Nada the Lily

Nada the Liily seems such a quaint, albeit subtly ominous, title for a book given over to war, bloodlust, incest, murder, torture, and what would today be called genocide. Not to mention that more than half of the book describes the rule of Chaka (Shaka), the Zulu king whose paranoia and craving for killing resembles totalitarians such as Stalin, Mao, and Hitler. Published in 1892, Haggard likely had little idea about Freud's theories, although Freud was mildly influenced by Haggard's King Solomon's Mines--no doubt the journey into the cave where were kept the diamonds and gold echoed his theories. But Haggard anticipates the crowning achievement of the twentieth century, when he describes and, in fact, analyzes Chaka as what can only show more be termed a psychopath.

The structure of Nada the Lily is not so ordered as in Haggard's earlier works. The story of Umslopogaas, his sister/cousin Lily, and foster father Mopo rambles across a wide sweep of Zululand. It's epic in it telling but a bit of a mess in its execution. Nonetheless, it's also an enveloping story of intrigue, personal failing, and the cost of pursuing glory and fulfilling vain desires.

That its perspective is told entirely from the point of view of its Zulu protagonists seems a shock to many, who can not imagine such a thing emanating from the pen of a Victorian era author. But not so shocking if you look at the lineage of such stories. I haven't investigated Haggard, but he must have been aware of the work of James Fenimore Cooper and Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales. For Haggard's Quatermain, Umslopogaas, and Zulus much resemble the exploits of Cooper's Natty Bumppo, Chingachgook, and Mohicans. show less

I enjoyed this story, much as I enjoy all the stories written in and of those times.

This is a back-story of the youth of Umslopogaas, who later became a companion of Allen Quartermain and died a heroic death in the novel Allen Quatermain. It is the tragic story of how Umslopogaas lost his great love Nada the Lily. It also tells of the career of the great Zulu king Chaka (Shaka). It is dedicated to Sir Theophilus Shepstone, under whom Haggard served in southern Africa. Haggard has a more positive view of Shepstone's dealings with Zulus and Boers than some modern historians do.