The Devil-Tree of El Dorado

One of FA's "three Lost-World novels"; "The first and most successful of the three was The Devil Tree of El Dorado: A Romance of British Guiana (1896), which capitalized on the contemporary interest in the Roraima Plateau lying athwart the disputed border between Venezuela and the British colony; Monella, the mysterious giant who leads Europeans to their goal, turns out to be the 2000 year old ex-king of all they now survey, and a kind of Wandering Jew. (underscore represents linked cross-reference) --SFE: "Aubrey, Frank" biographical entry by John Eggeling "A novel might explain the Venezuelan complication [border dispute], and it is perhaps with that end in view that the Messrs. Hutchinson have published 'The Devil Tree of El Dorado, the scene of which is placed in Brazil, Venezuela, and British Guiana." --NY Times 1896-10-31 pA2 "Books and Authors"