Portrait of a Lady : October 2015

The Novels of H. Rider Haggard: A Chronological Survey

Sir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE (22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) — known as H. Rider Haggard — was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the Lost World literary genre. His stories, situated at the lighter end of Victorian literature, continue to be popular and influential.

Dawn, 1884
H. Rider Haggard

Dawn is the debut novel of H Rider Haggard. He later said he was inspired to write the book while living in Norwood. He and his wife were attending a Church service when they saw sitting near them "a singularly beautiful and pure-faced young lady.

Afterwards we agreed that this semi-divine creature — on whom to the best of my knowledge I have never set eyes again from that day to this — ought to become the heroine of a novel. So then and there we took paper, and each of us began to write the said novel. I think that after she had completed two or three folio sheets my wife ceased from her fictional labours. But, growing interested, I continued mine, which resulted in the story called “Dawn.”

Haggard never found out who the girl was but was sufficient inspired to write the first draft at Norwood in 1882, while studying for the Bar. The novel was originally called Angela, which was the first name of the heroine of the story; Angela was also the name of Haggard's eldest daughter.

Haggard later redrafted the novel several times, one version being called There Remaineth a Rest. He sent it out to several publishers but it was rejected. He rewrote it again and eventually it was accepted by a publisher. More

"Queen of the May"

E. Hume

Dawn, 1884
Early Spencer Blackett Edition

Frontispiece, c. 1888(?)

Publisher: Spencer Blackett and Hallam

Library of the University of Alberta

Henry Rider Haggard came from a line of Danish descent and was born at Bradenham, Norfolk, the eighth of ten children, to Sir William Meybohm Rider Haggard, a barrister, and Ella Doveton, an author and poet. He was initially sent to Garsington Rectory in Oxfordshire to study, but unlike his older brothers who graduated from various private schools, he attended Ipswich Grammar School. This was because his father, who perhaps regarded him as somebody who was not going to amount to much, could no longer afford to maintain his expensive private education. After failing his army entrance exam, he was sent to a private crammer in London to prepare for the entrance exam for the British Foreign Office, for which he never sat.

The Witch's Head, 1884

H. Rider Haggard

"Mazooku's Farewell."

Charles Kerr

The Witch's Head, c. 1893

Private Collection

The Witch's Head, Haggard wrote the novel following his debut effort Dawn. He was unable to find any magazine that would serialise the story, but it was accepted for publication by the firm that had put out Dawn. Haggard later wrote that "although, except for the African part, it is not in my opinion so good a story as Dawn, it was extremely well received and within certain limits very successful." The 1893 edition was illustrated by Charles H. M. Kerr. More

In 1875, Haggard's father sent him to South Africa to take up an unpaid position as assistant to the secretary to Sir Henry Bulwer, Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of Natal. In 1876 he was transferred to the staff of Sir Theophilus Shepstone, Special Commissioner for the Transvaal. It was in this role that Haggard was present in Pretoria in April 1877 for the official announcement of the British annexation of the Boer Republic of the Transvaal. Indeed, Haggard raised the Union flag and read out much of the proclamation.

King Solomon’s Mines, 1885
H. Rider Haggard

King Solomon’s Mines, 1885
H. Rider Haggard

McGill University

King Solomon’s Mines, 1885
H. Rider Haggard

King Solomon's Mines was first published in September 1885 amid considerable fanfare, with billboards and posters around London announcing "The Most Amazing Book Ever Written". It became an immediate best seller. By the late 19th century, explorers were uncovering ancient civilisations around the world, such as Egypt's Valley of the Kings, and the empire of Assyria. Inner Africa remained largely unexplored and King Solomon's Mines, the first novel of African adventure published in English, captured the public's imagination. More

King-Solomon's-Mines (1937) Movie Poster

King Solomon's Mines, a 1937 British adventure film directed by Robert Stevenson and starring Paul Robeson, Cedric Hardwicke, Anna Lee, John Loder and Roland Young. The first of five film adaptations of the 1885 novel of the same name by Henry Rider Haggard, the film was produced by the Gaumont British Picture Corporation at Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush. Sets were designed by art director Alfred Junge. Although versions of King Solomon's Mines were released in 1950 and 1985, this film offering is considered to be the most faithful to the book. More

King-Solomon's-Mines (1950) Movie Poster

King Solomon's Mines, a 1950 adventure film, the second of five film adaptations of the 1885 novel of the same name by Henry Rider Haggard. It stars Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger and Richard Carlson. It was adapted by Helen Deutsch, directed by Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. More

King-Solomon's-Mines (1985) Movie Poster

King Solomon's Mines, a 1985 action adventure film, the fourth of five film adaptations of the 1885 novel of the same name by Henry Rider Haggard. It stars Richard Chamberlain, Sharon Stone, Herbert Lom and John Rhys-Davies. It was adapted by Gene Quintano and James R. Silke and directed by J. Lee Thompson. This version of the story was a light, comedic take, deliberately referring to, and parodying Indiana Jones (in which franchise actor Rhys-Davies appeared in two installments). It was filmed outside Harare in Zimbabwe. More

King-Solomon's-Mines (2004) Movie Poster

King Solomon's Mines, a 2004 two-part TV miniseries, the fifth film adaptation of the 1885 novel of the same name by Henry Rider Haggard. Starring Patrick Swayze as Allan Quartermain (it is spelled Allan Quartermain in the credits, unlike the book, which has Allan Quatermain) and Alison Doody as Elizabeth Maitland, the film was produced by Hallmark Entertainment, and originally aired June 6, 2004. More

When Haggard eventually returned to England, he married a friend of his sister, Marianna Louisa Margitson (1859 - 1943) in 1880, and the couple travelled to Africa together. Moving back to England in 1882, the couple settled in Ditchingham, Norfolk. Haggard turned to the study of law and was called to the bar in 1884.

She, 1886
H. Rider Haggard
Grosset & Amp; Dunlap (USA) (1887) 1935 RKO Radio Production photoplay edition starring Helen Gahagan and Randolph Scott

She, 1886
H. Rider Haggard
She (1925 film) Movie Poster

She is a 1925 British-German fantasy adventure film directed by Leander de Cordova and G.B. Samuelson and starring Betty Blythe, Carlyle Blackwell, Mary Odette. It was filmed in Berlin as a co-production, and based on H. Rider Haggard's novel of the same name. According to the opening credits, the intertitles were specially written for the film by Haggard himself (he died in 1925, the year the film was made). More

She, 1886
H. Rider Haggard
She (1935 film) Movie Poster

She, a 1935 American film produced by Merian C. Cooper. Based on H. Rider Haggard's novel of the same name, the screenplay combines elements from all the books in the series: She, She and Allan, Ayesha: The Return of She and Wisdom's Daughter. The film reached a new generation of moviegoers with a 1949 re-release. More

She, 1886
H. Rider Haggard
She (1965 film) Movie Poster

She, a 1965 Metrocolor film made by Hammer Film Productionsin CinemaScope, based on the novel by H. Rider Haggard. It was directed by Robert Day and stars Ursula Andress, Peter Cushing, Bernard Cribbins, John Richardson, Rosenda Monteros and Christopher Lee. The film was an international success and led to a 1968 sequel, The Vengeance of She, with Olinka Berova in the title role. More

She, 1886
H. Rider Haggard
by Michael Whelan

She: A History of Adventure

She, 1886
H. Rider Haggard

She: A History of Adventure, 1886
Henry Rider Haggard

She, 1886
H. Rider Haggard
Betty Blythe , in ” She”

directed by G.B Samuelson, 1926

His practice of law was desultory and much of his time was taken up by the writing of novels which he saw as being more profitable. Haggard lived at 69 Gunterstone Road in Hammersmith, London, from mid-1885 to circa April 1888. It was at this Hammersmith address that he completed King Solomon's Mines (published September 1885).

In King Solomon's Mines, Haggard introduces the reader to Allan Quatermain, now one of the most famous literary adventure characters. Second in the series, this book, Allan Quatermain, continues the story of this daring man and chronicles in first person (and through correspondence from some of his fictitious companions) his adventures in Africa. Thought to be one of the fictional characters upon which another such person, Indiana Jones, is based, Quatermain is nevertheless a humble man. More

Haggard wrote the book over his summer holiday in 1885 immediately after King Solomon's Mines. It was first serialised in Longman's Magazine before being published

Allan Quatermain, 1887
H. Rider Haggard

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold.jpg

Allan Quatermain, 1887
H. Rider Haggard
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987) Movie Poster

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold is an adventure comedy film directed by Gary Nelson and released on January 30, 1987 in the United States. It is loosely based on the novel Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard. It is the sequel to King Solomon's Mines.

The role of Allan Quatermain is reprised by Richard Chamberlain as is that of Jesse Huston by Sharon Stone, who was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Awards for "Worst Actress" for this role. The movie also starred James Earl Jones as Umslopogaas, Henry Silva as Agon, Aileen Marson as Queen Nyleptha, Cassandra Peterson as Queen Sorais and Chamberlain's then real-life partner Martin Rabbett as Robeson Quatermain.

The film was made simultaneously with its predecessor, King Solomon's Mines, although it was released a couple of years later. Despite the tremendous liberties both movies took with the source material, being more similar in tone to the Indiana Jones film series, Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold was loosely based, mostly, on the book sequel of Haggard's King Solomon's Mines, entitled simply Allan Quatermain. In that book, which depicts Quatermain's last adventure (although it's just the second in the series of novels), the character and his associates go searching for a lost white tribe in Africa, and end up involved in a war between the rival queens of the kingdom. An opulent set was constructed for the movie just outside Victoria Falls. More

Allan Quatermain, 1887
H. Rider Haggard
Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls (2008) Movie Poster

Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls is a 2008 direct-to-DVD adventure film created by American studio The Asylum. The film follows the adventures of explorer Allan Quatermain, and was filmed entirely on location in South Africa.

The film was released shortly after the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and while the film contains some elements similar to Crystal Skull (Quatermain himself resembles Indiana Jones on the DVD cover), the film itself is a loose adaptation of the novel King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard.

The story follows the adventurer Allan Quatermain, who has been recruited to lead a British-American expedition in search of a fabled treasure deep within unexplored Africa.

Throughout the film, Quatermain must avoid hidden dangers, violent natives and other unseen traps during their quest for the treasure of the Temple of Skulls, travelling by train, river and air to reach his goal, while being pursued by rival treasure-seekers and unfriendly natives who wish to sabotage his expedition. More

Allan Quatermain and the City of the Immortals - legendary adventurer and obtainer of extraordinary treasures - as he searches for the most tantalising prize of all! This journey is more fraught than even Quatermain can imagine, however, as he and his merry band face down dangerous death traps, madmen, huge armies, natural predators, and, lastly, She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed! But there is a still greater peril waiting in the wings for Quatermain - that of his own past waiting for him once more. More

Haggard was heavily influenced by the larger-than-life adventurers whom he met in Colonial Africa, most notably Frederick Selous and Frederick Russell Burnham. He created his Allan Quatermain adventures under their influence, during a time when great mineral wealth was being discovered in Africa, as well as the ruins of ancient lost civilisations of the continent, such as Great Zimbabwe. Three of his books, The Wizard (1896), Black Heart and White Heart; a Zulu Idyll (1896), and Elissa; the Doom of Zimbabwe (1898), are dedicated to Burnham's daughter Nada, the first white child born in Bulawayo; she had been named after Haggard's 1892 book Nada the Lily. Haggard belonged to the Athenaeum, Savile, and Authors' clubs.

Cover of Jess (Dodo Press) by H. Rider Haggard

Jess, 1887
H. Rider Haggard

Jess was first published in the UK in March 1887, and was H. Rider Haggard's 5th novel out of 58. Haggard wrote this book toward the end of 1885...and, remarkably, in just nine weeks. Haggard has been accused of being a careless writer, but that is certainly not the case with "Jess." It is an elegantly written novel, sometimes even poetically written.

Besides showing Haggard's great gift for adventure, action, romance and historical retelling, "Jess" also amply displays the author's gift for what might be called poetic metaphor. Consider this paragraph, in the book's first chapter, in which Captain Niel watches a small whirlwind on the African veldt and compares it to his own life: "It's just like a man's life...coming from nobody knows where, nobody knows why, and making a little column of dust on the world's highway, and then passing away and leaving the dust to fall to the ground again, and be trodden under foot and forgotten." "Jess" is full of beautifully written passages like this one, as well as many of the author's side comments on life and death. The book really does have something in it for everyone. The book was a huge best-seller in its day. More

In 1882, Haggard published a book on the political situation in South Africa, as well as a handful of unsuccessful novels, before writing the book for which he is most famous, King Solomon's Mines. He accepted a 10% royalty rather than £100 for the copyright.

A sequel soon followed entitled Allan Quatermain, followed by She and its sequel Ayesha, swashbuckling adventure novels set in the context of the Scramble for Africa (although the action of Ayesha happens in Tibet). The hugely popular King Solomon's Mines is sometimes considered the first of the Lost World genre. She is generally considered to be one of the classics of imaginative literature. and with 83 million copies sold by 1965, it is one of the best-selling books of all time. He is also remembered for Nada the Lily (a tale of adventure among the Zulus) and the epic Viking romance, Eric Brighteyes.

The Tale of Three Lions by H. Rider Haggard

The Tale of Three Lions, 1887
H. Rider Haggard

The Tale of Three Lions. Taking it's place in the heart of Africa, "The Tale of Three Lions" is an adventure from the eventful life of old hunter Quatermain, the famous hero of the "King Solomons Mines". This time there are no bloodthirsty people for old hunter to deal with, the dangers are none the lesser. He has to face the mighty and fierce King of Animals - the Lion. More

The Tale of Three Lions, 1887
H. Rider Haggard

When famed explorer Allan Quatermain tries to teach his son a few life lessons on safari, he gets much more than he bargained for.

His novels portray many of the stereotypes associated with colonialism, yet they are unusual for the degree of sympathy with which the native populations are portrayed. Africans often play heroic roles in the novels, although the protagonists are typically European. Notable examples are the heroic Zulu warrior Umslopogaas and Ignosi, the rightful king of Kukuanaland, in King Solomon's Mines. Having developed an intense mutual friendship with the three Englishmen who help him regain his throne, he accepts their advice and abolishes witch-hunts and arbitrary capital punishment.

Amazon.com: Allan Quartermain 4: Maiwa's Revenge, or The War of the Little Hand (9781934451885): H. Rider Haggard: Books:

Allan Quartermain 4: Maiwa's Revenge, 1888
H. Rider Haggard

Illustration from H. Rider Haggard's Maiwa's Revenge, Chapter VII, by Thure de Thulstrup 1888

The scene shows Allan Quatermain ordering the men to fire, after getting them to wait until the most opportune moment.

Maiwa's Revenge, or The War of the Little Hand is a short novel by H. Rider Haggard about the hunter Allan Quartermain. The story involves Quartermain going on a hunting expedition, then taking part in an attack on a native kraal to rescue a captured English hunter, and avenge Maiwa, an African princess whose baby has been killed. More

Three of Haggard's novels were written in collaboration with his friend Andrew Lang who shared his interest in the spiritual realm and paranormal phenomena.

Haggard also wrote about agricultural and social reform, in part inspired by his experiences in Africa, but also based on what he saw in Europe. At the end of his life, he was a staunch opponent of Bolshevism, a position that he shared with his friend Rudyard Kipling. The two had bonded upon Kipling's arrival at London in 1889 largely on the strength of their shared opinions, and the two remained lifelong friends.

Colonel Quaritch, V.C.: A Tale of Country Life - H. Rider Haggard - Google Books:

Colonel Quaritch, V.C.: A Tale of Country Life, 1889
H. Rider Haggard

While many of H. Rider Haggard's acclaimed action-adventure tales take place in exotic locations, Colonel Quaritch, V.C. unfolds in the author's own backyard. After leaving active service, a decorated officer moves back to his ancestral village. Instead of finding the peace and quiet he was seeking, however, life in this "quaint" community proves to be just as dramatic as his days on the battlefield. More

This is the tale of an ancient family’s struggles to survive, one woman’s selflessness and another’s evil schemes; Two Gentlemen, two scoundrels and one very underestimated, loyal servant.

Haggard's stories are still widely read today. Ayesha, the female protagonist of She, has been cited as a prototype by psychoanalysts such as Sigmund Freud (in The Interpretation of Dreams) and Carl Jung. Her epithet "She Who Must Be Obeyed" is used by British author John Mortimer in his Rumpole of the Bailey series as the private name which the lead character uses for his wife, Hilda, before whom he trembles at home (despite the fact that he is a barrister with some skill in court). Haggard's Lost World genre influenced popular American pulp writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Talbot Mundy, Philip José Farmer, and Abraham Merritt. Allan Quatermain, the adventure hero of King Solomon's Mines and its sequel Allan Quatermain, was a template for the American character Indiana Jones, featured in the films Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Quatermain has gained recent popularity thanks to being a main character in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Cleopatra: Being an Account of the Fall and Vengeance of Harmachis, 1889
H. Rider Haggard

Cleopatra: Being an Account of the Fall and Vengeance of Harmachis, 1889

H. Rider Haggard

Illustration from :Cleopatra: Being an Account of the Fall and Vengeance of Harmachis, 1889
Haggard, H. Rider (Henry Rider), 1856-1925

The story is set in the Ptolemaic era of Ancient Egyptian history and revolves around the survival of a dynasty bloodline protected by the Priesthood of Isis. The main character Harmachis (the living descendant of the pharaoh's bloodline) is charged by the Priesthood to overthrow the supposed impostor Cleopatra, drive out the Greeks and Romans and restore Egypt to its golden era. More

Graham Greene, in an essay about Haggard, stated, "Enchantment is just what this writer exercised; he fixed pictures in our minds that thirty years have been unable to wear away." Haggard was praised in 1965 by Roger Lancelyn Green, one of the Oxford Inklings, as a writer of a consistently high level of "literary skill and sheer imaginative power" and a co-originator with Robert Louis Stevenson of the Age of the Story Tellers.

Beatrice: Amazon.co.uk: H.Rider Haggard: 9781505287233: Books:

Beatrice, 1890
H. Rider Haggard

Beatrice is a lonely twenty-two year old unmarried schoolteacher. After saving Geoffrey's life, they fall in love. However, Geoffrey is married. In addition, a local rich land owner wants to marry the beautiful Beatrice. More

Beatrice, 1890
H. Rider Haggard

Beatrice and Geoffrey at the gate

Maurice Greiffenhagen

Beatrice, 1890

H. Rider Haggard

Beatrice, 1890
H. Rider Haggard

Beatrice is a 1890 novel by H. Rider Hagggard.^[1] The author later called it "one of the best bits of work I ever did."

The first chapter of his book People of the Mist is credited with inspiring the motto of the Royal Air Force (formerly the Royal Flying Corps), Per ardua ad astra.

He died on 14 May 1925 at age 68 His ashes were buried at Ditchingham Church. His papers are held at the Norfolk Record Office.

The World’s Desire, 1890
H. Rider Haggard
Stephen Hickman

The World’s Desire, 1890
H. Rider Haggard

The World’s Desire, 1890
H. Rider Haggard

The World’s Desire, 1890
H. Rider Haggard

The World's Desire (1890) is the story of the hero Odysseus, mainly referred to as "the Wanderer" for the bulk of the novel. Odysseus returns home to Ithaca after his second, unsung journey. He is hoping to find a "home at peace, wife dear and true and his son worthy of him". Unfortunately, he does not find any of the three, instead his home is ravaged by a plague and his wife Penelope has been slain. As he grieves, he is visited by an old flame, Helen of Troy, for whom the novel is named. Helen leads him to equip himself with the Bow of Eurytus and embark on his last journey. This is an exhausting journey in which he encounters a Pharaoh who is wed to a murderess beauty, a holy and helpful priest, and his own fate. More

Cover of Eric Brighteyes by H. Rider Haggard

Eric Bright-Eyes Triptych, 1891
H. Rider Haggard

Eric Bright-Eyes Triptych, 1891
H. Rider Haggard

Eric Bright-Eyes Triptych, 1891
H. Rider Haggard

Eric Bright-Eyes Triptych, 1891
H. Rider Haggard
Lancelot Speed

Lancelot Speed illustrated Eric Brighteyes with 17 full-page woodcut prints and 34 supplemental illustrations. More

The Saga of Eric Brighteyes is the title of an epic viking novel by H. Rider Haggard, and concerns the adventures of its eponymous principal character in 10th century Iceland. The novel was first published in 1890 by Longmans, Green & Company. It was illustrated by Lancelot Speed.

Eric Thorgrimursson (nicknamed "Brighteyes" for his most notable trait), strives to win the hand of his beloved, Gudruda the Fair. Her father Asmund, a priest of the old Norse gods, opposes the match, thinking Eric a man without prospects. But deadlier by far are the intrigues of Swanhild, Gudruda's half-sister and a sorceress who desires Eric for herself. She persuades the chieftain Ospakar Blacktooth to woo Gudrida, making the two men enemies. Battles, intrigues, and treachery follow. More

Nada the Lily, 1892

H. Rider Haggard

Nada the Lily, 1892

H. Rider Haggard

Nada the Lily is an historical novel by English writer H. Rider Haggard, published in 1892. It is said to be inspired by Haggard's time in South Africa (1875–1882).

The novel tells the tale of the hero Umslopogaas, the illegitimate son of the great Zulu king and general Chaka, and his love for "the most beautiful of Zulu women", Nada the Lily. Nada the Lily is unusual for a Victorian novel in that its entire cast of characters is South African and black. Chaka was a real king of the Zulus but Umslopogaas was invented by Haggard and also features in Allan Quatermain. More

Nada the Lily is an all-African novel, about 19th century Zulus, Haggard’s hero Umslopogaas, Chaka, and Chaka’s witch doctor, Mopo. Nada the Lily is the first of Haggard’s Zulu tetralogy, charting the rise and fall of the Zulu empire, and Nada is generally seen as the best of the four, and Haggard’s second-best novel overall. More

Montezuma’s Daughter, 1893
H. Rider Haggard

Montezuma's Daughter, first published in 1893, is a novel written by the Victorian adventure writer H. Rider Haggard.[1] Narrated in the first person by Thomas Wingfield, an Englishman whose adventures include having his mother murdered, a brush with the Spanish Inquisition, shipwreck, and slavery. Eventually, Thomas unwillingly joins a Spanish expedition to New Spain, and the novel tells the fictionalized story of the first interactions between the natives and European explorers. This includes a number of misunderstandings, prejudice on the part of the Spaniards, and ultimately open war.

During the course of the story, Thomas meets and marries the daughter of the native king (from whom the novel takes its title) and settles into life in Mexico. The war destroys his native family, and eventually Thomas gets revenge on the antagonist and returns to England. More

Montezuma’s Daughter, 1893
H. Rider Haggard

Montezuma’s Daughter, 1893
H. Rider Haggard

Montezuma’s Daughter, 1893
H. Rider Haggard
The torture of Cuauhtemoc, 1892.

Oil on canvas,

294.5 x 454 cm

National Art Museum.

Cuauhtémoc ( c. 1495) was the Mexica ruler (tlatoani) of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, making him the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuāuhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle", and is commonly rendered in English as "Descending Eagle," as in the moment when an eagle folds its wings and plummets down to strike its prey. This is a name that implies aggressiveness and determination.

Cuauhtémoc is portrayed sympathetically in the adventure novel Montezuma's Daughter, by H. Rider Haggard. First appearing in Chapter XIV, he becomes friends with the protagonist after they save each other's lives. His coronation, torture, and death are described in the novel. More

Montezuma’s Daughter, 1893
H. Rider Haggard

by Andrey Zavgorodniy

People of the Mist, The. H. Rider Haggard.

People of the Mist, 1894
H. Rider Haggard

Macdonald & Co., Ltd. (UK) (1894)

The People of the Mist is a classic lost race fantasy novel written by H. Rider Haggard. It was first published serially in the weekly magazine Tit-Bits, between December 1893 and August 1894; the first edition in book form was published in London by Longmans in October, 1894.

In the book, the penniless Leonard Outram attempts to redress the undeserved loss of his family estates and his fiancee by seeking his fortune in Africa. In the course of his adventures, he and his Zulu companion Otter save a young Portuguese woman, Juanna Rodd, together with her nursemaid Soa, from slavery.

People of the Mist, 1894
H. Rider Haggard

Leonard and Juanna are plainly attracted to each other, but prone to bickering, and their romance is impeded by the watchful and jealous Soa. The protagonists seek the legendary People of the Mist, said to possess a fabulous hoard of jewels.

The People of the Mist: H. Rider Haggard: 9781508491101: Amazon.com: Books:

People of the Mist, 1894
H. Rider Haggard

On finding them, they immediately become embroiled in the turbulent political affairs of the lost race, which is riven by a power-struggle between its king and the priests of its giant crocodile god. The heroic Outram can do little more than react to events. The action climaxes in a hair-raising escape by tobogganning a large flat stone down a steep glacier. More

Cover of The People of the Mist by H. Rider Haggard

People of the Mist, 1894
H. Rider Haggard

Heart of the World, 1895
H. Rider Haggard

Harrap (UK) (1896)

Set in the heart of Central America, the adventure novel accounts an enthralling tale marked by zealous adventure, discovery of a lost civilization, and unconditional love. Published in 1895, Heart of the World presents a fusion of suspense, foreshadowing, legend, unforeseen twists, and endearing characters to create a piece highly valuable in the world of fiction. Narrated by an elderly Ignatio on his deathbed, the novel recounts his great escapade alongside Englishman James Strickland as they venture off in search of a lost civilization.

The novel opens with the introduction of Don Ignatio, a lineal descendant of the last Aztec emperor, who has been driven throughout his life by the single desire to overthrow the Spanish rule and unite his fellow people. However, his hopeful plans to witness the reestablishment and fortification of the once great empire do not go quite as expected, as he is left bereft of his carefully acquired treasure. More

Heart of the World, 1895
H. Rider Haggard

Joan Haste. Alone and desolate, within hearing of the thunder of the waters of the North Sea, but not upon them, stand the ruins of Ramborough Abbey. Once there was a city at their feet, now the city has gone; nothing is left of its greatness save the stone skeleton of the fabric of the Abbey above and the skeletons of the men who built it mouldering in the earth below.

Joan Haste (Stories Classics): Henry Rider Haggard, Stories Classics: 9781514109649: Amazon.com: Books:

Joan Haste, 1895
H. Rider Haggard

To the east, across a waste of uncultivated heath, lies the wide ocean; and, following the trend of the coast northward, the eye falls upon the red roofs of the fishing village of Bradmouth. When Ramborough was a town, this village was a great port; but the sea, advancing remorselessly, has choked its harbour and swallowed up the ancient borough which to-day lies beneath the waters. With that of Ramborough the glory of Bradmouth is departed, and of its priory and churches there remains but one lovely and dilapidated fane, the largest perhaps in the east of England--that of Yarmouth alone excepted--and, as many think, the most beautiful.

At the back of Bradmouth church, which, standing upon a knoll at some distance from the cliff, has escaped the fate of the city that once nestled beneath it, stretch rich marsh meadows, ribbed with raised lines of roadway. But these do not make up all the landscape, for between Bradmouth and the ruins of Ramborough, following the indentations of the sea coast and set back in a fold or depression of the ground, lie a chain of small and melancholy meres, whose brackish waters, devoid of sparkle even on the brightest day, are surrounded by coarse and worthless grass land, the haunt of the shore-shooter, and a favourite feeding-place of curlews, gulls, coots and other wild-fowl.

Beyond these meres the ground rises rapidly, and is clothed in gorse and bracken, interspersed with patches of heather, till it culminates in the crest of a bank that marks doubtless the boundary of some primeval fiord or lake, where, standing in a ragged line, are groups of wind-torn Scotch fir trees...

The Wizard - H. Rider Haggard - Google Books:

The Wizard 1896
H. Rider Haggard

The Wizard (1896) is one of the many examples of imperialist literature. The story is a third-person narrative that follows the journey of Reverend Thomas Owen as he seeks to carry out missionary work in south central Africa, specifically in the tribe of Amasuka. The novel starts in England in the parish of Reverend Thomas Owen and moves to South Central Africa, where the tribe of Amsauka (People of Fire) is located, which is where the majority of the novel takes place. While there, he encounters Hokosa, the chief of the Wizards who essentially wishes him to prove that his God is greater than their god through trials of lightening.

The novel is placed in the imperialist literature of 19th-century England. Just like many of his other works, this novel is inspired by Rider Haggard’s experiences of South Africa and British colonialism. The character Noma is meant to be representative of the theme of female authority and feminine behavior. Some scholars have called the novel “a tale of victorious faith.”[3] It has received both praise and criticism for its representation of the imperialist novel and of womanhood. More

The Wizard 1896
H. Rider Haggard Cover of The Wizard by H. Rider Haggard

Doctor Therne, 1898
H. Rider Haggard

Doctor Therne, 1898
H. Rider Haggard

In his autobiography, The Days of My Life, Haggard called DT “my only novel with a purpose…[it] deals with the matter of the Anti-Vaccination craze—not, it may be thought, a very promising topic for romance. I was led to treat of it, however, by the dreadful things I had seen and knew of the ravages of smallpox in Mexico and elsewhere, and the fear, not yet realised, that they should repeat themselves in this country” (139-140). Haggard dedicated DT to the Jenner Society, founded in 1897 and named in honor of vaccination’s discoverer, Dr. Edward Jenner (1749-1823). On 17 December 1898 the medical periodical The Lancet reviewed DT and summarized the novel as a “grim story … intended to stimulate the unintelligent and to enlighten the uneducated parents who are ready to gamble with the lives of their children and neighbours by taking advantage of the ‘conscientious objection’ clause of the new Vaccination Act” (1640). More

Swallow: A Tale of the Great Trek, 1899
H. Rider Haggard

Swallow is a Dutch girl raised in South Africa among the Kaffirs. Lonely, she gazes from shore over the waves of a storm-tossed sea, and dreams of a brother entering her life . . . and soon finds herself face-to-face with a shipwrecked waif cast ashore by the storm. Swallow grows to love the English boy Ralph Kenzie.

Swallow: A Tale of the Great Trek, 1899
H. Rider Haggard

He returns her love -- but must face the murderous Swart Piet, who is intent on taking Swallow for himself -- and equally set on bringing war to the region. Torn from Ralph's side, Swallow faces adventures of her own alongside Sihamba, the Kaffir witch-doctoress. More

Swallow: A Tale of the Great Trek by H. Rider Haggard:

Swallow: A Tale of the Great Trek, 1899
H. Rider Haggard

Lysbeth, a Tale of the Dutch, 1901
H. Rider Haggard

Lysbeth: A Tale of the Dutch is a 1901 novel by H. Rider Haggard.This tale is of the persecution of the Protestant Dutch by their Spanish oppressors. The tale is set in Sixteenth Century Holland and is the story of a family caught up in a religious war during a Spanish occupation. Lysbeth, in love with Dirk who has not declared himself since she is wealthy and he is not, is coveted by Count Juan de Montalvo, a Spaniard. The Count is more interested in her money than in Lysbeth herself. After Montalvo gathers information to prove Dirk a heretic and have him put to death, Lysbeth agrees to marry him to save her lover. More

Lysbeth-A-Tale-of-the-Dutch-By-H-Rider-Haggard

Lysbeth, a Tale of the Dutch, 1901
H. Rider Haggard

Lysbeth-Tale-Dutch-Haggard-Modern-contemporary-fiction-post-c-19-9781603125253

Lysbeth, a Tale of the Dutch, 1901
H. Rider Haggard

Lysbeth, a Tale of the Dutch, 1901
H. Rider Haggard

1st Edition. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1901

Lysbeth, A Tale of the Dutch is a historical romance set in the Netherlands. Haggard originally wanted to title this novel The Secret Sword of Silence, but ultimately decided to name it after his heroine. Lysbeth was serialized in The Graphic between 1 September 1900 and March 1901 and illustrated by G. P. Jacomb-Hood, R. I.. The Longmans, Green, and Co., New York edition was published in 1901 and featured 26 illustrations by Jacomb-Hood. Longmans, Green, and Co., London also published an edition in 1901 with identical illustrations as the Longmans edition. 10,000 copies issued. More

Pearl-Maiden: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem by H. Rider Haggard:

Pearl-Maiden: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem, 1903
H. Rider Haggard

A classic work of historical fiction which takes place during the time of the attack on Jerusalem in 70 A.D. by Titus. The story of Miriam, a young Christian woman living in the Roman Empire during the first century, and Marcus, the Roman officer who desired to win her hand.

Pearl-Maiden: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem, 1903
H. Rider Haggard

Pearl-Maiden: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem, 1903
H. Rider Haggard

Illustrations from 1st Edition

Pearl-Maiden: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem is a historical romance set in Jerusalem. PM was serialized in The Graphic 5 July through 27 December 1902 and illustrated by Byam Shaw. Longmans, Green, and Co., London, published the first edition on 2 March 1903 accompanied by 16 of Shaw’s full-page woodcut prints. 10,000 copies printed. Longmans, Green, and Co., New York, published the first US edition on 13 March 1903 which included 26 Byam Shaw illustrations. More

Pearl-Maiden: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem, 1903
H. Rider Haggard

Illustrations from 1st Edition

Pearl-Maiden: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem, 1903
H. Rider Haggard

Illustration for 'The Pearl-Maiden: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem' by H. Rider Haggard, from 'The Graphic' July 19th 1902

Pearl-Maiden: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem, 1903
H. Rider Haggard

Byam Shaw. Illustration for: Pearl-Maiden. A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. By H. Rider Haggard. London-New York-Bombay, Longmans, Green, and Co, 1902

Stella Fregelius, A Tale of Three Destinies is a romance in which lovers telepathically communicate from beyond the grave through a precursor to the radio called an “aërophone.” SF bears some parallels to Haggard’s own relationship with his first love Lily Archer, née Jackson. SF was initially serialized in November 1902 through April 1903. Longmans, Green, and Co., New York, published the first edition on 27 October 1903, but this was not illustrated. Longmans, London, published the first UK edition which was also not illustrated. I am unsure if the frontispiece for the P. F. Collier & Son Authorized Edition is original to this edition or taken from another issue. More

The Brethren, 1904
H. Rider Haggard

The Brethren is set during the Second Crusade and the fall of the Crusader kingdom of Outremer. Salah-eh-din, Sultan of Damascus, has a dream which convinces him to send his men to England to bring back Rosamund, the daughter of his sister who (according to Haggard!) eloped with an English knight. This maid, Saladin is sure, will somehow prevent a terrible disaster and give him a bloodless victory.

Godwin and Wulf, Rosamund’s twin cousins, manage to rescue her from the first kidnapping attempt. In the aftermath, they realise that they both love Rosamund desperately. Appalled by the thought that they might become rivals and enemies for Rosamund’s hand, the two decide to let her choose between them.

And when Rosamund is successfully snatched from her home by Saladin’s men, both brethren follow to rescue her or die in the attempt. Acting upon their dead uncle’s instructions, the brethren determine to seek help from the ominous and wicked Old Man of the Mountain—even against the warnings of the widow Masouda, the mysterious and beautiful innkeeper of Beirut, who spies for the Assassins.

The Brethren, 1904
H. Rider Haggard

With Masouda’s help, the brethren find Rosamund again and save her from the villainous traitor Lozelle. But Saladin’s arm is long, and soon the brother knights discover that until Rosamund has fulfilled the purpose for which he brought her to the Holy Land, he will never let her go. More

The Brethren, 1904
H. Rider Haggard

The Brethren is a medieval romance set during the Crusades. The Brethren was serialized in Cassell's Magazine December 1903 through November 1904 and included illustrations by H. R. Millar. Cassell and Co., London published the first edition on 30 September 1904, which was unillustrated at Haggard’s request.

The Brethren, 1904
H. Rider Haggard

Begone, lest I send you on a longer journey

Haggard disliked the Millar illustrations and argued they would detract from his novel. 15,000 copies were issued. The McClure Phillips, New York edition, published in October 1904 included 16 Millar illustrations. More

Stella Fregelius: A Tale of Three Destinies, 1904

H. Rider Haggard

Stella Fregelius - A Tale of Three Destinies, 1904 - H. Rider Haggard – World Classics. This supernatural love story features a device that induces telepathy between sympathetic parties and ultimately leads to communication with the dead. The author feels that he owes some apology to his readers for his boldness in offering to them a modest story which is in no sense a romance of the character that perhaps they expect from him; which has, moreover, few exciting incidents and no climax of the accustomed order... More

Stella Fregelius: A Tale of Three Destinies, 1904

H. Rider Haggard

Stella Fregelius: A Tale of Three Destinies, 1904

H. Rider Haggard

Ayesha, the Return of She is a gothic-fantasy novel by the popular Victorian author H. Rider Haggard, published in 1905, as a sequel to his far more popular and well known novel, She. It was serialised in the Windsor Magazine in 1904-5.

Ayesha: The Return of "She", 1905
H. Rider Haggard

Its significance was recognised by its republication by the Newcastle Publishing Company as the fourteenth volume of the celebrated Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library series in October 1977. More

Ayesha: The Return of "She", 1905
H. Rider Haggard

In this sequel to She, Horace Holly & his ward Leo Vincey once again embark on a quest to find the mysterious woman known as Ayesha. Knowing that She is no longer in Africa, they go east, eventually reaching a lamasery in the mountains of Tibet.

Ayesha: The Return of She - H. Rider Haggard - Google Books:

Ayesha: The Return of "She", 1905
H. Rider Haggard

The abbot warns them against continuing, but they press on & discover an ancient city named Kaloon, which is ruled by the evil Khan Rassen & his imperious wife, the Khania Atene. Near the city is a huge volcano, wherein lives the Hesea, the Priestess of Hes, & her servants. Leo becomes the center of a conflict between Atene & the Hesea, both of whom desire him. More

Ayesha: The Return of "She", 1905
H. Rider Haggard

Cover of The Way of the Spirit (Dodo Press) by H. Rider Haggard

The Way of the Spirit, 1906
H. Rider Haggard

The Way of the Spirit. 1906. Almost entirely mundane melodrama centering on sexuality and its renunciation, but with a voyage both spatial and spiritual and an isolated community in Egypt that approximates a lost race. More

In the book, the reader makes the acquaintance of a young man named Rupert Ullershaw. Rupert, when we first encounter him, is in the difficult situation of being in a love affair with the wife of his much older cousin, Lord Devene. Facing exposure, the Lady Devene commits suicide, and the young Rupert promises his mother to henceforward "follow the way of the Spirit, not that of the Flesh." After 11 years of soldiering in India and Egypt, Rupert returns home to England, where he falls in love with and marries his cousin Edith, a woman who is repelled by him but agrees to matrimony only because of Rupert's career prospects and the peerage, lands and fortune that he will eventually inherit from Lord Devene himself. Edith is actually in love with another of her cousins, who arranges for Rupert to be sent back to Egypt, for a highly dangerous mission, on the very day of his wedding! And while back in that ancient land, Rupert is captured by his old enemy, the Sheik Ibrahim, and is triply mutilated. Cared for by Mea, the female leader of a people living in the lost oasis of Tama, he is nursed back to life, returns to England after many months, and is summarily rejected by Edith... More

Benita, An African Romance, 1906
H. Rider Haggard

It may interest readers of this story to know that the author believes it to have a certain foundation in fact. More

Benita: An African Romance. An adventurous trader, it is said, hearing the legend of a great treasure buried a party of Portuguese hundreds of years before, as a last resource attempted its discovery by the help of a mesmerist.

A child was put into a trance, and gave his mesmerist details of the adventures and death of the unhappy Portuguese men and women.

H. Rider Haggard - BENITA, An African Romance (Illustrated)

Benita. An African Romance, 1906
H. Rider Haggard

With much other detail, the boy described the burial of the great treasure and its exact situation so accurately that the white man and the mesmerist were able to dig for and find the place "where it had been" -- for the bags were gone, swept out by the floods of the river.

In another trance, the boy revealed where the sacks still lay; but before the white trader could renew his search for them, the party was hunted out of the country by natives whose superstitious fears were aroused, barely escaping with their lives. . . . More

Fair Margaret, 1907

H. Rider Haggard

Fair Margaret, 1907. In the turbulent reign of King Henry VII, Peter Brome finds himself with a soldier's blood on his hands -- blood the Spanish ambassador's men demand be repaid.

Poor and fatherless, Peter delivered the killing blow in self-defense -- and because of his helpless love for Margaret -- dark-eyed daughter of John Castell, the kindly and wealthy merchant who has overseen his upbringing.

"You mean that you wish to murder me," said Peter, setting his mouth and drawing the sword from beneath his cloak. "Well, come on, cowards, and we will see whom Andrew gets for company in hell to-day. Run back, Margaret and Betty—run." And he tore off his cloak and threw it over his left arm.

Now another pursues fair Margaret -- the powerful Marquis d'Aguilar of Spain, traveling in England upon a secret mission for the Inquisition. More than love hangs in the balance! More

The Ghost Kings, 1908

H Rider Haggard

The Ghost Kings, 1908. The book cleaves fairly well into two parts. In the first, we meet Rachel Dove, a British missionary's daughter who has been trekked almost all her young life around the wilds of Africa, while her father preaches the Good Word to the natives and her mother suffers silently.

Her life is turned around when fellow teenager Richard Darrien rescues her from a flash flood; their common initials alone may clue the reader in that these two are another pair of Haggard's predestined lovers.

The Ghost Kings, 1908

H Rider Haggard

Some years later, however, Rachel, not having seen Richard during all that intervening time, runs afoul of one of the author's patented lustful villains, Ishmael, a renegade Englishman who plots with the Zulu king to have Rachel for his own. This task is made complicated for the rogue when the Zulus come to view Rachel as their "Inkosazana y Zoola," or Great Lady of the Heavens. More

The Ghost Kings, 1908

H Rider Haggard

The Yellow God: A Idol of Africa, 1908

H Rider Haggard

The Yellow God: A Idol of Africa, 1908. H. Rider Haggard's 33rd work of fiction out of an eventual 58, "The Yellow God" was first published in the U.S. in November 1908, and in Britain several months later.

The Yellow God: A Idol of Africa, 1908

H Rider Haggard

In this one, Haggard deals with one of his favorite subjects--African adventure--but puts a fresh spin on things. Thus, instead of Natal, Zululand, the Transvaal and Egypt, where the bulk of his African tales take place, "The Yellow God" transpires, for the most part, in what I gather is now northern Nigeria. And instead of big-game hunter Allan Quatermain (the protagonist of no less than 14 Haggard novels), here we are given Alan Vernon, an ex-Army colonel who, with his steadfast servant Jeekie, goes on a quest to find the legendary gold hordes of the undiscovered Asiki people.

The Yellow God: A Idol of Africa, 1908

H Rider Haggard

The Yellow God: A Idol of Africa, 1908. And, after braving a harrowing trek during which they encounter poison-arrow-shooting dwarves, good-hearted cannibals, fierce beasts, raging rivers, swamps and a monster storm, the lost people of Asikiland are indeed discovered, and Haggard treats us to yet another mysterious civilization, as well as its imposing ruler. In this case, it is the beautiful but wicked woman named the Asika, who I suppose some readers would deem a poor man's Ayesha of "She" fame, but who is quite an interesting character in her own right. As did Ayesha herself, the Asika takes a hot-blooded fancy to her white visitor, who she sees as a returned soul mate, and decides to keep him and Jeekie around...in perpetuity. More

The Yellow God: An Idol of Africa (eBook)

The Yellow God: A Idol of Africa, 1908

H Rider Haggard

The Lady of Blossholme, 1909

H. Rider Haggard

The Lady of Blossholme, 1909. Set in England during the reign of King Henry VIII, The Lady of Blossholme is a record historical adventure. Depicting the fight of survival waged by two women, the work also comments on the hardships faced by the people in earlier times. A well-knitted and wisely planned plot about the pursuit of justice. More

The Lady of Blossholme, 1909

H. Rider Haggard

The Lady of Blossholme, 1909

H. Rider Haggard

Morning Star, 1910

H Rider Haggard

Morning Star. It may be thought that even in a story of Old Egypt to represent a "Ka" or "Double" as remaining in active occupation of a throne, while the owner of the said "Double" goes upon a long journey and achieves sundry adventures, is, in fact, to take a liberty with Doubles.

Morning Star, 1910

H Rider Haggard

Yet I believe that this is scarcely the case. The Ka or Double which Wiedermann aptly calls the "Personality within the Person" appears, according to Egyptian theory, to have had an existence of its own.

Morning Star, 1910

H Rider Haggard

It did not die when the body died, for it was immortal and awaited the resurrection of that body, with which, henceforth, it would be reunited and dwell eternally. To quote Wiedermann again, "The Ka could live without the body, but the body could not live without the Ka . . . . . it was material in just the same was as the body itself."

Morning Star, 1910

H Rider Haggard

Also, it would seem that in certain ways it was superior to and more powerful than the body, since the Egyptian monarchs are often represented as making offerings to their own Kas as though these were gods.

Again, in the story of "Setna and the Magic Book," translated by Maspero and by Mr. Flinders Petrie in his "Egyptian Tales," the Ka plays a very distinct part of its own. Thus the husband is buried at Memphis and the wife in Koptos, yet the Ka of the wife goes to live in her husband's tomb hundreds of miles away, and converses with the prince who comes to steal the magic book. More

Morning Star, 1910

H Rider Haggard

It was evening in Egypt, thousands of years ago, when the Prince Abi, governor of Memphis and of great territories in the Delta, made fast his ship of state to a quay beneath the outermost walls of the mighty city of Uast or Thebes, which we moderns know as Luxor and Karnac on the Nile. Abi, a large man, very dark of skin, for his mother was one of the hated Hyksos barbarians who once had usurped the throne of Egypt, sat upon the deck of his ship and stared at the setting sun which for a few moments seemed to rest, a round ball of fire, upon the bare and rugged mountains, that ring round the Tombs of the Kings.

Morning Star in Famous Fantastic Mysteries

H Rider Haggard

He was angry, as the slave-women, who stood on either side fanning him, could see well enough by the scowl on his coarse face and the fire in his large black eyes. Presently they felt it also, for one of them, staring at the temples and palaces of the wonderful city made glorious by the light of the setting sun, that city of which she had heard so often, touched his head with the feathers of her fan.

Morning Star, 1910

H Rider Haggard

Thereon, as though glad of an excuse to express his ill-humour, Abi sprang up and boxed her ears so heavily that the poor girl fell to the deck. "Awkward cat," he cried, "do that again and you shall be flogged until your robe sticks to your back!" More

Queen Sheba's Ring, 1910

Henry Rider Haggard

Queen Sheba's Ring. Four men travel into the Sahara in search of the lost kingdom of Mur: an old doctor looking for his lost son, a professor in search of learning, and a young man in search of adventure with his old sergeant.

Queen Sheba's Ring, 1910

Henry Rider Haggard

The inhabitants of Mur, the Abati-one of the lost tribes of Israel, now in the decline of their civilisation fallen into effete cowardice and lethargy. Their queen-Maqueda, the Child of Kings, descended from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, one of the few Abati that still shows courage and enterprise.

Queen Sheba's Ring, 1910

Henry Rider Haggard

Their enemies-the warlike and vigorous Fung, who worship the gigantic lion-headed sphinx Harmac. The mission: blow up the mountainous sphinx, thus demoralising and dispersing the Fung and rescuing the Abati people from extinction.

Queen Sheba's Ring, 1910

Henry Rider Haggard

Rescue the doctor's son from the Fung. Escape death by lion. And do it all without falling foul of the villainous Joshua, Prince of the Abati, and without falling in love with the spirited Maqueda, for which the penalty is death. More easily said than done.. More

Queen Sheba's Ring, 1910

Henry Rider Haggard

Red Eve, 1911

H Rider Haggard

Red Eve. When Eve Clattering-known as Red Eve because she always dresses in red--is betrothed to Sir Edmund Acour, Count of Noyon, it goes against her will and her every instinct. Rumors of Sir Edmund's treachery have reached her ears, and she suspects may be planning to seize the throne of England. Hugh de Cressi, Eve's true love, must rise above his station, help save the king . . . and win Red Eve for his own! More

Red Eve, 1911

H Rider Haggard

Red Eve, 1911

H Rider Haggard

The Mahatma and the Hare: A Dream Story, 1911

H. Rider Haggard

The Mahatma and the Hare: A Dream Story. There is a man who has lost his wife and daughter. He is the sole survivor in the accident and feels great guilt. And in this guilt, he begins to drink more and more each day. Then one day as the man was contemplating suicide, a stranger named Joren comes along and tells him not to worry. He tells him of reincarnated souls, of a life beyond the mortal one, and he teaches the man to transcend his physical body. More

Guided, Guarded by the Spirits of Dead Suns, by WT Horton

from The Mahatma and the Hare: A Dream Story (1911)

H. Rider Haggard.

The Mahatma and the Hare" was first published in book form in 1911, and is one of H. Rider Haggard's rarer titles. The idea for this short novel came to Haggard, he states in the book's preface, after he had read a newspaper account of a hare that had swum out to sea to avoid being captured by pursuing hounds.

The Mahatma and the Hare: A Dream Story, 1911

H. Rider Haggard

In Haggard's story, the self-called mahatma--a spiritual man who is able, when asleep, to view "The Great White Road" on which the souls of those recently departed enter heaven--encounters the hare of the title after that animal's death.

The hare tells the mahatma of the hardships and cruelties of his recent life: of how his entire family had been hunted to extinction; of his narrow escapes from hunters, greyhounds, and other hunting dogs; and, finally, of how he met his end. The hare also gets to debate the issue of animal rights with his chief hunter/enemy, near the book's end. This hunter is given time to plead his case, but Haggard's sympathies (and the reader's) are certainly with the poor, oppressed hare. More

Marie is 1912 novel by H. Rider Haggard featuring Allan Quatermain. The plot concerns Quatermain as a young man and involves his first marriage, to the Boer farm girl, Marie Marais. Their romance is opposed by Marie's anti-English father, and the villainous Pereira, who desires Marie. They are Voortrekkers who take part in the Great Trek whom Quatermain has to rescue.

Marie, 1912

H. Rider Haggard

The novel describes Quatermain's involvement in the Sixth Xhosa War of 1835 and Weenen massacre. Real life people such as Piet Retief, Thomas Halstead, and the Zulu chief Dingane appear as characters. More

Child of Storm, 1913

H. Rider Haggard

Child of Storm is a 1913 novel featuring Allan Quatermain. The plot is set in 1854-56 and concerns Quatermain hunting in Zululand and getting involved with Mameema, a beautiful African girl who causes great turmoil in the Zulu kingdom.

The novel is the second in a trilogy by Haggard involving the collapse of the Zulu kingdom and featuring the dwarf Zikali. The first book is Marie, and the third, Finished.

The story takes place against the real life struggle between Cetshwayo and Umbelazi, the two sons of the Zulu king Mpande (called "Panda" in the novel). The events culminate in the Battle of Ndondakusuka (here called the "Battle of the Tugela") in 1856. Real life people such as Panda, Cetshwayo, and John Robert Dunn appear as characters. More