A classic historical fantasy revolving around immortality and reincarnations, two themes that were dear to Edwin Lester Arnold and the writers of the late 19th Century.

 

Before the Roman conquest of England, a Phoenician merchant called Phra travels to the Cassiterides, (the Tinislands).

Phra dies and is reborn many times, keeping his personal identity throughout each reincarnation and adapting to the different times and places.

As a Briton he is the slave-consort of his Druid wife, and a Centurion in the household of a Roman noble woman.

He joins the desperate stand of King Harold against the invading Normans, and awakes again as a Saxon thane, an enshrined saint, and a knight under King Edward III, later serving Queen Elizabeth.

 

Along with Gullivar Jones, Phra is considered to be the inspiration for John Carter of Mars by E. R. Burroughs.

This version includes the full text of the 1883 edition, a short biography of the author and the complete bibliography of Arnold’s fictional and non-fictional works.