious Island
The Mysterious Island is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1874. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a sequel to Verne's famous Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and In Search of the Castaways, though thematically it is...
are probably partial inspirations for the popular television series Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
, and the creators of that show have cited other influences, including the novel Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding about a group of British boys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, with disastrous results...
, the movie Cast Away
Cast Away
Cast Away is a 2000 drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks as a FedEx employee stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in the South Pacific. The film depicts his successful attempts to survive on the island using remnants of his plane's cargo, as well as his...
and the video game Myst
Myst
Myst is a graphic adventure video game designed and directed by the brothers Robyn and Rand Miller. It was developed by Cyan , a Spokane, Washington––based studio, and published and distributed by Brøderbund. The Millers began working on Myst in and released it for the Mac OS computer on September...
.