My Jungle Books begat zoos of [imitators]. But the genius of all the genii was one who wrote a series called Tarzan of the Apes. I read it, but regret I never saw it on the films, where it rages ost successfully. He had "jazzed" the motif of the Jungle Books and, I imagine, had thoroughly enjoyed himself. He was reported to have said that he wanted to find out how bad a book he could write and "get away with," which is a legitimate ambition.Rudyard Kipling
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Lagniappe — Rudyard Kipling on Edgar Rice Burroughs
Another, and perhaps more surprising, author going on the record about Edgar Rice Burroughs. I like his generous attitude.
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I find Kipling's comment mean. I'm not sure if Burroughs actually claimed to have attempted to write a really bad book. Given Tarzan's colossal popularity, only the bravest elitist would deign to call the Tarzan books "bad". As a child I loved especially the first one. And I even enjoyed the first chapter today on Google Books. Of course, that's not to take anything away from Jungle Book.
ReplyDeleteI myself can't judge because I love the pulp stuff. Detective thrillers from the late 1800s to early 1900s are some of my favorite relaxing reading. However, I went looking for some verification of Burroughs' claim and I wonder if Kipling was referring to this:
DeleteBurroughs was first exposed to the stories of science and pulp fiction during his spare time as a salesman of pencil sharpeners. He realized there was no reason he couldn’t compete on the level of people who were evidently reaching some success. “I made up my mind,” Burroughs said, “that if people were paid for writing such rot as I read, I could write stories just as rotten." His readers might argue he exceeded the low bar he set for himself.