Beyond Thirty · Chapters
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Chapter companions for Beyond Thirty by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
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Chapter 1
I
Lieutenant Jefferson Turck, a young officer in the Pan-American navy, introduces his fascination with the lost history of Europe and the two-century-old isolation of the Western Hemisphere. He recounts the cessation of transoceanic intercourse, the rise of the Pan-American Federation, and the strict prohibition against crossing 30° W or 175° W. Turck describes his command of the aging aero-submarine Coldwater, which suffers a catastrophic failure of its gravitation-screen generators while patrolling near the forbidden boundary, forcing the ship to drift toward 30°.
Chapter 2
II
After being abandoned by the Coldwater, Lieutenant Turck and his men decide to sail east beyond the forbidden line of thirty degrees. They land on the coast of Devon, England, where they find no signs of civilization, only overgrown ruins and evidence of a past battle. Turck resolves to continue to London.
Chapter 3
III
The crew lands on the Isle of Wight and encounters the Grubittens, a primitive tribe with no knowledge of the outside world. They then explore the mainland, facing repeated tiger attacks and discovering that England has reverted to a savage wilderness. After a close call with a tiger that kills a deer and nearly kills Delcarte, they are forced to flee by boat, concluding that the tigers have overrun the land and likely wiped out the human population.
Chapter 4
IV
The narrator is bound and imprisoned by Buckingham after being captured by the primitive tribe. He reflects on his fall from anticipation of a civilized London to captivity among savages. He meets a child named Mary, who is Victory's sister, and asks her to fetch the queen. He is later taken to the 'Camp of the Lions' and tied to a crumbling arch as a sacrifice, left to face a lion. The chapter also describes the primitive lifestyle of the tribe, the queen's disdain for Buckingham, and the narrator's observations of their culture.
Chapter 5
V
The narrator and Victory explore the ruins of London, discovering remnants of its former glory, including a well-preserved public building with historic paintings. They encounter a pride of lions occupying the throne room of England, leading to a desperate fight and escape up a narrow staircase into a small chamber.
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