H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925)
Author of King Solomon's Mines
About the Author
Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856-1925) is best remembered for his 34 adventure fantasy novels set in exotic locations. As a child, Haggard, whose father was an English barrister, was considered dim-witted and was inclined to daydreaming. His parents ended his formal education when he was seventeen, show more and he was sent to work in South Africa, where his imagination was inspired by the people, animals, and jungle. He became close friends with authors Rudyard Kipling and Andrew Lang. Haggard's most popular books are King Solomon's Mines (1886) and She (1887). He also wrote short stories, as well as nonfiction on topics such as gardening, English farming, and rural life, interests which led to duties on government commissions concerned with land maintenance. For his literary contributions and his government service, Haggard was knighted in 1912. Several of Haggard's novels have been filmed. She was filmed in 1965, starring Ursula Andress. King Solomon's Mines was filmed with Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr in 1950, and again with Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone in 1985. Also, the novel Allan Quatermain was filmed as Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold with Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone in 1986. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Henry Rider Haggard, circa 1905. Photographer unknown. Bains News Service / Wikimedia.
Series
Works by H. Rider Haggard
Hunter Quatermain's Story: The Uncollected Adventures of Allan Quartermain (1885) 74 copies, 1 review
Regeneration, Being an Account of the Social Work of the Salvation Army in Great Britain (1910) 23 copies
Kuningas Saalomoni kaevandused ; Seeba kuninganna sõrmus : [romaanid] (2007) — Author — 20 copies, 1 review
Cetywayo and his White Neighbours Remarks on Recent Events in Zululand, Natal, and the Transvaal (1882) 16 copies
The Annotated She: A Critical Edition of H. Rider Haggard's Victorian Romance (Visions (Bloomington, Ind.)) (1991) 15 copies, 1 review
King Solomon's Mines and Other Adventures Vol. 1 (The Allan Quatermain Tales--Four Exciting Adventure Novels in One Volume) (2008) 11 copies
The Allan Quatermain Series: 15 Books and Stories in One Volume (Unexpurgated Edition) (Halcyon Classics) (2009) 9 copies, 1 review
The Favorite Novels of H Rider Haggard One Volume Edition (Cleopatra / She / King Solomon's Mines / Allan Quatermain / M (1928) 8 copies
SHE: The four novels.: (She, Ayesha: The Return of She, She and Allan, Wisdom?s Daughter) (Timeless Wisdom Collection) (2016) — Author — 8 copies
Quatermain: the Complete Adventures: 3-Child of Storm & Allan and the Holy Flower (Quartermain) (2008) 6 copies
Quatermain: the Complete Adventures: 6-Heu-Heu or, the Monster & The Treasure of the Lake (2009) 6 copies
African Adventures: 2-The People of the Mist, Black Heart and White Heart & The Wizard (2009) 4 copies
Der Geist der Freude Studien zu den Vorlagen, zur Textgestaltung und zu den Konzeptionen der Jugendwerke des "anderen" Goethe (2012) 4 copies
Quatermain: the Complete Adventures: 7-Allan and the Ice Gods, Four Short Adventures & Nada the Lily (2009) 4 copies
Rural England; being an account of agricultural and social researches carried out in the years 1901 & 1902 (2011) 4 copies
King Solomon's Mines — The Original 1885 Classic and the First Adventure Novel of Allan Quatermain (Reader's Library Classics) (2023) 3 copies
New Oxford Progressive English Readers: Grade 4: 3700 Headwords: King Solomon's Mines (2008) 3 copies
King Solomon's Mines: Allan Quatermain and Montezuma's Daughter (Illustrated British Classics) (2016) 2 copies
Allan Quatermain Stories 2 copies
Magepa the Buck and Other Allan Quatermain Stories by H. Rider Haggard (Unexpurgated Edition) (Halcyon Classics) (2009) 2 copies
The Collected Works of Henry Rider Haggard: The Complete Works PergamonMedia (Highlights of World Literature) (2015) 2 copies
African Stories 2 copies
She [Motion picture] 2 copies
King Solomons Mines 2 copies
ඈ හෙවත් අයේෂා : 2 වන වෙළුම 2 copies
The Spring of the Lion 2 copies
The Lady of the Heavens 1 copy
[*] ΚΛΑΣΣΙΚΑ Εικονογραφημένα, Νο. 1068 (3η σειρά): Κλεοπάτρα [Classics Illustrated, No. 1068 (Greek - 3rd series): Cleopatra] (1889) 1 copy
Margaret 1 copy
Classics Illustrated JES, No. 38: The Golden Empire of Zu-Vendi (from "Allan Quatermain") (1887) 1 copy
She [Short Story] 1 copy
(all) 1 copy
Les mines du roi salomon 1 copy
Aztekernas sista hövding 1 copy
Pollyanna 1 copy
Colonel Quaritch, V.C. 1 copy
Rozamunda 1 copy
Haggard Anthology 1 copy
Smith und die Pharaonen / Das Hochzeitsgeschenk (Dornbrunnen Taschenschmöker) (2017) — Author — 1 copy
Allan Quatermain Annotated 1 copy
Zij en Ayesha 1 copy
The Blue Curtains 1 copy
Jitřenka (1920) 1 copy
As Minas de Salomão Livro 1 1 copy
About Fiction 1 copy
Den sorte lilie 1 copy
Allan Quatermain (abridged) 1 copy
The Days of My Life - Vol 2 1 copy
The Zayat Kiss 1 copy
foreign teachers graded reading the Oxford English society (Level 4) (Oxford progressive English readers) (1998) 1 copy
Et eventyrland 1 copy
Beatrice. A Novel. Vol. I 1 copy
MY FELLOW LABORER. 1 copy
LEGENDS OF AN EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMAN #3 - AN ALLAN QUATERMAIN OMNIBUS: SHE & ALLAN; THE TREASURE OF THE LAKE; THE IVORY CHILD (2009) 1 copy
Barbara Who Came Back 1 copy
Mr. Meeson's Will 1 copy
Allan Quartermain Stories 1 copy
LEGENDS OF AN EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMAN #1 - AN ALLAN QUATERMAIN OMNIBUS: ALLAN'S WIFE; MARIE; CHILD OF THE STORM (2009) 1 copy
LEGENDS OF AN EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMAN #4 - AN ALLAN QUATERMAIN OMNIBUS: FINISHED; MAGEPA THE BUCK; KING SOLOMON'S MINES (2009) 1 copy
Beatrice. A Novel. Vol. II 1 copy
Smith y los faraones 1 copy
La principessa splendente 1 copy
Associated Works
Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy, Volume 2: Witches (1984) — Contributor — 153 copies, 1 review
Mammoth Book of Short Fantasy Novels (Mammoth) (1986) — Contributor, some editions — 80 copies, 1 review
Into Unknown England, 1866-1913: Selections from the Social Explorers (1976) — Contributor — 24 copies
Adventure Novels: King Solomon's Mines, Prisoner of Zenda, Under the Red Robe, The Lost World, Beau Geste (Collins Classics) (1995) — Contributor — 7 copies
Out of the Sand: Mummies, Pyramids, and Egyptology in Classic Science Fiction and Fantasy (2008) — Contributor — 5 copies
Marvel Classics Comics No. 24 — Story — 2 copies
Het Beste Boek 124: Luchtkasteel / Liesbeth / Gekidnapt / Vondeling van de storm (1986) — Author — 2 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Haggard, H. Rider
- Legal name
- Haggard, Henry Rider
- Birthdate
- 1856-06-22
- Date of death
- 1925-05-14
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Ipswich Grammar School
- Occupations
- novelist
barrister
civil servant - Awards and honors
- Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire (1919)
Knight Bachelor (1912) - Relationships
- Haggard, Lilias Rider (daughter)
- Short biography
- Sir H. Rider Haggard
Also known asSir Henry Rider Haggard
born
June 22, 1856
Bradenham, England
died
May 14, 1925 (aged 68)
London, England
notable works“She”
“King Solomon’s Mines”
“Heart of the World”
“The Ivory Child”
“Cleopatra”
“Nada the Lily”
“A Farmer’s Year”
“Queen Sheba’s Ring”
“Rural England”
“Marie”
Sir H. Rider Haggard, in full Sir Henry Rider Haggard (born June 22, 1856, Bradenham, Norfolk, Eng.—died May 14, 1925, London), English novelist best known for his romantic adventure King Solomon’s Mines (1885).
The son of a barrister, Haggard was educated at Ipswich grammar school and by private tutors. In 1875, at age 19, he went to southern Africa as secretary to the governor of Natal, Sir Henry Bulwer. Then he served on Sir Theophilus Shepstone’s staff and himself hoisted the flag at the brief first annexation of the Transvaal (1877–81). He then became master of the high court there. In 1879 he returned to England, wrote a history of recent events in southern Africa, Cetywayo and His White Neighbours (1882), and read for the bar.
He published two unsuccessful novels but captured the public with his African adventure story King Solomon’s Mines. He followed this with She (1887) and further stories of Africa, notably Allan Quatermain (1887), Nada the Lily (1892), Queen Sheba’s Ring (1910), Marie (1912), and The Ivory Child (1916). He used other settings for such striking romances as Cleopatra (1889), Montezuma’s Daughter (1893), and Heart of the World (1896).
Haggard was also a practical farmer; he served on several government commissions concerning agriculture and was knighted in 1912 for these services. A Farmer’s Year (1899) and Rural England, 2 vol. (1902), are works of some importance. His autobiography, The Days of My Life: An Autobiography by Sir H. Rider Haggard (1926), was edited by C.J. Longman and published posthumously. With Robert Louis Stevenson, George MacDonald, and William Morris, Haggard was part of the literary reaction against domestic realism that has been called a romance revival.
(Written By: The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica) - Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Bradenham, Norfolk, England, UK
- Places of residence
- South Africa
UK - Place of death
- London, Middlesex, England, UK
- Burial location
- St Mary Churchyard, Ditchingham, Norfolk, England, UK
- Map Location
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
show more
“Is there no man that will draw my veil and look upon my face, for it is very fair? Unto him who draws my veil shall I be, and peace will I give him, and sweet children of knowledge and good works.”
And a voice cried, “Through all those who seek after thee desire thee, behold! Virgin art thou, and Virgin shall thou go till Time be done. No man is there born of woman who may draw thy veil and live, nor shall be. By Death only can thy veil be drawn, oh Truth!”
And Truth stretched out her
arms and wept, because those who sought her might not find her, nor look upon her face to face.I have wanted to read She for so long, at first enflamed by the knowledge that one of my favourite writers, J. R. R. Tolkien, loved it and was inspired by it, and many years small embers were added to to the pile from various places where the author H. Rider Haggard was touted to be a juggernaut of adventure fiction. Having read She, the praise is well-deserved. Haggard is an excellent writer of adventure, and I was surprised to find that even elements of Gothic mystery and even a pinch of Lovecraftian horror permeated through the text, most stronger in the latter half. Haggard even goes philosophical in certain sections, and these too are rendered with polished prose and deep thoughts—and never once did they feel like asides from the main yarn but a natural part of its unravelling.
And in all this, the titular character ‘She’ takes the spotlight with her Ozymandian pride, her Siren-like beauty, her Circean infatuation, and her cynical philosophy (which we never truly excavate). He loves deeply as she hates, her mirth is as deep as her sorrow, and her moods are fickle but at the same time measured. She is an awesome figure in the realm of stories, a terrible and sublime villain, cruel and cunning to those who oppose her, yet warm and friendly to those who find favour with her.
Go and read She and meet She. show less
They don't write books like this any more, and that is both a good and a bad thing.
You have to keep telling yourself that this book was written a LONG time ago, since it is a pretty safe bet that something in this book will offend virtually any modern reader. I found myself shaking my head in disbelief and laughing sort of the same way I used to laugh while watching Archie Bunker--except that Archie was an anachronism even during his first run on TV, and Alan Quartermain is quite enlightened show more for his time. Not that different from reading Edgar Rice Burroughs, really.
IF you can get past that, and I hope that you can, this is a fantastic adventure novel. Absolutely top shelf---how did I miss this one? Full of heroic characters, dastardly villains, complex plots and schemes, hair-raising adventures, creepy settings, epic battles and something that I did not expect----humor. This book is laugh out loud funny even while telling a straight forward adventure yarn in the classic style. A style it pretty much invented, I might say, just as I think that it is no stretch to say that without Alan Quartermain there would be no Indiana Jones. In fact the whole vibe of the movie borrows quite a bit from Haggard's style.
I have already bought a ticket for the remaining books in the series. show less
You have to keep telling yourself that this book was written a LONG time ago, since it is a pretty safe bet that something in this book will offend virtually any modern reader. I found myself shaking my head in disbelief and laughing sort of the same way I used to laugh while watching Archie Bunker--except that Archie was an anachronism even during his first run on TV, and Alan Quartermain is quite enlightened show more for his time. Not that different from reading Edgar Rice Burroughs, really.
IF you can get past that, and I hope that you can, this is a fantastic adventure novel. Absolutely top shelf---how did I miss this one? Full of heroic characters, dastardly villains, complex plots and schemes, hair-raising adventures, creepy settings, epic battles and something that I did not expect----humor. This book is laugh out loud funny even while telling a straight forward adventure yarn in the classic style. A style it pretty much invented, I might say, just as I think that it is no stretch to say that without Alan Quartermain there would be no Indiana Jones. In fact the whole vibe of the movie borrows quite a bit from Haggard's style.
I have already bought a ticket for the remaining books in the series. show less
A sequel to The Odyssey, written by H Rider Haggard *and* Andrew Lang? It sounded like a great idea. I opened it in the middle, which was a mistake; the choice of language and sentence structure identifies it as what it is, a Victorian-era fantasy with no ties to the ancient world. But going back to it and starting from the first page, I found it much more engaging. This time I got to page 141 before the two-women-besotted-with-one-man-through-multiple-lifetimes trope annoyed me too much to show more continue. I already read about the misadventures and poor decisions of Odysseus throughout The Odyssey, do I need to read more? Do I want to read more about Fates and fickle gods? On the whole, I think maybe not. It's starting to remind me of Dido and Aeneas too. Tbh, I miss Penelope, a much more active, clever and interesting character than either of the female leads in this book. 3 stars for keeping my attention through 60% of the book is generous. show less
This is certainly a book of its time, written originally in 1885, it is full of English Superiority over everybody, and the darker the skin, the more inferior the person is.
On the whole of it, its actually well written, but for modern readers who think elephants should not be hunted and everybody is equal, there will be both a lot of eye rolling, and out right rage (whole herds of elephants are decimated just for a few tusks of ivory). Also, there is exactly two named women in this story, show more one is an ancient witch, and the other is a beautiful tribes women (almost as beautiful as white person).
This story is the base for so many adventure stories and movies, such as Indian Jones Franchise. Its got witches, savages, exotic locations, missing heirs, pretty much everything you can want out of a book like this. So, if you can get past the 1880's British Superiority and the casual racism, its a good story, but not without its problems. show less
On the whole of it, its actually well written, but for modern readers who think elephants should not be hunted and everybody is equal, there will be both a lot of eye rolling, and out right rage (whole herds of elephants are decimated just for a few tusks of ivory). Also, there is exactly two named women in this story, show more one is an ancient witch, and the other is a beautiful tribes women (almost as beautiful as white person).
This story is the base for so many adventure stories and movies, such as Indian Jones Franchise. Its got witches, savages, exotic locations, missing heirs, pretty much everything you can want out of a book like this. So, if you can get past the 1880's British Superiority and the casual racism, its a good story, but not without its problems. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 284
- Also by
- 49
- Members
- 18,881
- Popularity
- #1,158
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 394
- ISBNs
- 3,525
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- Favorited
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