King Solomon's Mines

“A peculiarly thrilling and vigorous tale of adventure.” — Andrew Lang Informationen zum Autor Sir Henry Rider Haggard, born on June 22, 1856, in Bradenham, United Kingdom, was a prominent English writer known for his adventure fiction, particularly those set in exotic locations like Africa. His novels often blend thrilling adventures with elements of fantasy and exploration. Haggard was also active in land reform efforts across the British Empire, advocating for improvements in the lives of indigenous peoples. He married Mariana Louisa Margitson in 1880, with whom he had two daughters. Haggard's parents were William Meybohm Rider Haggard and Ella Doveton.Andrew Lang, born March 31, 1844, in Selkirk, United Kingdom, was a Scottish poet, novelist, and literary critic, best known for collecting folk and fairy tales. A scholar with a broad range of interests, Lang contributed to anthropology and was a notable figure at the University of St Andrews, where the Andrew Lang lectures were named in his honor. Lang's marriage to Leonora Blanche Alleyne in 1875 marked a personal chapter in his life. His legacy is deeply embedded in children's literature, with his fairy tale collections remaining influential. Lang passed away on July 20, 1912, in Banchory, United Kingdom. Klappentext Touted by its 1885 publisher as "the most amazing story ever written,” King Solomon's Mines was one of the bestselling novels of the nineteenth century. H. Rider Haggard's thrilling saga of elephant hunter Allan Quatermain and his search for fabled treasure is more than just an adventure story, though: As Alexandra Fuller explains in her Introduction, in its vivid portrayal of the alliances and battles of white colonials and African tribesmen, King Solomon's Mines "brings us the world of extremes, of the absurdly tall tales and of the illogical loyalty between disparate people that still informs this part of the world.” CHAPTER I I Meet Sir Henry Curtis It is a curious thing that at my age-fifty-five last birthday- I should find myself taking up a pen to try to write a history. I wonder what sort of a history it will be when I have finished it, if ever I come to the end of the trip! I have done a good many things in my life, which seems a long one to me, owing to my having begun work so young, perhaps. At an age when other boys are at school I was earning my living as a trader in the old Colony. I have been trading, hunting, fighting, or mining ever since. And yet it is only eight months ago that I made my pile. It is a big pile now that I have got it-I don´t yet know how big-but I do not think I would go through the last fifteen or sixteen months again for it; no, not if I knew that I should come out safe at the end, pile and all. But then I am a timid man, and dislike violence, and, moreover, I am fairly sick of adventure. I wonder why I am going to write this book: it is not in my line. I am not a literary man, though very devoted to the Old Testament and also to the "Ingoldsby Legends." Let me try to set down my reasons, just to see if I have any. First reason: Because Sir Henry Curtis and Captain John Good asked me to. Second reason: Because I am laid up here at Durban with the pain in my left leg. Ever since that confounded lion got hold of me I have been liable to this trouble, and its being rather bad just now makes me limp more than ever. There must be some poison in a lion´s teeth, otherwise how is it that when your wounds are healed they break out again, generally, mark you, at the same time of year that you got your mauling? It is a hard thing when one has shot sixty-five lions and more, as I have in the course of my life, that the sixty-sixth should chew your leg like a quid of tobacco. It breaks the routine of the thing, and putting other considerations aside, I am an orderly man and don´t like that. This is by the way. Third reason: Because I want my boy Harry, who is over the...

Dettagli sul prodotto

• Autori: Collectif, Alexandra Fuller, H Rider Haggard, H. Rider Haggard
• Editore: Modern Library PRH US
• Lingue: Inglese
• Formato: Tascabile
• Pubblicazione: 10.12.2002
• EAN: 9780812966299
• ISBN: 978-0-8129-6629-9
• Pagine: 304
• Dimensioni: 132 mm x 202 mm x 17 mm
• Serie: Modern Library Classics; Modern Library Classics (Paper; Modern Library Classics
• Categoria: Narrativa > Romanzi