Rotten Rejections: Edgar Rice Burroughs

[N.B. that both novels remain in print.]

I. The Outlaw of Torn

“I am not sure there is any particular value in the happy ending. It seems to be more legitimate to have both De Vac and the outlaw die in the end, leaving the lady dissolved in tears, possibly on her way to become a nun.”

II. Under the Moons of Mars

“It is not at all probable, we think, that we can make use of a Virginia soldier miraculously transported to Mars….”

Excerpted from: Barnard, Andre, and Bill Henderson, eds. Pushcart’s Complete Rotten Reviews and Rejections. Wainscott, NY: Pushcart Press, 1998.