Novel
The Queen of Atlantis
L'Atlantide
Pierre Benoit · 1919
Synopsis
In a post in the Algerian South, Lieutenant Ferrières sees a new commander arrive, Captain de Saint-Avit, over whom a suspicion hangs: six years earlier, his companion on a mission, Morhange, did not return from the desert. Saint-Avit finally tells the story. Having lost their way in the Hoggar, the two officers had been abducted and taken to a palace hidden in the mountain, where Antinéa reigned, a queen who claimed to be descended from Neptune.
Context
The author's second novel, the book was published by Albin Michel in February 1919 and received the Académie française's grand prix du roman that same year. He was soon accused of plagiarising She, a novel by Rider Haggard published in 1887; the author replied that he did not read English and that the English book had not been translated into French. The novel has inspired many films, including those by Jacques Feyder in 1921 and G. W. Pabst in 1932.
Who it is for
A fast-moving adventure novel in which one witness relays another's account; the language is polished and dated.
Prizes and reception
Translated into English as early as 1920 under the title Atlantida, the novel is now reissued under that of The Queen of Atlantis.
Sources for this page 4
The pages consulted to check this page.