H. Rider Haggard

King Solomon's Mines

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Produktbeschreibung

King Solomon's Mines is a popular novel by the Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the missing brother of one of the party. It is the first English fictional adventure novel set in Africa, and is considered to be the genesis of the Lost World literary genre. 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. (britannica.com)

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bibliotech Press
• Seitenzahl: 168
• Erscheinungstermin: 5. Juli 2019
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 235mm x 157mm x 14mm
• Gewicht: 420g
• ISBN-13: 9781618955685
• ISBN-10: 1618955683
• Artikelnr.: 57086985

Autorenporträt

H. Rider Haggard (Sir Henry Rider Haggard) was an English author who was known for his African thriller novel, 'Lord Solomon's Mines'. His father was a Norfolk advocate but he was denied an honourable men's schooling compared to his siblings due to his physical bluntness. Yet he was taught at Ipswich Grammar School. At nineteen years old, he started his vocation at the command of his father as an unpaid guide to Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of Natal, staying in Africa for the following six years. The experience he obtained during this period would later significantly affect his writing profession. An author of massive talent. He kept on composing till the end, leaving behind a legacy of various books, brief tales, and non-fictions for us to read. An agriculturist, he served on a few government commissions concerning horticulture throughout the British Empire, being selected a Knight Bachelor and Knight Commander for his commitment to this field. H. Rider Haggard was born on 22 June, 1856 in Braden ham, situated in the English area of Norfolk. His father, Sir William Meybohm Rider Haggard, was a lawyer, while his mother, Ella Dove ton Haggard, was an author herself. The couple had ten children, out of which Henry was conceived as the eighth. Senior to him was one sister and six brothers called Ella Dove ton, William Henry Dove ton, Bastet Michael Dove ton, Alfred Huber, John George, Andrew Charles Parker, and Arthur. His more youthful kin was Elizabeth Cecelia Western; Eleanora Mary D'Auethare and Edward Arthur Haggard. Due to his dull appearance and absence of focus, his father didn't send him to any tuition-based schools. Taking everything into consideration, he started his schooling with Reverend H. J. Graham at Garsington Rectory in Oxfordshire. Afterward, he moved to Ipswich Grammar School, from where he graduated in 1873. In 1884, Haggard had a five-shilling stake with his brother, asserting that he could compose a preferred novel over Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Treasure Island'. He composed it in the weeks between January and 21st April, 1885. Right away, he set out on writing 'Lord Solomon's Mines' which got distributed in 1885 and immediately turned into a top-of-the-line novel. Even though he had kept on working in legal matters irregularly, he surrendered it and started to focus on writing, serializing another well-known work, 'She: A History of Adventure' in 'The Graphic' magazine between October 1886 and January 1887. At last, the work was distributed as a novel in 1887. In 1887, he distributed another significant work, 'Allan Quatermain' which was a spin-off of 'Lord Solomon's Mines'. Among his other famous works of that time were 'Cleopatra' (1889), 'Nothing the Lily' (1892), and so on. In 1891, he headed out to Mexico to rework his book, 'Montezuma's Daughter' (1893). While continuing with his journey, he received the news that his only child died which dishear...