Product Description
Designed for school districts, educators, and students seeking to maximize performance on standardized tests, Webster's paperbacks take advantage of the fact that classics are frequently assigned readings in English courses. By using a running thesaurus at the bottom of each page, this edition of Hunter Quatermain's Story by H. Rider Haggard was edited for students who are actively building their vocabularies in anticipation of taking PSAT¿, SAT¿, AP¿ (Advanced Placement¿), GRE¿, LSAT¿, GMAT¿ or similar examinations.
PSAT¿ is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT¿ is a registered trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE¿, AP¿ and Advanced Placement¿ are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT¿ is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT¿ is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Story
This is a short story (the Location numbers only go to 244), and it is given as a side adventure to King Solomon's Mines.As the title suggests, it shows Quatermain as the Great White Hunter in Africa.The ending is deeply affecting. ... Read more

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General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1918Original Publisher: Longmans, GreenSubjects: Fiction / Action ... Read more

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Before there was Indiana Jones there was Allan Quartermain: the original explorer, treasure hunter, and adventurer. The Quartermain books have captivated readers for more than a century, spawning more than a dozen movies and a host of imitators. These three novels-Marie, Child of Storm, and Finished-form the Zulu Trilogy in which the Zulu wizard, Zikali, gains his revenge on the Zulu nation and its king, Cetawayo. Here are tales of magic, revenge, and something darker and far more sinister. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fascinating - Can't put it down
Another wonderful work combining history and fantasy. Once you get started, you won't be able to put it down! A fascinating chronicle of the Zulu saga with memorable characters. Haggard's literary style literally transports you to the African landscapes and makes you feel like you are part and parcel of the action. If you love adventure novels, H. Rider Haggard is for you. ... Read more

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"She," the great mythic creation of the 19th century, "King Solomon’s Mines" and "Allan Quatermain" are surging tales of adventure, full of sensational fights, blood-curdling perils and extraordinary escapes.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Exciting
The original novels are far superior to later films, in my opinion. 'She' is a thrilling mystery romance and the other two books in this volume have nothing lacking in excitement and exotic location. Other books by Haggard that I love areQueen Sheba's Ring, The Virgin of the Sun and Nada the Lily.

a dreadful experience, simply dreadful
I don't know which to complain about more bitterly: the typesetting and font, which forced me to crack the spine with considerable effort in order to make out the text, or the dull, bland, pseudo-Edwardian British style that bores one to tears before the first iota of action occurs. Finding that the linear read-through didn't work, I tried hopscotching around to detect bits of action or, indeed, any sort of episodes that might hold my interest. I failed in my quest. Take my advice: leave these dusty old works on the back shelf of a decaying library where some witless 130-year-old British gent can take them down and chortle over them.

She was even better than I remember
I remember reading about "her" when I was in my teens and I never forgot the impression that Mr. Haggard left in my mind.She was just as beautiful and yet vulnerable in the end to risk everything to go for her ideal.I love the footnotes which add believability to the story and there was so much that I had forgotten from the first read that it was even more enjoyable the second time.The mystery remains, in our time, would someone try to get back to that fountain of youth, or is it better left to keep our normal mortal coil.Enjoy!

The Granddaddy of Occult Flavored Action Adventure
If you have never read these novels--the cream of Rider Haggard's work--prepare yourself for sleepless nights, meals untasted, and a blessed relief from the stultifying dullness of modern life. Profound pulp doesn't get any better than this. All Hail H. Rider Haggard!

Indiana Jones before America was a power
I read these three novels when I was much younger (I'm now 58) and I remembered them with some fondness - this book is part of my library for that reason. When we, as a family, watched one of the Indiana Jones movies and my two boys (aged 12 and 9) were enthralled, I thought back to Rider Haggard. Perhaps one of these novels would be a good bed time reading!

I chose to reread 'King Solomon's Mines' and I did enjoy it, despite the war that fills most of the middle of the novel - it adds colour, valour and courage but doesn't really contribute to the narrative of the story. For that reason I won't read the stories to my boys, but I suspect that when they are a little older they may well explore these yarns themselves. 'King Solomon's Mines' reads very well despite the passage of years and the changes that have occurred - different views of native peoples, different views of nationalism, different views of women, different views of class......

The 'devices' used to add excitement to the story line are at least as inventive as any of the ones you find in the Indiana Jones movies. And, in fact, I think I like Alan Quartermain better than Indiana Jones - but that might just be a hangover from my British background.

Other recommendations:
'Heart of Darkness'Joseph Conrad
... Read more

Product Description
Designed for school districts, educators, and students seeking to maximize performance on standardized tests, Webster's paperbacks take advantage of the fact that classics are frequently assigned readings in English courses. By using a running thesaurus at the bottom of each page, this edition of The Mahatma and the Hare by H. Rider Haggard was edited for students who are actively building their vocabularies in anticipation of taking PSAT¿, SAT¿, AP¿ (Advanced Placement¿), GRE¿, LSAT¿, GMAT¿ or similar examinations.
PSAT¿ is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT¿ is a registered trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE¿, AP¿ and Advanced Placement¿ are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT¿ is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT¿ is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An Aquired Taste
I like most rooks by Rider Haggard, and so I read this one.Mahatma and the Hare is well written, but is very vague and nebulous due to the occult subject matter.Basically it describes a series of travels which the narrator has made on the "great white road" and conversations with a hare he met there.The hare speaks in great detail about the cruelty inherent in hunting.The Mahatma referred to in the title is Jorsen, an occultist who once convinced the narrator not to commit suicide, and who then showed him how to reach the "great white road".Unless you already know of some very specific reason for wanting this book you are likely to be disappointed as I was.

Gutenburg Project has this book available for downloading for free:http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2764So if you want to buy the ebook anyway ... ... Read more

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An excerpt:

Customer Reviews (1)

Exciting & mysterious
If you like Allan Quatermain books you should love this one. It's an exciting and myserious adventure that will take you deep into African and Egyptian history. Set against the exotic background of Africa's beautiful and savage wilderness this book is hard to put down.
I also liked The Virgin of the Sun and Nada the Lily by the same writer. ... Read more

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Indulge Yourself with the best classic literature on Your PDA. Navigate easily to any novel from Table of Contents or search for the words or phrases. Author's biography and stories in the trial version.

Customer Reviews (2)

An enjoyable collection of H. Rider Haggard indeed
Works of Henry Rider Haggard. King Solomon's Mines, The People of the Mist, She, Cleopatra, The Virgin of the Sun, Allan Quatermain series, Morning Star, ... & more. Published by MobileReference (mobi)

Haggard has received a lot of latter-day disdain for his imperialism and paternalistic descriptions of native cultures. But he was just writing what he knew in the flavor of the time. And boy, could he spin a yarn. These are old-school adventure stories with a dash of fantasy, well-written and possessed of a level of feeling beyond mere derring-do.

Great novels, great value
Works of Henry Rider Haggard. King Solomon's Mines, She, Allan Quatermain series, Ayesha series & more. Published by MobileReference (mobi)

This ebook is a real bargain. You get a great compilation of Haggard's novels for less than a typical hardcover new release. Moreover, they're all excellent reads. You won't go wrong with this collection.
... Read more

Product Description
They swore that it could not be true, for would this high lady, the anointed Pharaoh of Egypt, take her father's murderer, and her own uncle to husband? Would she not rather die in her prison tower on which night by night they had seen her stand and sing? In their hearts they thought that she should die, for thus they had summed her up. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Much Better Than I Expected
I had never read any of Haggard's work and I was expecting slow, nineteenth century, convoluted prose.
I was greatly surprised to see the straightforward writing, and the incredibly evocative picture Morning Star paints of ancient Egypt.
This is a love story, but not a sloppy, gushy one.The narrative is interesting from start to finish.So far Morning Star has stood the test of time, and I think it will for a number of centuries -- as long as there are people interested in Egypt, or people who like historical novels, or people who simply enjoy good, evocative writing.
It definitely deserves 5 stars, a rating I haven't given very often if at all in these Amazon.com reviews.
Read it.You won't be disappointed.Morning Star

A very well written historical fantasy
Rider haggard at his best. This amazing Fantasy story takes place in ancient Egypt. The hero, a prince, has to go through many extreme challenges to win the throne and the heart of his beloved women. The book gives a great insight on Egyptian religions and culture. It is a great book for Egyption culture fans, adventure and fantasy lovers, and for anyone else too...

captivating,riveting,suspence,action,conter action,love.
when i was about 11years old,i came across this book back home in west africa.it is a story about an egyptian royal family.ramses .it is captivating to the point where,it made me to cry,laugh,and be kept in feverish suspense,but at the same time gave me an understanding of what power,position greed,and betrayal means. an absolute must read. ... Read more

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They knew nothing of it in England or all the Western countries in those days before Crecy was fought, when the third Edward sat upon the throne. There was none to tell them of the doom that the East, whence come light and life, death and the decrees of G ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A ROUSING MEDIEVAL TALE FROM H. RIDER HAGGARD
For his 37th work of fiction, H. Rider Haggard, the so-called "father of the lost-race novel" and an expert at writing historical adventure tales as well, decided to go back to the Dark Ages. "Red Eve," which Haggard wrote in a six-month period from 1908-1909, was ultimately published in 1911, and turns out to be yet another winner from this wonderful storyteller. In it, we meet Hugh de Cressi, a merchant's son who is in love with "Red Eve" Clavering, a high-born cousin of his, in the year 1346. Eve is in love with him, too, but is being wooed by the traitorous knight Sir Edmund Acour. When Acour realizes that he can't win the affections of his intended in the traditional manner, he slips her a love philtre and weds her while she is doped up. It will now take an act of papal intervention to annul this marriage, and before that can happen, Hugh and his squire, the death-faced Gray Dick, get called by King Edward III to perform many acts of service. Thus, they travel around Europe and, like a pair of medieval Forrest Gumps, are witness to some of the key historical events of the 14th century. They are present at the Battle of Crecy, arrive in Venice just in time for the great earthquake of 1347, witness firsthand the ravages of the Black Death, and go to the papal city of Avignon to seek an audience with Pope Clement. But this isn't just an historical adventure novel. Haggard loved injecting otherworldly fantasy elements into even his most realistic fictions, and in "Red Eve," the plague, and death itself, are personified in a character named Murgh, who we first meet in Cathay and later in Venice, just as the Black Death commences. A quite imposing personage, Murgh delivers some very interesting disquisitions on the nature of death and dying, which could be boiled down to the Blue Oyster Cult mantra "don't fear the reaper." But "Red Eve" features some other very interesting characters as well, most notably Gray Dick, another in a long line of fascinating Haggardian sidekicks, this one having almost supernatural abilities with the longbow; and Sir Andrew Arnold, Hugh's godfather and one of the original Knights Templar, deadly with a blade and yet almost saintlike in demeanor. Besides the historical tableaux that Haggard leads us through, we are also treated to an archery contest, a jousting match, numerous duels to the death, some tender love scenes and at least two huge battles. Haggard has been accused (unfairly, I feel) of occasional anti-Semitic references in his works (most notably the characterization of Jacob Meyer in "The Spirit of Bambatse"), but in "Red Eve," not only are the Jews of Avignon shown in an heroic light, but Gray Dick delivers some telling commentary on the foolishness of holding all Jews to blame for a crime that was committed over a thousand years ago that brought about "the salvation of mankind." "Red Eve" is not a perfect book--some words are spoken that weren't in use in 1346; "angel coins" are seen trading hands, although they didn't come into being until 1465--but it is still a remarkably entertaining page turner. Those readers seeking a red-blooded historical adventure with a dash of the otherworldly thrown in will not find a book much better than this one. And the Hodder & Stoughton edition that I just read, dating back at least 80 years or so, has several full-color plates that only add to the pleasure. ... Read more

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"Nay, King," she answered, "what I said then, I said once and for all. Read thou the saying as thou wilt, or let the Ghost-people interpret it to thee. Hear me, King and Councillors. Ye have kept me here when I would be gone, my business being ended, that I might be a judge among this people. Ye have told me that the rivers were in flood, that the beast I rode was sick, that evil would befall the land if I deserted you. Now I know, and ye know, that if it pleased me I could have departed when and whither I would, but it was not fitting that the Inkosazana should creep out of Zululand like a thief in the night, so I abode on in my house yonder. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Very Fine Novel From Haggard's Middle Period
"The Ghost Kings" was H. Rider Haggard's 32nd novel, out of an eventual 58. Written during the years 1906 and '07, it first saw book publication in September 1908. This novel was penned immediately before Haggard set to work on another African adventure tale, "The Yellow God," but of the two, "The Ghost Kings" is the superior creation. It is more exciting and more detailed, with a greater emphasis on fantasy elements and the supernatural. Indeed, with the exception of its South African setting and the inclusion of such real-life characters as the Zulu chief Dingaan (brother of Chaka) and councilor Mopo (both of whom also featured prominently in Haggard's 1892 masterpiece "Nada the Lily"), the tale could almost be a novel of hard fantasy.

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. 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; the embodiment and incarnation of their goddess. After almost 300 pages of fairly intricate plotting, Haggard's work settles into its second section, in which Rachel, accompanied by Noie, her faithful half Zulu attendant, discovers one of Haggard's "lost civilizations," the Ghost Kings: a dwarflike tribe of tree worshippers who are able to peer into the future with their bowls of dew. Haggard, of course, was the great popularizer of the "lost world" tale, and his Ghost Kings here are an interesting addition to dozens of others in the author's pantheon. Similarly, the Ishmael character, who practically goes insane with lust over the beautiful Rachel, is a fine addition to the pantheon of similar Haggardian wretches, such as Frank Muller in "Jess" (1887), Owen Davies in "Beatrice" (1890), Samuel Rock in "Joan Haste" (1895), Swart Piet in "Swallow" (1899) and Hernando Pereira in the Allan Quatermain adventure "Marie" (1912). For that matter, Noie must be placed in the pantheon of exotic Haggardian women who dare much for love and sacrifice more, a pantheon that includes Maiwa in "Maiwa's Revenge" (1888), Mameena in "Child of Storm" (1913) and, of course, Ayesha, from the author's seminal "She" (1887) and its three sequels. "The Ghost Kings" was supposedly plotted by Haggard with the aid of his old friend Rudyard Kipling, although by the time Rider sat down to write the story out, he had grown dissatisfied with what the pair had outlined, and retained only the Ghost Kings segment from Kipling's input. And although this section IS the most heavily fantasy oriented, it is by no means exclusively so. Rachel's mother and, to a lesser degree, Rachel herself are endowed throughout the tale with the gift of "second sight," a foreseeing ability that aids our heroine on several crucial occasions. And while the Zulu "umtakatis" (wizards) do not play a role in this novel, as in so many of Haggard's others, the magic of the Ghost Kings is shown to be very real and not a little eerie.

"The Ghost Kings" is fascinating for several other reasons, besides its tremendous action, mystical plot and interesting characters. It shows clearly the sympathy and esteem that Haggard felt for the native races ("they are not hypocrites, and they are not vulgar; that is the privilege of civilised nations"). And, thanks to a journey that Rachel takes into the realm of the dead with the aid of the Mother of the Trees, we get to see what Haggard's conception of the afterlife is (or, at least, ONE of his conceptions; it varies greatly from the descriptions given in his short story "Barbara Who Came Back"). The book even shows Haggard, who was once an avid hunter, beginning to take an antihunting stance, a position that would find its greatest expression three years later in the author's short novel "The Mahatma and the Hare." "The Ghost Kings" is simply written but complexly plotted, with the exception of that afterlife sequence, which is written like prose poetry. In all, it is a very fine novel from Haggard's middle period, and one that is well worth seeking out. ... Read more

Product Description
Dozens of works by H. Rider Haggard are collected in this giant anthology with an active table of contents.

Works include:
Allan and the Holy Flower
Allan Quatermain
Allan's Wife
The Ancient Allan
Ayesha
Beatrice
Black heart and White Heart
The Brethren
Cetywayo and his White Neighbours
Child of Storm
Cleopatra
Colonel Quaritch, V.C.
Dawn
Doctor Therne
Elissa
Eric Brighteyes
Fair Margaret
Finished
The Ghost Kings
Heart of the World
Hunter Quatermain's Story
The Ivory Child
Jess
Joan Haste
King Solomon's Mines
The Lady Of Blossholme
Long Odds
Love Eternal
A Tale Of The Dutch
The Mahatma and the Hare
Maiwa's Revenge
Marie
Montezuma's Daughter
Moon of Israel
Morning Star
Mr. Meeson's Will
Nada the Lily
Pearl-Maiden
Queen Sheba’s Ring
Red Eve
Regeneration
SHE
She and Allan
Smith and the Pharaohs, and Other Tales
The Spirit of Bambatse
Stella Fregelius
Swallow
A Tale of Three Lions
The Virgin of the Sun
The Wanderer's Necklace
The Way of the Spirit
When the World Shook, Being an Account of the Great Adventure of Bastin, Bickley and Arbuthnot
The Witch's Head
The Wizard
World's Desire
The Yellow God ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

exceptional experience
I have been reading and reading and it doesn't end. This was a wonderful way to enjoy, again, the adventure's of the Allen Quartermain that I have loved for so many years. The stories are exactly how I remember them.I never get bored reading Mr. Haggard's works.These just happen to be a favorite. ... Read more

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An eccentric collector, pottering around a houseful of crumbling antiques, spots a hoary old chest -- and when he asks after it he's told it's not for sale . . . until, suddenly, it is. Burried in that wreck of a chest are the last relics of Hubert of Hastings, including his autobiography-- that is, the novel to follow. Hubert will end up in America, end up conquering Peru -- and that's hardly the half of the tale! -- Great fun for Haggard fans; highly recommended. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent Historical Adventure
H. Rider Haggard's "The Virgin of the Sun", like his classic "King Solomon's Mines", is not written in the mold of a modern wam-bam action adventure. First, Haggard's writing style is more classical, which tends to be a bit verbose. Second, he is not particularly focused on exposition. He doesn't spend much typeface detailing location which is in some regards a shame considering the romantic locations he tends to write on - in this case a virginal South America. Third, his stories are deep and exploratory. Haggard doesn't write to get to an ending, but rather his stories have multiple layers that sit underneath the core narrative. In the case of "Virgin", Haggard explores love, friendship, and women, all while Adventuring across the Atlantic and over South America.

Historically, Haggard does a nice job blending Inca history and myth into his adventure tale. In "The Virgin of the Sun", he explores the Inca myth surrounding the rise of one of the Americas greatest pre-columbian leaders - Pachacuti. Now, Pachacuti is most well known for mountain retreat - one of the most recognizable icons in the world - Machu Picchu. "Virgin of the Sun" was published in 1922, only a scant 11 years after explorer Hiram Bingham rediscovered the lost city nestled in the Peruvian mountains. Bingham hadn't yet connected Machu Picchu to Pachacuti, but myth had already surrounded the Inca ruler who's credited with expanding Inca rule to cover a huge swath of territory on South America's western coast.

Haggard's story unfolds as a "modern day" anitque hound translates 400-year-old letters found in an ancient chest. The letters tell the tale of Hubert - a fisherman working and living in England. Following a few small adventures and misadventures, our hero, Hubert, meets and befriends a strange man from a foreign land. After Hubert's wife of less-than-24-hours commit suicide and Hubert kills her former lover, he and his friend, Kari, are off into the Atlantic Ocean. Kari acts as a phyiscal and emotional guide to Hubert who's immediately declared a White God by the various natives they come across after finding landfall in South America.

In addition to the Victorian era-like romance that leads to his wife's death, Hubert also falls in love with a beautiful Indian princess, Quilla - daughter of the moon. While their loves develops rather abruptly, Haggard does a nice job of using a surprisingly touching romance to further Hubert and Kari's adventure.

The story is enjoyable, but takes a little effort to get used to Haggard's writing style. The pace of the story picks up considerably about 1/3 through following Hubert and Kari's flight from England across the Atlantic. Consider this a strong historical adventure.

Thrilling
If you're a fan of Allan Quatermain and his African adventures you'll also like this book by the same author. Set in the land of the Incas this thrilling adventure story takes you into a forgotten world of an ancient culture that was later destroyed by the Spanish. It's a great historical novel that I found hard to put down.
I also liked Queen Sheba's Ring. ... Read more

Product Description
All that day we explained and all the next--or rather my friend did, for I knew very little of the language --and they listened with great interest. At last the chief of the wizards and the first prophet to the king rose to question us. He was named Hokosa, a tall, thin man, with a spiritual face and terrible calm eyes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Unexpected
While this book has adventure and the exotic mysteries of Africa, it also has a beautiful message that the reader can not walk away from and not be affected by. Much like Mr. Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe", "The Wizard" is a beautiful story of redemption, forgiveness, humility, and the greatest love of all. Mr. Haggard's finest work.

Typical Haggard (good) but with some dated material
The plot to The Wizard concerns a clergy man, Owen. He hears a story of missionaries to an African tribe. After preaching the tribe reasoned that if servants of God in the bible could do miracles then those particular missionaries should be able to do miracles. They executed a criminal and asked the missionaries to revive the corpse. The missionaries couldn't and so one was executed for telling lies (either about God or about his relationship to God) and the other was sent back to seek a true follower of God.

So Owen sets off to Africa in the hope that God will work miracles and show the tribe the truth. Meanwhile the old king in Africa is getting old and there are many politics involving the following: the king's two sons, the wizards or traditional spiritual leaders and Noma, everyone wants her, she wants power, she is married to the head wizard. Owen shakes things up by continually being commanded to do certain miracles. As members of the tribe convert those in power become concerned about the effect Owen is having on their personal situations.

The writing and mix of action is typical for Haggard. It has the desirable powerful woman in the form of Noma. The exotic landscape and political intrigue worked well. I liked this book except for...

Since the plot concerns a missionary, there is a bit of religious reference here. It seems that Haggard was just a tad confused about church doctrine, which never helps. Owen struggles to deal with converts who already have multiple wives fitting into a monogamous religion. He comes to the "compromise" that if they are already married its OK, but after they convert they can't marry again if they are already married. News flash: that isn't a compromise. That allowance was made for converts to the early Christian church. So the religion thing is just tacked on and is based on stereotypes of Christianity. It makes the book seem quaint at times and is probably the reason this book hasn't been reprinted recently.

If you are a big fan of Haggard or of victorian literature then you probably really like this. If you aren't either of those things then don't bother. This is a good book, but some of the themes it deals with are a bit dated. The more timeless themes are present in other works by Haggard, so try one of those instead. She and Cleopatra are both good, as are others.

A note to scholars: Haggard frequently gets knocked for being racist. In this book it seems that he is actually presenting a very unracist message and trying to make people think. For example, one of the Africans asks Owen if it is true that all Europeans are cannibals. There are other places where the stereotypes seem to be intentionally reversed, maybe to make people consider their own ideas.

Typical Haggard (good) but with some dated material
The plot to The Wizard concerns a clergy man, Owen. He hears a story of missionaries to an African tribe. After preaching the tribe reasoned that if servants of God in the bible could do miracles then those particular missionaries should be able to do miracles. They executed a criminal and asked the missionaries to revive the corpse. The missionaries couldn't and so one was executed for telling lies (either about God or about his relationship to God) and the other was sent back to seek a true follower of God.

So Owen sets off to Africa in the hope that God will work miracles and show the tribe the truth. Meanwhile the old king in Africa is getting old and there are many politics involving the following: the king's two sons, the wizards or traditional spiritual leaders and Noma, everyone wants her, she wants power, she is married to the head wizard. Owen shakes things up by continually being commanded to do certain miracles. As members of the tribe convert those in power become concerned about the effect Owen is having on their personal situations.

The writing and mix of action is typical for Haggard. It has the desirable powerful woman in the form of Noma. The exotic landscape and political intrigue worked well. I liked this book except for...

Since the plot concerns a missionary, there is a bit of religious reference here. It seems that Haggard was just a tad confused about church doctrine, which never helps. Owen struggles to deal with converts who already have multiple wives fitting into a monogamous religion. He comes to the "compromise" that if they are already married its OK, but after they convert they can't marry again if they are already married. News flash: that isn't a compromise. That allowance was made for converts to the early Christian church. So the religion thing is just tacked on and is based on stereotypes of Christianity. It makes the book seem quaint at times and is probably the reason this book hasn't been reprinted recently.

If you are a big fan of Haggard or of victorian literature then you probably really like this. If you aren't either of those things then don't bother. This is a good book, but some of the themes it deals with are a bit dated. The more timeless themes are present in other works by Haggard, so try one of those instead. She and Cleopatra are both good, as are others.

A note to scholars: Haggard frequently gets knocked for being racist. In this book it seems that he is actually presenting a very unracist message and trying to make people think. For example, one of the Africans asks Owen if it is true that all Europeans are cannibals. There are other places where the stereotypes seem to be intentionally reversed, maybe to make people consider their own ideas.

good reading
a classic that is well worth your time and sure to bring enjoyment.This author has many such books; all woth looking at

ANOTHER FEATHER IN HAGGARD'S ALREADY CROWDED CAP
"The Wizard," H. Rider Haggard's 21st novel out of an eventual 58, was initially released as a serial in a publication called "The African Review" and then in its complete form in the October 29, 1896 "Arrowsmith's Christmas Annual for Boys." It was the third of four African novels that Haggard wrote from 1895-97, the others being "Black Heart and White Heart," "Swallow" and "Elissa," all of which I can highly recommend, by the way, especially "Swallow." "The Wizard" tells the story of Thomas Owen, a British missionary who ventures into the wilds of south central Africa to bring the Good Word to a tribe called the Amasuka, or the Children of Fire. A previous missionary had been killed by the tribe for his failure to work Christ-like miracles, but Owen, who Haggard eventually refers to as a saint, is undaunted. His advent at the tribe precipitates all manner of problems, including a poisoning attempt on its king, Umsuka; the seemingly inevitable conflict with head medicine man Hokosa; and a civil war between the princes Nodwengo and Hafela. I have yet to read a Haggard book (and I've read almost 40 at this point; the author can prove addictive!) that did not feature several action sequences, and "The Wizard" is no exception. Owen undergoes several trials by fire against the wizard guild--trials that resemble chicken runs with lightning--and the civil war that ultimately erupts in the land of the Amasuka features several exciting battle scenes and sieges. Haggard was a master at clearly describing these epic battle sequences to make them easily visualized by the reader, and his skill is in full flower here.

As in so many of Haggard's other novels, fantastical elements come into play. Hokosa does indeed seem to be in command of some supernatural forces (he is able to commune with the spirits of the dead, for example), and Owen the saint is apparently capable himself of working miracles. He seems to be endowed with the power of far sight and the ability to deflect lightning, and like a true saint, sacrifices much over the course of the novel with a willing and forgiving heart. Like Haggard, he is a true Christian believer, whose faith he deems the only shield that is necessary. Similar to Haggard's 1920 short story "Little Flower," "The Wizard" is basically concerned with the battle between two opposing theologies (in the short story, the Rev. Thomas Bull goes up against the Zulu wizard Menzi), and although both wizards are shown to be truly adept at the mystical arts, both are ultimately swayed by the Christian missionaries, although for very different reasons. "The Wizard" also features still another of Haggard's strong native female characters: Hokosa's ambitious second wife, Noma. Though not nearly in the same league as Ayesha, from Haggard's seminal fantasy "She" (1887), or even as well drawn as Nada (from Haggard's superb 1892 novel "Nada the Lily") or Mameena (from 1913's "Child of Storm"), she is nevertheless a memorable creation, and is largely responsible for pushing the action along in the book's second half. "The Wizard" has been written in a simple, straightforward style by Haggard, and at less than 300 pages, is one of the author's shorter novels. It is filled with Christian allegory but never becomes preachy or polemical. Still, adherents of the Christian faith may be inclined to give it an extra star, if only for the presence in it of apparent modern-day miracles that are scattered throughout. Though little read today, "The Wizard" is a wonder-filled entertainment, and still another feather in Haggard's already crowded cap. ... Read more

Product Description
Subjects: Iceland -- FictionNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Forgotten Classic
Excellent Read!Very much in keeping the Viking culture one would see in the Viking Sagas combined with fantastic writing..... Really beautiful stuff.Highly recommended for anyone who likes Norse culture, ofMedievalLit.

Tolkien liked it!
See the anecdote, recorded in Douglas Anderson's TALES BEFORE TOLKIEN, that states that Tolkien praised this.

A wonderful viking adventure!
The author of numerous romance-adventures in the 19th century tradition,Haggard turned his hand, at least once, to the older saga tradition of thenorthern peoples. The result may well have been his best work. Skillfullycrafted, this tale proceeds at breakneck pace to unfold the saga-likeadventures of the stout Icelandic yeoman, Eric Thorgrimurs' son (surnamed'Brighteyes' for his most notable trait), as he struggles to win the handof his beloved, Gudruda the Fair, despite the vigorous opposition of herhalf-sister, Swanhild the Fatherless (who seeks Eric for her own). Caughtbetween these two beautiful women and faced with the need to overcome theopposition of Gudruda's father, Asmund the Priest (not the Christian sort)and his son, the greedy Bjorn (who would prefer to marry his sister off toa wealthy chieftain in lieu of a liaison with the farmer's son Eric), ourhero must prove himself worthy of his destined bride while dodging thesnares of those who would unman him. Conspiring with her mysterious mother,Groa the witchwife, Swanhild arranges to have Ospakar Blacktooth, anorthern chieftain from Swinefells, pay Asmund's household a visit in orderto see and woo Gudruda for himself. This Ospakar and Eric become immediatefoes for Ospakar is as ugly and vile as Eric is handsome and honorable. Andthe tale only accelerates from here. From death-defying feats of derring-doto duels between deadly foemen to treachery and mayhem in blindingblizzards and on the high seas, this is an adventure which, once havinggrabbed you, will not let you go. Written in an archaic prose, mirroringthe old nineteenth century translations of the original Icelandic sagas,and intended to simulate the voice of the old sagas themselves, the powerof this narrative is compelling and unrelenting. And yet it is lessexhausting than exhilirating as it unfolds the tale of Eric and the twowomen who loved him -- no matter what the cost. If the tale has a flaw atall it is that the characters are not real in any sense of that word butonly larger-than-life actors who strut about upon the stage which Haggardhas drawn for us here. At the same time the sensibility offered is one ofpure and unmitigated adventure. But it's great fun and marvelous escapistfare. A must for lovers of Norse and viking times.

SWM
author of The King of Vinland's Saga

Rousing derring-do and romance in Icelandic Saga style
A must for all Haggard fans, "Eric Brighteyes" is strongly recommended to anyone who enjoys a great tale of heroic endeavour. Perhaps the fastest-paced of all Haggard's many novels, it races from one highspotto another with manly verve and vivid scene-setting. The stalwart Eric andhis "thrall" Skallagrim fight back to back against a horde offoes, while two beautiful women vie for Eric's love.The eerie battle atsea isan exciting read in itself, to say nothing of all the rest. Eric isone of the most virile of Haggard's heroes and, like so many of them, issusceptible to earthly temptations and ambitions---unlike Haggard's toooften impossibly spiritual females. The reader familiar with Haggard'sfavourite "archetypes"will recognize in Eric, Skallagrim,Gudruda the Fair, and the wicked Swanhilde the traits of a cast ofcharacters immortalized under other names, in other times and places, inother titles of his famous canon."Eric Brighteyes" is alsodistinguished by an interesting author's preface that furnishes someinsight intoHaggard's imaginative overlay of "high romance" andoccult themes on what, in a writer of less lively invention, might havebeen just a simple adventure story.Both heroes and villains come onstrong with splendid confrontational dialogue before coming to blows. Afeast for escapists of all ages! Long may it remain in print.

A magnificent melding of saga and old style "romance".
The author of numerous romance-adventures in the 19th century tradition, Haggard turned his hand, at least once, to the older saga tradition of the northern peoples. The result may well have been his best work. Skillfully crafted, this tale proceeds at breakneck pace to unfold the saga-like adventures of the stout Icelandic yeoman, Eric Thorgrimurs' son (surnamed "Brighteyes" for his most notable trait), as he struggles to win the hand of his beloved, Gudruda the Fair, despite the vigorous opposition of her half-sister, Swanhild the Fatherless (who seeks Eric for her own). Caught between these two beautiful women and faced with the need to overcome the opposition of Gudruda's father, Asmund the Priest (not the Christian sort) and his son, the greedy Bjorn (who would prefer to marry his sister off to a wealthy chieftain in lieu of a liaison with the farmer's son Eric), our hero must prove himself worthy of his destined bride while dodging the snares of those who would unman him. Conspiring with her mysterious mother, Groa the witchwife, Swanhild arranges to have Ospakar Blacktooth, a northern chieftain from Swinefells, pay Asmund's household a visit in order to see and woo Gudruda for himself. This Ospakar and Eric become immediate foes for Ospakar is as ugly and vile as Eric is handsome and honorable. In an intial conflict between them, Eric outwrestles Ospakar, winning his magic sword from him, despite the evil workings of Groa to bring about Eric's defeat. In this manner, Eric at last wins over the reluctant Asmund, who now promises him his daughter. But in the process Eric incurs the jealousy of Bjorn who resents his successes as much as he does the possibility that this bright but impoverished hero will win his sister's hand. The lost sword proves a sore point for Ospakar as well who tries to regain it via a dastardly ambush, but Eric and his new found companion, Skallagrim Lambstail, a former berserker and thief who has himself been the victim of Ospakar's ill-doings, overcome the larger force arrayed against them, wounding Ospakar and killing some others to boot. As a result, Eric must go into exile as an outlaw for three years, after which he is to be free to return and marry Gudruda. But Swanhild, in a pique at how things have turned out, contrives to kill Gudruda. Discovered in this perfidy, she is married off against her will to a visiting Orkney Earl, Atli the Good, who is well on in years and sent off with him to the Orkneys. Eric again reveals his warlike talents in another ambush by Ospakar's minions, this time at sea, but is finally taken captive with Skallagrim due to the dastardliness of Eric's own first mate. Yet Eric is able to free himself when warned of the impending treachery of his captors by the sorcerous intervention of Swanhild who has continued to monitor his progress from her unhappy abode in Atli's hall. Eric goes on to a distinguished career in the service of the English King Edmund but refuses all of that king's urgings to remain with him at the royal court once his three year outlawry is up. Turning his back on the royal largesse (including a lovely royal bride), Eric takes ship to Iceland on a road which must take them past the Orkney Islands. Now Swanhild the witchwife of Atli, perceiving Eric's return raises a storm to overthrow his ship, beaching him on the very island where Atli has his hall. Atli is delighted at the arrival of such a heroic guest but Swanhild contrives to have Eric to herself while Atli and his men are away and she soon tempts and seduces this paragon among vikings, using a love draught of her own concoction. In the end, Eric is distraught to realize that he has betrayed his beloved Gudruda and flees from Swanhild's embrace -- but too late, for she has betrayed him to Atli in revenge for his desertion of her. And she has taken a clipping of Eric's fine golden hair to send to her half-sister, together with a token that only Eric could have had. Gudruda, on receiving this and on hearing the lying tale Swanhild has concocted to go with it, angrily vows to break her engagement to Eric and agrees to wed Ospakar instead. Eric thereafter arrives in Iceland, a scorned man (for having betrayed and finally killed Atli his host in the aftermath of his indiscretion with Swanhild) only to learn of Gudruda's plans to wed Ospakar. He makes his way to Asmund's hall (though that viking worthy has also now passed on to his reward) on the eve of the much heralded wedding and, in a fierce confrontation, reveals the truth of their betrayal to Gudruda. The result is more bloodshed including the death of the miscreant groom Ospakar and of Bjorn Asmundsson. But Swanhild is also present and with Ospakar's son Gizur she contrives to deny Eric and Gudruda their final happiness, even now. Gudruda dreams a dream of Odin the All-Father and in it he grants her one night of pleasure with her beloved before taking this hero for his own. Thereafter and with the momentary cessation of the killing, Eric and Gudruda wed. But in the morning they are attacked while still asleep, for Swanhild secretly guides Gizur into their bedchamber and directs his hand to the killing of Eric. But it is to Gudruda's fair head she guides the sword which Gizur holds and not to Eric's so that when Eric wakes he finds his beloved dead in his arms. Beside himself with grief, Eric buries his new bride and now Gizur leads his followers and the men whom Swanhild has brought with her from the Orkneys against Eric and Skallagrim. To make their final stand, these two flee together to the nearby heights. And there they turn to face their foes in a bloody scene worthy of the gotterdammerung itself. Here Eric and Skallagrim cut down their enemies in one last orgy of killing and vengeful recriminations and, in his own last dying moments, Eric seizes Gizur and plunges with him over the cliff to their common doom. In the end only Swanhild is left to supervise the funeral arrangements on board the viking ship she has selected for this purpose and to sing the death song, as she and the bodies of Eric and his faithful servant Skallagrim burn on a pyre of those men they have slain between them. Haggard wrote his tale with the romanticist's flair, making an artist's use of Shakespeare's English to evoke the antique flavor of these events, and giving full rein to his love for the occult -- though such rein is rarely encountered in the real sagas themselves. Nor are the sagas usually so tightly drawn as this, while they are frequently a great deal more realistic in their portrayal of people and the motives which drive them. If there is criticism to be levied here it's that the tale, itself, is much too pat and the characters, though sharply drawn, are not real folk in any normal sense of that word -- they are players only who never breathe the breath of real life, or even briefly fool us that they do, albeit they are larger than life actors with parts to play in a whopping good tale. By Stuart W. Mirsky (mirsky@ix.netcom.com). ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Top Shelf Adventure
I started reading Allan Quatermain stories with King Solomon's Mines because I knew the title and, frankly, it was free. They are fantastic, gripping adventures with great characters and vividly described, amazing settings. They are in public domain, but don't let their age hold you back; they are written in a style that feels as current as anything written this year. Read King Solomon's Mines first, then Allan Quatermain; these are the first two written. Best of all, I understand that there are about a dozen more Quatermain books (prequels and others) which are also available for free!

Great adventure story
This is the first Allan Quartermain book I've read, and it certainly won't be the last.In fact, I just started reading King Solomon's Mines.

The Kindle formatting was OK for this.The one gripe I had is that there were various end notes that were really at the end of the book.Because it's kind of hard to turn real pages and then flip back, it would have been nice if the notes had been at the ends of chapters.

However, since this version was free, I'm not going to dock it a star.There weren't that many notes anyway, and they weren't that vital to the story.

This is the story of Allan Quartermain's last adventure.He, Sir Henry Curtis, and Commander John Good go in search of a lost city of white people in Africa.There is also Umslopagaas, a Zulu ex-chief/warrior, who might be my favorite character.I hope he shows up in another Allan Quartermain novel.(Curtis & Good are also in King Solomon's Mines, and so far, Umslopagaas has been mentioned, but I don't know if he'll actually show up.)

The book is a lot of fun.I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good adventure story. ... Read more

Product Description
The essential collection of adventure novels by H. Rider Haggard (with active table of contents):

She
King Solomon's Mines
Allan Quatermain
The Ivory Child
The People of the Mist
Cleopatra
The Ancient Allan
Eric Brighteyes ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Still terrific after all these years.
I bought the Mobilreference edition of this collection, an amazing value.
Like all the collections from Mobilreference this volume has a well done biography of the author and a chronology of his works.
And the works are superb! I'd never read King Solomon's Mines but I am very familiar with the MGM film from the 50's. Well the book blows the movie out of the water! Its the same general story but there is no female heroine, the men are more dashing, the Africans are more noble, the villains are genuinely dastardly and the action is breathtaking.
The other Quatermain books, Allan Quatermain and the People of the Mist are equally as entertaining.
My favorite is She. "She who must be obeyed". Jungle exploration, re-incarnation, love that lives throughout centuries, ancient lost civilizations and a breathless race for freedom at the end.

Old books, yes. But undeniably they will continue to satisfy armchair adventurers for years and years. The thing about classics is that they're so darned good! ... Read more

Product Description
The first great "Lost World" action-adventure-a precursor to Indiana Jones

H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines has entertained generations of readers since its first publication in 1885. Following a mysterious map of dubious reliability, a small group of men trek into southern Africa in search of a lost friend-and a lost treasure, the fabled mines of King Solomon. Led by the English adventurer and fortune hunter Allan Quartermain, they discover a frozen corpse, survive untold dangers in remote mountains and deserts, and encounter the merciless King Twala en route to the legendary hoard of diamonds. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

For people who hate literature
Every so often I get the feeling that a good old timey adventure book would be a good thing to read. This is (hopefully) the last time I think this as the results are always dire. Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" was one hell of a struggle. Chesterton's "The Man Who Was Thursday" was dreadful. However, Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines" takes the prize for most unreadable load of old toss ever.

3 Englishmen ponce into Africa on a treasure hunt. They cross romantic terrain, shoot majestic animals, patronise and insult black people, before leaving with a few pocketfuls of giant diamonds back to Blighty. What ho!

Sounds a bit of a lark, what? It's not. First off, Haggard has his hero Quatermain say in the first chapter that they went to Africa, did this, did that, and made it back home with the treasure. Oh great, now I'm really on the edge of my seat. Now when Quatermain and chums are in danger and the chapter ends on a "cliffhanger" (by Victorian standards) I'll know that they make it out because this was explained in the first chapter!

Also, Haggard has the annoying habit of describing every single meaningless detail in a scene. So when they cross the desert, you have endless descriptions of wind, and how thirsty everyone is, and how if they don't make it they'll die and the characters start whinging and don't stop and will they make it..? Look an oasis, we're saved! No tension whatsoever anyway, we all know they make it BECAUSE THEY SAY SO AT THE START! All this needless exposition and attempts at drama are useless if we know the characters make it.

The most offending attempt at literature in this amazingly labelled "classic" is the way Haggard deals with Africans. They're all "noble savages" who for some reason speak like medieval dukes. "Thou hast", "ye", "sayest not", "hark", etc all make regular appearances in their speech but does he honestly think Africans speak like that?! The Englishmen patronise the Africans like pets and Haggard has the Africans run about like gormless children, either behaving "nobly" ie. standing around bored saying nothing, or like coked up teens with a hormone imbalance, ie. screaming, tearing hair, killing people randomly. No attempt at characterisation is made and none of the characters seem at all real. In fact they all sound remarkably the same, like a middle class educated Englishman.

This is the most tedious novel I've ever read, it actually made me angry while I was reading. Haggard can't seem to accept the reader has the capacity to fill in the gaps. For example, rather than say "they went to the ridge and sat down", he has to say "they gathered up their things (items are listed and digressed), and after several parting words (list numerous mundane words), hastened up the path (description of path and weather), while we wondered about (list everything thats happened thus far) and upon reaching the ridge (list various mundane observations the characters have made while walking) we sat down and gazed at the view (list needless description of mountain range)." It's EXHAUSTING. I hurled the book away from me every time I sat it down (about every 3 chapters) and am amazed at my tolerance for poor writing.

How is this a classic? It's not at all on the level of "Great Expectations" or "The Picture of Dorian Gray" or numerous other examples. There's no profundity, no great story, no great writing. Haggard is a very minor writer and his contribution to literature is very small, if at all recognisable. I am amazed this is listed as a classic when it is the 1880s version of a Lee Child novel. Give this a wide book berth, it's appalling.

A celebration of Victorian values
H. Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines" is at once a ripping adventure yarn and a celebration of Victorian values. The book - the first of the "Lost World" genre - features at trio of English adventurers: the elephant hunter Allan Quatermain, an aristocrat Sir Henry Curtis and his companion Captain Good. Curtis wants to find his brother who was last seen leaving to find the mine of the title.

Curtis is a shining example of the aristocracy - brave and virtuous - a knight in every sense of the word. Good and Quatermain are also fine Englishment who know their place. Haggard was certainly in favour of the established order. To modern eyes the book is incredibly racist and misogynistic but compared to other literature of the time is positively progressive.

You can certainly see where the inspiration for "Raiders of the Lost Ark" came from.

If you are thinking Debra Kerr, you will be shocked.
I grew up on the movie so it was quite a shocker to read the book. As stated in the beginning there are no petticoated women in this book. It is a men's adventure written by a man for men. You can not miss the hand of H. Rider Haggard as he has a unique sense of humor that pops up at the strangest times. He may be a little verbose but every word has a use. And as with written stories this one is much more intricate than the movie adaptations. You will find many assumptions of the time such as any complex construction must have been built by white people and natives on their own may turn savage.

The story is told first person by Allan Quartermain. Nevil is off to make his fortune by finding King Solomon's lost diamond mines. Allan sends him a 300 year old map to help. This is the last anyone heard from Nevil. Turns out that Nevil is really the estranged brother of Henry Curtis. Sir Henry Curtis now wants to make amends and he with his friend Captain John Good, bribe Allan Quartermain to take them across an endless desert and trough impassible mountains to an adventure that will hold you to the very end. Along with them is their self imposed helper Umbopa who carries a secret of his own.

If you get a chance also hear the recording, an added plus is narration by John Richmond; He brings the characters to life and adds to the mystique that this story has been passed down.

If you cannot find a copy of the John Richmond, recording you can use the Kindle 2 text-to speak. It is not as smooth but it is functional.

King Solomon's Mines Starring: Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger

Great adventure tale
I had heard of King Solomon's Mines my entire life but never read it. Now I know what I'd been missing. H. Rider Haggard's breakout novel is a grand, enjoyable adventure, a sort of Indiana Jones prototype from the great age of Victorian imperialism.

The narrator, Allan Quatermain, is a middle-aged big game hunter who has somehow managed to survive decades in the African wilderness. His name is known far and wide, and as a result he is approached by a pair of men with an unusual proposition. One of the men, Sir Henry Curtis, has lost an estranged brother whom he believes was searching for the legendary diamond mines of King Solomon. Quatermain just happens to possess a map and some personal knowledge of the legends, and with a deal in place to grant him half of the diamonds--should they find some as well as Curtis's brother--he agrees to join them on the journey.

Naturally, a great deal more happens to the party than they originally expected. Elephant hunts, witchcraft, and tribal warfare complicate their quest, but in the end all works out well--if unexpectedly--for most involved. Quatermain recounts the tale in a rapid, exciting manner that gripped me from the first chapter. This is one of a very few books I've read in a single day.

This Penguin Classics edition of King Solomon's Mines reproduces the first edition text of Haggard's novel. As an appendix, a heavily-revised chapter from later editions is offered as a point of comparison with the original. The editor's notes are good, though they failed to explain one or two minor things and missed some rather obvious historical allusions. A preface and introduction place Haggard's work in its historical context and offer some interesting critical insights, but are by no means required reading and, honestly, are a little dull next to Allan Quatermain's epic quest.

Overall, King Solomon's Mines is a great adventure story for readers of all ages, with well-drawn characters and exciting episodes on every page. Don't make my mistake and wait so long to read it.

Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
On his twenty-fifth birthday, Leo Vincey opens the silver casket that his father has left to him. It contains a letter recounting the legend of a white sorceress who rules an African tribe and of his father’s quest to find this remote race. To find out for himself if the story is true, Leo and his companions set sail for Zanzibar. There, he is brought face to face with Ayesha, She-who-must-be-obeyed: dictator, femme fatale, tyrant and beauty. She has been waiting for centuries for the true descendant of Kallikrates, her murdered lover, to arrive, and arrive he does – in an unexpected form. Blending breathtaking adventure with a brooding sense of mystery and menace, She is a story of romance, exploration discovery and heroism that has lost none of its power to enthrall.Amazon.com Review
Ayesha is She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, a 2,000-year-old queen whorules a fabled lost city deep in a maze of Africancaverns. She has the occult wisdom of Isis, the eternal youth and beauty ofAphrodite, and the violent appetite of a lamia. Like A. Conan Doyle'sLost World, She is one of those magnificent Victorianyarns about an expedition to a far-off locale shadowed by magic,mystery, and death.

Tim Stout writes, in Horror: 100 Best Books, "As the plot takes hold one has the fancy that [Ayesha] had always existed, in some dark dimension of the imagination, and that [H. Rider] Haggard was the fortunate author to whom she chose to reveal herself."Haggard did, in fact, write this book in a six-week burst of feverish inspiration: "It came faster than my poor aching hand could set it down," he later said.

This edition of the 1887 classic features an introductory essay by literary critic Regina Barreca, who likens Ayesha to Flaubert's Madame Bovary or Tolstoy's Anna Karenina--"literally fantastic female figures who must be stopped before they love again." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (47)

Fun and interesting
This book was first serialized in 1886-7, when the young H. Rider Haggard was just hitting his stride as an author. It is the story of Horace Holly and Leo Vincey, whose journey to Africa places them in the hands of "She-who-must-be-obeyed." She is actually Ayesha, a several thousand year old priestess who has been waiting for the reincarnation of her long-lost beloved. Horace and Leo have their rationalism, but that avails them very little before She, whose magical beauty can command the obedience of any man she desires!

This is quite a fun and interesting example of Imperial Gothic literature. True, it stretches credibility to the breaking point, but it is an interesting look into the late-Victorian psyche. Plus, if you are willing to sufficiently suspend disbelief, you will find this to be an exciting visit to the fears and hopes of a bygone era.

(Review of She by H. Rider Haggard)

Victorian Da Vinci Code
I'm about half way through this page turner, but want to get something written, while I'm still loving it.I just now discovered Haggard, despite seeing derivatives for years.I was not surprised to learn this book has outsold the DaVinci Code.Of course do these numbers include all the downloads?

Anyway, the mystery and suspense go by effortlessly.I don't find this to be difficult reading.Somewhere between Treasure Island and Dracula in style.But if you like those two, as well as Jules Verne, you will probably like She.I'm still reading, so back I go.

She (Dodo Press)

Who knew he was so Anti-Semetic?
Bought this book cause loved the movie.Who knew the book was all about being Anti-Semetic whenever possible?Don't buy it just cause you liked the movie.Not at all like it.

Incredibly tedious tale
Onceinto this book one encounters the ancient "document" that triggers the adventure, first in supposed translation, then in seemingly unending pages describing the purported original Greek, letter by letter naming each in English capitals enclosed in curly braces. To pursue this to a resumption of the narrative one must sit endlessly pressing the "next page" bar without enlightenment. I am certain that to derive meaning from this one must both read and write Greek, provided that the purported writing does indeed say what the "translation" has already said. I saw no way to skip over this and abandoned the tale. It is worth the price at most.

Me Shakespeare! You Jane!
While SHE may not be the worst book ever written, it is certainly in the running for that honor, and it is a mystery to this reviewer as to why it should have attained any measure of popularity when it was first published in 1887, much less why it should continue to be read. The brave reader, armed with pith helmet and machete, may suppose he is prepared to penetrate the darkest secrets of 19th century Africa, however the only thicket he will encounter in this book is a dense Elizabethan verbiage of thy's and thou's and wherefore's and canst not's, which render the endless pages of monotonous dialogue more impenetrable than any African jungle.

The narration is equally flat and serves merely to accelerate the plot, which is itself surprisingly limited. A beautiful Arab woman has hidden herself away in the remains of a long-dead civilization in central Africa and stumbled on the secret of eternal life inside a dormant volcano. Leave aside the questions of why she should be ivory-white though of Arab ancestry, and why she should be content to remain hidden in a dull cave for two thousand years, surrounded exclusively by a savage tribe of African natives, though She Herself is inexplicably highly educated and, as she repeatedly avers, with her supernatural powers has only to emerge to dominate the world. And ignore the issues of Haggard's failure to account for the precession of the equinoxes, and how an extensive network of caverns could have formed inside an igneous volcano, when, as every geologist knows, such networks form only in calcitic limestone of sedimentary stratigraphy. And ignore the fact that no significant monumental civilization has ever emerged in tropical Africa or could have due to the disease gradients and the total absence of navigable rivers.

But these are quibbles. Allowing for poetic license, the plot remains inextricably flawed in that Haggard cannot decide who is the chief protagonist: Leo the beautiful, the reincarnated eternal love-interest of She; or Baboon, Leo's "uncle," who raised him from infancy and informed him of the family curse which induced every ancestor of Leo for two thousand years to attempt to find the ancestral secret of his family by penetrating Africa, where, as it turns out, all one need do is stumble into a swamp because once in Africa all roads lead to She. Unfortunately for Leo, malaria renders him unconscious for half the book. Unfortunately for the reader, this leaves the misogynistic misanthrope Baboon to carry the weight of the reader's imagination in his stilted conversations with a strangely Shakespearean and ivory-skinned Arab She.

The only truly inspired passages in this book are those that deal with She Herself, and it is plain that all else was merely prologue to bring the reader as rapidly as possible to Her. But here we have the paradox described above of a thoroughly improbable character indulging in a prolix King James version of a philosophical duel hurling justifications for moral relativism against the hapless and helpless Baboon, who, tho in love with Her, as are all men, insists on the absolute nature of good and evil, which, being English to the core, he distills into a stolid English Protestantism as the perfect philosophical counter-weight to every evil. An argument that is something less than satisfying.

These objections made, SHE does have some positive qualities, surprising tho likely inadvertent. The mythic elements essential to all grand cosmic conceptions are to be found here, and are perhaps the explanation for the book's perennial popularity. The ancient race that built the dead city and whose mummies and boneyards litter the landscape represent Death, and She Herself, dressed in the white filaments of a corpse-shroud rushing thru her caverns, is the Goddess of Death. But as the ruined city is the source of Death, the Mountain that surrounds it is the source of Life. The volcano, in whose caldera lives the savage tribe and She Herself, represents the Pyramid of Life, Mount Olympus, the eternal sacred Mountain where humans touch the divine. Like Dante's several levels of existence, the Mountain encompasses both Death and Life, and unites them, housing at its core the bottomless Abyss of Chaos from which springs eternal Life, and She, as the master of the source of life, is therefore also the Goddess of Life. Life from Death; Death from Life. The Angel of Heaven living eternally atop the Pyramid of Life surrounded by devils. The eternal paradox of good and evil intertwined.

Another mythic element is the Arab origin of She, which should be unnecessary--but for the metaphor of the Veil. Haggard grasps the poetic significance of the Veil, the mask eternally worn by Truth, demonstrating the superior attraction of suspense over fact, as every good moviegoer and suspense-story reader knows, and the reason why myth and emotion will always prevail over science and rationality. The Veil taunts and entrances, permitting the imagination infinitely more play than any reality that it may cover.

At times, therefore, SHE manages to hold one's attention. But only momentarily. The plot is thin; the style mediocre to abysmal; the denouement predictable, though the language does manage finally to rise sufficiently to carry the plot in the climactic scenes. In the end, perhaps the most redeeming characteristic of SHE is that the book inspired Edgar Rice Burroughs to write Tarzan. Not the most striking of endorsements.
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