# Adventure fiction > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Adventure_fiction > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Adventure_fiction.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_fiction > Source revision: 1328417970 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Fiction in which an adventure forms the main storyline "Adventure story" redirects here. For the play, see [*Adventure Story* (play)](/source/Adventure_Story_(play)). Adventure [novels](/source/Novel) and [short stories](/source/Short_stories) were popular subjects for American [pulp magazines](/source/Pulp_magazine). Literature Oral literature Folklore ceremonial poetry epics evocation fable fairy tale folk play folksong incantation legend myth proverb Oration Performance lyrics spoken word storytelling Saying Major written forms Drama closet drama Poetry lyric narrative Prose narrative Nonsense verse Ergodic Electronic Religious Long prose fiction Anthology Serial Novel/romance Medium prose fiction Novella Novelette Short prose fiction Short story Drabble Sketch Flash fiction Parable Wisdom Prose genres Fiction Children's Encyclopedic Genre action adventure coming-of-age crime erotic fantasy horror military paranormal romance science fiction supernatural western Historical Realist Speculative Non-fiction Academic history philosophy Anecdote Epistle Essay Journalism Letter Life Nature Persuasive Travelogue Poetry genres Narrative Children Epic Epyllion Dramatic Verse novel National Lyric Ballad Elegy Epigram Ghazal Haiku Hymn Limerick Lyrics Ode Qasida Sonnet Villanelle Dramatic genres Comedy Libretto Play historical moral Satire Script Tragedy Tragicomedy History Ancient Medieval Early medieval Early modern Renaissance 18th 19th 20th Contemporary 21st Media Voice audiobook speech Writing book digital electronics ebook manuscript Lists and outlines Outline Glossary Books Epic folk-epics Poets Writers Movements poetry groups Cycles Literary awards poetry Short story collection / Cycle Lost literary work lacuna Theory and criticism Sociology Magazines Composition Language Narrative Comparative Circle Society Post-literate Society Peer Feud Estate Workshop Circle Literature portal v t e **Adventure fiction** is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of [romance fiction](/source/Romance_(prose_fiction)#Definition).[1] ## History In the introduction to the *Encyclopedia of Adventure Fiction*, Critic [Don D'Ammassa](/source/Don_D'Ammassa) defines the genre as follows: .. An adventure is an event or series of events that happens outside the course of the protagonist's ordinary life, usually accompanied by danger, often by physical action. Adventure stories almost always move quickly, and the pace of the plot is at least as important as characterization, setting, and other elements of creative work.[2] D'Ammassa argues that adventure stories make the element of danger the focus; hence he argues that [Charles Dickens](/source/Charles_Dickens)'s novel *[A Tale of Two Cities](/source/A_Tale_of_Two_Cities)* is an adventure novel because the protagonists are in constant danger of being imprisoned or killed, whereas Dickens's *[Great Expectations](/source/Great_Expectations)* is not because "Pip's encounter with the convict is an adventure, but that scene is only a device to advance the main plot, which is not truly an adventure."[2] Adventure has been a common [theme](/source/Theme_(literature)) since the earliest days of written fiction. Indeed, the standard plot of Heliodorus, and so durable as to be still alive in [Hollywood movies](/source/Adventure_film), a [hero](/source/Hero) would undergo a first set of adventures before he met his lady. A separation would follow, with the second set of adventures leading to a final reunion.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Variations kept the genre alive. From the mid-19th century onwards, when mass literacy grew, adventure became a popular subgenre of fiction. Although not exploited to its fullest, adventure has seen many changes over the years – from being constrained to stories of knights in armor to stories of high-tech espionage. Examples of that period include [Sir Walter Scott](/source/Sir_Walter_Scott), [Alexandre Dumas, père](/source/Alexandre_Dumas%2C_p%C3%A8re),[3] [Jules Verne](/source/Jules_Verne), the [Brontë Sisters](/source/Bront%C3%AB_Sisters), [Rudyard Kipling](/source/Rudyard_Kipling), [Sir H. Rider Haggard](/source/Sir_H._Rider_Haggard), [Sir Arthur Conan Doyle](/source/Sir_Arthur_Conan_Doyle), [Edgar Rice Burroughs](/source/Edgar_Rice_Burroughs), [Victor Hugo](/source/Victor_Hugo),[4] [Emilio Salgari](/source/Emilio_Salgari), [Karl May](/source/Karl_May), [Louis Henri Boussenard](/source/Louis_Henri_Boussenard), [Thomas Mayne Reid](/source/Thomas_Mayne_Reid), [Sax Rohmer](/source/Sax_Rohmer), [A. Merritt](/source/A._Merritt), [Talbot Mundy](/source/Talbot_Mundy), [Edgar Wallace](/source/Edgar_Wallace), and [Robert Louis Stevenson](/source/Robert_Louis_Stevenson). Adventure [novels](/source/Novel) and [short stories](/source/Short_stories) were popular subjects for American [pulp magazines](/source/Pulp_magazine), which dominated American popular fiction between the [Progressive Era](/source/Progressive_Era) and the 1950s.[5] Several pulp magazines such as *[Adventure](/source/Adventure_(magazine))*, *[Argosy](/source/Argosy_(magazine))*, *[Blue Book](/source/Blue_Book_(magazine))*, *[Top-Notch](/source/Top-Notch_Magazine)*, and *[Short Stories](/source/Short_Stories_(magazine))* specialized in this genre. Notable pulp adventure writers included [Edgar Rice Burroughs](/source/Edgar_Rice_Burroughs), [Talbot Mundy](/source/Talbot_Mundy), [Theodore Roscoe](/source/Theodore_Roscoe), [Johnston McCulley](/source/Johnston_McCulley), [Arthur O. Friel](/source/Arthur_O._Friel), [Harold Lamb](/source/Harold_Lamb), [Carl Jacobi](/source/Carl_Richard_Jacobi), [George F. Worts](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_F._Worts&action=edit&redlink=1),[5] [Georges Surdez](/source/Georges_Surdez), [H. Bedford-Jones](/source/H._Bedford-Jones), and [J. Allan Dunn](/source/J._Allan_Dunn).[6] ## Overlap with other genres Adventure fiction often overlaps with other genres, notably [war novels](/source/War_novel), [crime novels](/source/Crime_novel), [detective novels](/source/Detective_novel), [sea stories](/source/Sea_story), [Robinsonades](/source/Robinsonade), [spy stories](/source/Spy_stories) (as in the works of [John Buchan](/source/John_Buchan), [Eric Ambler](/source/Eric_Ambler) and [Ian Fleming](/source/Ian_Fleming)), [science fiction](/source/Science_fiction), [fantasy](/source/Fantasy), ([Robert E. Howard](/source/Robert_E._Howard) and [J. R. R. Tolkien](/source/J._R._R._Tolkien) both combined the [secondary world](/source/Secondary_world) story with the adventure novel)[7] and [Westerns](/source/Western_fiction). Not all books within these genres are adventures. Adventure fiction takes the setting and premise of these other genres, but the fast-paced plot of an adventure focuses on the actions of the hero within the setting. [*[according to whom?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions)*] With a few notable exceptions (such as [Baroness Orczy](/source/Baroness_Orczy), [Leigh Brackett](/source/Leigh_Brackett) and [Marion Zimmer Bradley](/source/Marion_Zimmer_Bradley))[8] adventure fiction as a genre has been largely dominated by male writers, though female writers are now becoming common. ## For children Adventure stories written specifically for children began in the 19th century. Early examples include [Johann David Wyss](/source/Johann_David_Wyss)'s *[The Swiss Family Robinson](/source/The_Swiss_Family_Robinson)* (1812), [Frederick Marryat's](/source/Frederick_Marryat) *[The Children of the New Forest](/source/The_Children_of_the_New_Forest)* (1847), and [Harriet Martineau's](/source/Harriet_Martineau) *The Peasant and the Prince* (1856).[9] The Victorian era saw the development of the genre, with [W. H. G. Kingston](/source/William_Henry_Giles_Kingston), [R. M. Ballantyne](/source/Robert_Michael_Ballantyne), and [G. A. Henty](/source/G._A._Henty) specializing in the production of adventure fiction for boys.[10] This inspired writers who normally catered to adult audiences to essay such works, such as [Robert Louis Stevenson](/source/Robert_Louis_Stevenson) writing *[Treasure Island](/source/Treasure_Island)* for a child readership.[10] In the years after the First World War, writers such as [Arthur Ransome](/source/Arthur_Ransome) developed the adventure genre by setting the adventure in Britain rather than distant countries, while [Geoffrey Trease](/source/Geoffrey_Trease), [Rosemary Sutcliff](/source/Rosemary_Sutcliff)[11] and [Esther Forbes](/source/Esther_Forbes) brought a new sophistication to the historical adventure novel.[10] Modern writers such as [Mildred D. Taylor](/source/Mildred_D._Taylor) (*[Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry](/source/Roll_of_Thunder%2C_Hear_My_Cry)*) and [Philip Pullman](/source/Philip_Pullman) (the [Sally Lockhart](/source/Sally_Lockhart) novels) have continued the tradition of the historical adventure.[10] The modern children's adventure novel sometimes deals with controversial issues like [terrorism](/source/Terrorism) ([Robert Cormier](/source/Robert_Cormier), *[After the First Death](/source/After_the_First_Death)* (1979))[10] and warfare in the [Third World](/source/Third_World) ([Peter Dickinson](/source/Peter_Dickinson), *AK* (1990)).[10] ## See also - [Novels portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Novels) - [Action fiction](/source/Action_fiction) - [Action-adventure comics](/source/Action-adventure_comics) - *[Adventure Comics](/source/Adventure_Comics)* - [Adventure gamebook (interactive)](/source/Adventure_gamebook) - [Crime fiction](/source/Crime_fiction) - [Detective fiction](/source/Detective_fiction) - [Lost world (genre)](/source/Lost_world_(genre)) - [Men's adventure](/source/Men's_adventure) - [Military fiction](/source/Military_fiction) - [Nautical fiction](/source/Nautical_fiction) - [Outdoor literature](/source/Outdoor_literature) - [Picaresque novel](/source/Picaresque_novel) - [Robinsonade](/source/Robinsonade) - [Subterranean fiction](/source/Subterranean_fiction) - [Spy fiction](/source/Spy_fiction) - [Swashbuckler](/source/Swashbuckler) - [Thriller (genre)](/source/Thriller_(genre)) - [Voyages extraordinaires](/source/Voyages_extraordinaires) - [War novel](/source/War_novel) - [Western (genre)](/source/Western_(genre)) ## Notes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** "Essay on Romance", *Prose Works* volume vi, p. 129, quoted in "Introduction" to Walter Scott's *Quentin Durward*, ed. Susan Maning. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992, p. xxv. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-d'ammasssa_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-d'ammasssa_2-1) D'Ammassa, Don. *Encyclopedia of Adventure Fiction*. Facts on File Library of World Literature, Infobase Publishing, 2009 (pp. vii-viii). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Green, Martin Burgess. *[Seven Types of Adventure Tale: An Etiology of A Major Genre](https://books.google.com/books?id=qMT7JUJybmcC)*. Penn State Press, 1991 (pp. 71–2). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Taves, Brian. *The Romance of Adventure: The Genre of Historical Adventure Movies*.University Press of Mississippi, 1993 (p. 60) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ls_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ls_5-1) [Server, Lee](/source/Lee_Server). *Danger is My Business: An Illustrated History of the Fabulous Pulp Magazines.* Chronicle Books, 1993 (pp. 49–60). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Robinson, Frank M.](/source/Frank_M._Robinson) and Davidson, Lawrence. *Pulp Culture – The Art of Fiction Magazines*. Collectors Press Inc. 2007 (pp. 33–48). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Pringle, David](/source/David_Pringle). *The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy*. London, Carlton pp. 33–5 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Richard A. Lupoff](/source/Richard_Lupoff).*Master of Adventure: The Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs*. University of Nebraska Press, 2005 (pp.194, 247) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [Hunt, Peter](/source/Peter_Hunt_(literary_critic)). (Editor). *Children's literature: an illustrated history*. Oxford University Press, 1995. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-19-212320-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-19-212320-3) (pp. 98–100) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-oxford_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-oxford_10-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-oxford_10-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-oxford_10-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-oxford_10-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-oxford_10-5) Butts, Dennis, "Adventure Books" in [Zipes, Jack](/source/Jack_Zipes), *The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature*. Volume One. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-514656-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-514656-1) (pp. 12–16). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Hunt, 1995, (pp. 208–9) ## External links - Works related to [Adventure](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Category:Adventure) at Wikisource v t e Narrative Character Antagonist Archenemy Character arc Character flaw Characterization Confidant Deuteragonist False protagonist Focal character Foil Gothic double Hamartia Hero Anti Byronic Tragic Narrator Protagonist Stock character Straight man Supporting character Title character Tritagonist Villain Plot Ab ovo Action Backstory Origin story Chekhov's gun Cliché Cliffhanger Conflict Deus ex machina Dialogue Dramatic structure Eucatastrophe Foreshadowing Flashback Flashforward Frame story In medias res Kishōtenketsu MacGuffin Pace Plot device Plot twist Poetic justice Red herring Reveal Self-insertion Shaggy dog story Stereotype Story arc Story within a story Subplot Suspense Trope Setting Alternate history Backstory Crossover Dreamworld Dystopia Fictional location city country universe parallel Fictional species Utopia Worldbuilding Theme Irony Leitmotif Metaphor Moral Moral development Motif Deal with the Devil Conflict between good and evil Self-fulfilling prophecy Time travel Style Allegory Bathos Comic relief Diction Figure of speech Imagery Mode Mood Narration Narrative techniques Hook Show, don't tell Stylistic device Suspension of disbelief Symbolism Tone Structure Act Act structure Three-act structure Freytag's Pyramid Exposition/Protasis Rising action/Epitasis Climax/Peripeteia Falling action/Catastasis Catastrophe Denouement Linear narrative Nonlinear narrative films television series Premise Types of fiction with multiple endings Form Drama Fabliau Flash fiction Folklore Fable Fairy tale Legend Myth Tall tale Gamebook Narrative art Narrative poetry Epic poetry Novel Novella Parable Short story Vignette Genre (List) Fiction Action fiction Adventure Comic Crime Docu Epistolary Ergodic Erotic Historical Western Mystery Nautical Paranoid Philosophical Picaresque Political Pop culture Psychological Religious Rogue Romance Chivalric Prose Saga Satire Speculative fiction Fantasy Gothic Southern Horror Magic realism Science Hard Utopian and dystopian Underwater Superhero Theological Thriller Urban Nonfiction Autobiography Biography Novel Creative Narration Diegesis First-person Second-person Third-person Third-person omniscient narrative Subjectivity Unreliable narrator Fourth wall Multiple narrators Stream of consciousness Stream of unconsciousness Tense Past Present Future Related Dominant narrative Fiction writing Continuity Canon Reboot Retcon Parallel novel Prequel / Sequel Series Genre List Literary science Literary theory Narrative identity Narrative paradigm Narrative therapy Narratology Metafiction Political narrative Rhetoric Glossary Screenwriting Series of works Storytelling Tellability Verisimilitude Authority control databases National United States Israel Other Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Adventure fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_fiction) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_fiction?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.