J. Allan Dunn (1871-1941) was one of Adventure magazine’s most prolific authors, writing from 1914 until his death, and specializing in South Seas stories.
For Adventure he wrote Barehanded Castaways in 1921 at the request of editor Arthur Sullivant Hoffman. It and its sequel The Island have been reprinted by Murania Press. Surprisingly, about half his output was westerns, with adventure and detective each about a quarter.
This posting is on his lost-world story, The Treasure of Atlantis, which appeared in All-Around Magazine in 1916 and was reprinted in 1970 by Centaur Press in its Time-Lost Series. And in addition to reprinting it in paperback Centaur also reprinted it in hardback, one of only two the company did. Sadly, no one has reprinted it since, which I think should be fixed.
We start off when an orchid hunter name Robert Murdock, who has returned from a disasterous trip to the headwaters of the Xinca River, visits his friend Stanley Morse, a wealthy explorer. He tells of this trip very vividly, as he searches for a rare orchid. He succeeds, but at a heavy price. He also tells of a strange vision or mirage of a city he sees, which is confirmed as real by a local chieftain, who gives him real evidence from the city: a golden vase with Greek writing from Crete! But the orchid hunter dies of a weak heart, willing the vase to Morse in hopes he will find the truth about the “city in the sky.”
Taking the vase to a museum, Morse is told of archaeologist Gordon Laidlaw, who believes in a theory of Atlantis being an offshoot of Crete formed after the Dorian invasion. Laidlaw soon comes calling, and he’s a character seemingly inspired by Professor Challenger. He relates his theory, which is that Atlantis was an offshoot established on the Atlantic coast of Africa, but that due to some cataclysmic event, has somehow wound up in South America! This seems proven by his translation of the vase.
Thus, the two men mount an expedition to find this lost city of Dor, the capital of New Atlantis, using the maps and information from Murdock. And they show up at the lost city just in time to save from death by vultures the deposed king-regent, Kiron. From him, they learn more about the political intrigue going on, as Atlantis is ruled by co-ruling regents, a king and a queen, who are not married. The current queen wants to be the sole ruler. And we learn that the people of New Atlantis are dwindling.
Once in the city, the action starts. There is a girl. Well, actually two girls for our two heroes. And conflicts that are arising. And there is a rising threat of a volcano. It all comes to a head, but will our heroes (and their paramours) be able to escape it all in the end? Read and find out. Overall I found this a pretty decent lost-world tale.
Other works I’d like to see is his The Flower of Fate (1928), about a group of Lemurians found on a Pacific Island. A couple of others I’d like to know more about is his Forbidden Mountain from Argosy in 1934 and On the Knees of the Gods from Unknown in 1940. Are they also lost-world works? Or have some kind of fantastical elements?
Off-Trail Publications has three volumes of works by Dunn, mainly adventure works, and Steeger Books has three volumes of his stories of Gordon Manning vs The Griffin. Wildside Press has a collection of pirate stories. I do plan on getting the collections from Off-Trail and reviewing them.
