In 1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs published A Princess of Mars set on Mars and featuring John Carter as the hero .
A Princess of Mars is the first of his three - decade - long planetary romance series of Barsoom novels .
In 1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs published A Princess of Mars , the first of his three - decade - long planetary romance series of Barsoom novels , set on Mars and featuring John Carter as the hero .