Atlantida (novel)

Infobox Book |
name = Atlantida
title_orig = L'Atlantide
translator = Mary C. Tongue and Mary Ross


image_caption =
author = Pierre Benoit
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Duffield
release_date = 1920
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = iii, 303 pp
isbn = NA
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Atlantida" ( _fr. L'Atlantide) is a French novel by Pierre Benoit published in February 1919. It was translated into English in 1920 as "Atlantida". "L'Atlantide" was Benoit's second novel, following "Koenigsmark", and it won the Grand Prize of the French Academy. The English translation of the book was photo-reprinted in the twenty-first century as "Queen of Atlantis".

Plot summary

It is 1896 in the Sahara. Two officers, André de Saint-Avit and Jean Morhange investigate the disappearance of their fellow officers. While doing so, they are drugged and kidnapped by a Tarqui warrior, the procurer for the monstrous Queen Antinea. Antinea, descendant of the rulers of Atlantis, has a cave wall with the 120 niches carved into it, one for each of her lovers. Only 53 have been filled; when all 120 have been filled, Antinea will sit atop a throne in the center of the cave and rest forever.

Saint-Avit is unable to resist Antinea's charms. Under her will, he murders the asexual Morhange. Ultimately, he is able to escape and get out of the desert alive.

Plagiarism case

In October 1919, literary critic Harry Magden alleged that Benoit, in writing "L'Atlantide", had plagiarised H. Rider Haggard's "She" and "The Yellow God". Benoit sued for libel, and lost.

Film adaptations

The first film adaptation of "L'Atlantide" was made in 1920 (and released in 1921), directed by Jacques Feyder.

Over 1932-1933, famed German film director Georg Wilhelm Pabst made three films based on the novel, one each in German, English, and French (this was common in the early to mid-1930s) They were titled "Die Herrin von Atlantis", "The Mistress of Atlantis", and "L'Atlantide", respectively.

The Italian-made peplum film "Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide" (1961), directed by Vittorio Cottafavi, drew heavily on the plot and characters of the book, having Queen Antinea capture Hercules and his companion Androcles, and imprisoning them in her red-lined underground palace. Androcles takes the Saint-Avit role and tries to murder Hercules, who (unsurprisingly) is able to resist Antinea's wiles and eventually saves the day. The film incorporates an anti-nuclear theme and has been praised by critics as one of the better pepla. However its alternative US title - "Hercules and the Captive Women" - makes clear the audience it was expected to attract.

In 1992, another film adaptation of the novel was made, directed by Bob Swaim and starring Tchéky Karyo, Jean Rochefort, Anna Galiena, and the famous Spanish actor, Fernando Rey.

References

* [http://www.coolfrenchcomics.com/atlantide.htm "L'Atlantide"] .
*cite book | last=Bleiler | first=Everett | authorlink=Everett F. Bleiler | title=The Checklist of Fantastic Literature | location=Chicago | publisher=Shasta Publishers | pages=47 | date=1948

See also

*List of films made in Weimar Germany

External links

*gutenberg|no=14301|name=Atlantida