At the Earth's Core

Credits and rights

Original writer

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Publisher of this edition

BoingyBooks Classics

Original publisher

Project Gutenberg

Adaptation credits

John Shoufler / BoingyBooks Classics — digital edition

Original source / edition

At the Earth's Core (1914)

License

Public Domain

License link

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

Rights and adaptation notice

This work is in the public domain. John Shoufler published this digital edition through BoingyBooks Classics. The original work remains public domain and may be copied, adapted, and shared.

At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1914)

David Innes and inventor Abner Perry drill through the Earth's crust in a mechanical "iron mole" and discover Pellucidar — a savage prehistoric world inside the hollow Earth, lit by a central sun, where humans are enslaved by telepathic reptiles.

Historical Significance:
Published in 1914, At the Earth's Core launched Burroughs' Pellucidar series — seven novels set inside a hollow Earth populated by dinosaurs, cavemen, and bizarre creatures. The hollow Earth theory was still taken semi-seriously in the early 20th century, and Burroughs exploited it brilliantly. The novel's influence extends to every "lost world" and "journey to the center of the earth" story that followed. The 1976 film starred Peter Cushing and Doug McClure.

This public domain classic was originally published in 1914. Free to read and share.