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Allan Quatermain #1
King Solomon's Mines
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.
264 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1885
About the author
H. Rider Haggard
1,606 books1,022 followersSir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and the creator of the Lost World literary genre. His stories, situated at the lighter end of the scale of Victorian literature, continue to be popular and influential. He was also involved in agricultural reform and improvement in the British Empire.
His breakout novel was King Solomon's Mines (1885), which was to be the first in a series telling of the multitudinous adventures of its protagonist, Allan Quatermain.
Haggard was made a Knight Bachelor in 1912 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1919. He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Conservative candidate for the Eastern division of Norfolk in 1895. The locality of Rider, British Columbia, was named in his memory.
His breakout novel was King Solomon's Mines (1885), which was to be the first in a series telling of the multitudinous adventures of its protagonist, Allan Quatermain.
Haggard was made a Knight Bachelor in 1912 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1919. He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Conservative candidate for the Eastern division of Norfolk in 1895. The locality of Rider, British Columbia, was named in his memory.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,646 reviews
February 6, 2019
This book was written for men like Haggard, stupid Victorian men with small minds and no heart. They are the brutes. They are the uncivilised savage. And this is what children were given to read at the time? This is what they saw as an “adventure?” How could Achebe attack Conrad when drivel like this is the cannon? This is a disgusting product of history, one the world is better off forgetting.
Sure, you may argue that Haggard displays the Africans as civilised. And to an extent he does. They have their own martial culture. But through the eyes of his characters this still translates as primitive. Through a lens of Imperialism it is a patronising relationship. The African is ready to be guided and taught the errors of his culture’s ways. To the white man they are debased and primitive. But, for me, this wasn’t the most repulsive thing about the writing. What do the white men do when they go to Africa? This other world?
They try to claim it. They go about shooting everything for no apparent reason. Is this how man shows his supposed superiority? Is this how a civilisation exerts its supremacy? Shooting a random giraffe through the neck is considered fair game, bagging a few lions is good sportsmanship and slaughtering an elephant is the best of the best: it is a real accomplishment: a real achievement for a Victorian adventurer. So not only do we have disgusting attitudes toward imperialism, but we have a blatant display of a terrible aspect of the Victorian mind set. We see deplorable men who think they are more than the natural world. The Romantic generation would vomit if they read such unsentimental literature. I want to vomit.
Sure, you may argue that Haggard displays the Africans as civilised. And to an extent he does. They have their own martial culture. But through the eyes of his characters this still translates as primitive. Through a lens of Imperialism it is a patronising relationship. The African is ready to be guided and taught the errors of his culture’s ways. To the white man they are debased and primitive. But, for me, this wasn’t the most repulsive thing about the writing. What do the white men do when they go to Africa? This other world?
They try to claim it. They go about shooting everything for no apparent reason. Is this how man shows his supposed superiority? Is this how a civilisation exerts its supremacy? Shooting a random giraffe through the neck is considered fair game, bagging a few lions is good sportsmanship and slaughtering an elephant is the best of the best: it is a real accomplishment: a real achievement for a Victorian adventurer. So not only do we have disgusting attitudes toward imperialism, but we have a blatant display of a terrible aspect of the Victorian mind set. We see deplorable men who think they are more than the natural world. The Romantic generation would vomit if they read such unsentimental literature. I want to vomit.
June 10, 2024
Sir H. (Henry) Rider Haggard the British inventor of the lost civilization adventures stories has here one of his most famous and best, King Solomon's Mines a wonderful if improbable trek through the thick jungles, high mountains, scorching deserts of this fascinating land. For any person interested in this fun type of genre and those discovering it ,
a new captivating city quite old in reality, hidden from our knowledge for thousands of years is found, obviously I shouldn't need to say for the young at heart. Allan Quatermain Englishman , an African explorer in the "dark continent" of the nineteenth century well known for his bravery is hired by wealthy Sir Henry Curtis to find his younger brother George. Mr. Quatermain a hunter among other things, he could use the money and agrees to guide the dangerous expedition yet not feeling too good about its prospects. Along with Sir Henry is Captain John Good former British naval officer and a close friend of Curtis. Both believe the irrational George has traveled to the interior of Africa seeking his own fortune. Having quarreled with Sir Henry the angry, penniless but proud man left England not wanting to depend on his rich older brother for a living. George was looking for the legendary King Solomon's Mines a myth most think, still to a desperate person has nothing to lose. Meeting Umbopa a mysterious African , who seems to know a great deal about the unknown territory, ( can he be trusted? ) they need to explore and finding their way a task quite unappealing and very dangerous to them too. So Umbopa consents to go with the Englishmen there, something is not right here but they have no other option... Journeying through a water less desert they barely survive the monumental ordeal, the burning Sun always above next comes a warlike tribe in Kukuanaland, the strange country ruled by Twala their unfriendly king. Also an evil ageless witch Gagool, who helps Twala terrorize the people and the whole tribe fears greatly with good reason. Diamonds , numerous as grains of sand are unearthed yet where is George ? And how to get out of Kukuanaland alive ... Umbopa reveals he's Ignosi the rightful king he says, however his cousin has another opinion. When many tribesmen join him in his quest to overthrow Twala , civil war breaks out. Blood flows freely until the conflict is ended, however can they escape through the treacherous mountains and get back to England? An enjoyable adventure novel from the zenith days of the British Empire.
a new captivating city quite old in reality, hidden from our knowledge for thousands of years is found, obviously I shouldn't need to say for the young at heart. Allan Quatermain Englishman , an African explorer in the "dark continent" of the nineteenth century well known for his bravery is hired by wealthy Sir Henry Curtis to find his younger brother George. Mr. Quatermain a hunter among other things, he could use the money and agrees to guide the dangerous expedition yet not feeling too good about its prospects. Along with Sir Henry is Captain John Good former British naval officer and a close friend of Curtis. Both believe the irrational George has traveled to the interior of Africa seeking his own fortune. Having quarreled with Sir Henry the angry, penniless but proud man left England not wanting to depend on his rich older brother for a living. George was looking for the legendary King Solomon's Mines a myth most think, still to a desperate person has nothing to lose. Meeting Umbopa a mysterious African , who seems to know a great deal about the unknown territory, ( can he be trusted? ) they need to explore and finding their way a task quite unappealing and very dangerous to them too. So Umbopa consents to go with the Englishmen there, something is not right here but they have no other option... Journeying through a water less desert they barely survive the monumental ordeal, the burning Sun always above next comes a warlike tribe in Kukuanaland, the strange country ruled by Twala their unfriendly king. Also an evil ageless witch Gagool, who helps Twala terrorize the people and the whole tribe fears greatly with good reason. Diamonds , numerous as grains of sand are unearthed yet where is George ? And how to get out of Kukuanaland alive ... Umbopa reveals he's Ignosi the rightful king he says, however his cousin has another opinion. When many tribesmen join him in his quest to overthrow Twala , civil war breaks out. Blood flows freely until the conflict is ended, however can they escape through the treacherous mountains and get back to England? An enjoyable adventure novel from the zenith days of the British Empire.
June 18, 2022
هل أنا جنتلمان؟هكذا تساءل ألان كوارترمين في ذكرى ميلاده ال55
لقد عملت بيدي منذ سن 11 و
لقد قتلت عشرات الرجال لكني لم الوث يدي بدم بريء
لقد صرعت 65اسدا و كان لابد ان ينهش ساقي الأسد السادس و الستين"ا
فلنشد الرحال لافريقيا مع رواية حملات كلاسيكية {لكن نحن في أفريقيا اصلا💃}نتعرف على البريطانيين مهاوييس التنقيب عن الكنوز و الآثار
حملة انقاذ ممزوجة بالبحث عن كنز و بالطبع سرعان ما تتحول ككل قصص المغامرات"لصراع على البقاء احياء" و قطعة واحدة
اهم ما في هذه الروايات التي تنتمي لعهد الاستعمار 1885 الا نحملها الكثير و لا ننتظر منها معلومات مؤكدة ابداً..فلا تنتظر معلومات شافية عن النبي سليمان عليه السلام و لا بلقيس و لا كنوزهما
مجرد رواية مغامرات سطحية الشخصيات مليئة بالاكشن و المفاجآت التي صارت بلهاء الان
و بالتالي ستظل نموذجية لتتحول لأفلام مرارا كما حدث منذ الثلاثينات حتى ألفيتنا الحالية و لكن يبدو الى اللان ان شون كونري هو افضل من تقمص شخصية كوارترماين
لقد عملت بيدي منذ سن 11 و
لقد قتلت عشرات الرجال لكني لم الوث يدي بدم بريء
لقد صرعت 65اسدا و كان لابد ان ينهش ساقي الأسد السادس و الستين"ا
فلنشد الرحال لافريقيا مع رواية حملات كلاسيكية {لكن نحن في أفريقيا اصلا💃}نتعرف على البريطانيين مهاوييس التنقيب عن الكنوز و الآثار
حملة انقاذ ممزوجة بالبحث عن كنز و بالطبع سرعان ما تتحول ككل قصص المغامرات"لصراع على البقاء احياء" و قطعة واحدة
اهم ما في هذه الروايات التي تنتمي لعهد الاستعمار 1885 الا نحملها الكثير و لا ننتظر منها معلومات مؤكدة ابداً..فلا تنتظر معلومات شافية عن النبي سليمان عليه السلام و لا بلقيس و لا كنوزهما
مجرد رواية مغامرات سطحية الشخصيات مليئة بالاكشن و المفاجآت التي صارت بلهاء الان
و بالتالي ستظل نموذجية لتتحول لأفلام مرارا كما حدث منذ الثلاثينات حتى ألفيتنا الحالية و لكن يبدو الى اللان ان شون كونري هو افضل من تقمص شخصية كوارترماين
October 19, 2015
I always fascinated treasure hunt books and this book did really surpassed my expectations. A real adventure it was! Its a story of: survival, revenge, making of a king, greatest treasure hunt, and friendship.
I was hooked from the start and the story just got more riveting with every page. This book reminded me of many adventure movies, both from Hollywood and Bollywood (it is the nickname for the Hindi language film industry, based in Mumbai, India). And now I can guess from where those movies have got their inspiration. Unlike movies, which always have some love story interwoven in the script, there is but a very minor love story which ends quite differently and abruptly, and I kinda liked it. Even though many subplots were quite predictable, I was never left disappointed, rather it was a very interesting story filled with thrill and suspense (and I was always eager and excited to find what's going to happen next), which culminates with a happy ending.
Highly recommended!
November 14, 2023
Thriller escapism in the Victorian style!
Like many of its contemporaries - Edgar Rice Burrough's Caspak, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World, Jules Verne's subterranean Lidenbrock Sea and even HG Well's Island of Dr Moreau - KING SOLOMON'S MINES is a story of adventure into an exotic locale and can be summarized with the broadest brush in the most general terms as Indiana Jones with Victorian sensibilities and motives.
Allan Quatermain, a gentleman adventurer who has by a combination of good luck and good management survived well beyond the usual anticipated life expectancy of an African elephant hunter, has been hired to find a long lost expedition. Sir Henry Curtis's younger brother, last heard of leaving civilization to cross a desiccated stretch of trackless desert, had disappeared in the heart of Africa hunting for the legendary diamond mines of King Solomon.
KING SOLOMON'S MINES isn't deep. By no stretch of the imagination can it be called literary or profound. There is no apparent moralistic message or overarching theme hidden within the text which the author wished to convey. It was intended as an enjoyable adventure when it was first written in 1885 and, over one hundred years later, it is still succeeding at its original goal. It's fun, it's light, it's fast-paced and exciting, it's easy to read and, above all, it occupies the mind pleasurably without taxing it in the least. Clearly, even at the turn of the 19th century, escapism writing had its place and could be astonishingly popular.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
Like many of its contemporaries - Edgar Rice Burrough's Caspak, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World, Jules Verne's subterranean Lidenbrock Sea and even HG Well's Island of Dr Moreau - KING SOLOMON'S MINES is a story of adventure into an exotic locale and can be summarized with the broadest brush in the most general terms as Indiana Jones with Victorian sensibilities and motives.
Allan Quatermain, a gentleman adventurer who has by a combination of good luck and good management survived well beyond the usual anticipated life expectancy of an African elephant hunter, has been hired to find a long lost expedition. Sir Henry Curtis's younger brother, last heard of leaving civilization to cross a desiccated stretch of trackless desert, had disappeared in the heart of Africa hunting for the legendary diamond mines of King Solomon.
KING SOLOMON'S MINES isn't deep. By no stretch of the imagination can it be called literary or profound. There is no apparent moralistic message or overarching theme hidden within the text which the author wished to convey. It was intended as an enjoyable adventure when it was first written in 1885 and, over one hundred years later, it is still succeeding at its original goal. It's fun, it's light, it's fast-paced and exciting, it's easy to read and, above all, it occupies the mind pleasurably without taxing it in the least. Clearly, even at the turn of the 19th century, escapism writing had its place and could be astonishingly popular.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
June 22, 2015
This book is the response to a five-shilling dare from Haggard's brother that he couldn't write a book half as good as Treasure Island. Haggard was enormously popular in his time; he and Robert Louis Stevenson were the two dominant adventure writers
It's enormously imaginative. Alan Quatermain is a brilliant character, a wiry and wily old Ulysses who describes himself as a coward. There's a scene near the end involving artificial stalagmites that's exhilaratingly evocative and creative (and creepy). And at the same time, you see a bunch of now-familiar bits appearing for the first time; it's impossible to miss the gleam of Indiana Jones in Quatermain's eye.
So why isn't Haggard as well-loved today as he was back then? It might be consistency; Stevenson has Kidnapped, Treasure Island and Jekyll & Hyde as three classics, and Haggard only has this and maybe She, which I haven't read. And Jekyll & Hyde is kindof on a level slightly higher than any of these pure adventure stories, as fun as they are.
But it's probably also due to Haggard's awkward views on race. This is a novel of the colonial era. It depicts white men exploiting native populations for treasure, and it has a reputation as racist.
Is it actually racist? Er...how's "not as racist as people seem to think" sound? Like I'm equivocating?
Okay, to get into this you're gonna have to
That may have been more discussion of race than you really wanted, but I'm trying to rescue this book here. Like Heart of Darkness, it's troubling, but it's also better than its reputation. And it's so much fucking fun to read, man. It's worth a little rehabilitation.
It's enormously imaginative. Alan Quatermain is a brilliant character, a wiry and wily old Ulysses who describes himself as a coward. There's a scene near the end involving artificial stalagmites that's exhilaratingly evocative and creative (and creepy). And at the same time, you see a bunch of now-familiar bits appearing for the first time; it's impossible to miss the gleam of Indiana Jones in Quatermain's eye.
So why isn't Haggard as well-loved today as he was back then? It might be consistency; Stevenson has Kidnapped, Treasure Island and Jekyll & Hyde as three classics, and Haggard only has this and maybe She, which I haven't read. And Jekyll & Hyde is kindof on a level slightly higher than any of these pure adventure stories, as fun as they are.
But it's probably also due to Haggard's awkward views on race. This is a novel of the colonial era. It depicts white men exploiting native populations for treasure, and it has a reputation as racist.
Is it actually racist? Er...how's "not as racist as people seem to think" sound? Like I'm equivocating?
Okay, to get into this you're gonna have to
That may have been more discussion of race than you really wanted, but I'm trying to rescue this book here. Like Heart of Darkness, it's troubling, but it's also better than its reputation. And it's so much fucking fun to read, man. It's worth a little rehabilitation.
November 22, 2022
A lot of books have aged badly, but some are worse than others. This is one of the worst, in my opinion.
I always try to make allowances for the time in which a book was written, but this one has aged so badly that it’s just impossible to find the good in it. To be fair, it is both dated AND the kind of book I would never enjoy anyway, so there's that.
King Solomon's Mines is an adventure/survival story about three white guys trekking across Southern Africa murdering herds of African elephants for ivory, being disgusted when Zulu men dare to speak to them as equals, spending a few pages listing all of the guns they brought with them, and eyeing up some hot local women-- the description of whom was so grotesquely racist that I made note of it, but find now I can't bring myself to type it out.
This is all while they're on the hunt for Sir Henry's missing brother, yada yada, who cares anyway?
The whole point of a survival story is that you should want the characters to survive, but why would I? I was honestly delighted when one of the elephants— a ‘brute’ according to Quartermain —fought back when they attacked him. But, of course, none of the main three were killed.
If you’re looking for the most ugly, nauseating and culturally disrespectful example of imperialism, then look no further than this book. A bunch of white guys go tromping through southern Africa with guns, acting like they own the place, sneering at the locals and killing the wildlife.
Allan Quartermain, go fuck yourself.
I always try to make allowances for the time in which a book was written, but this one has aged so badly that it’s just impossible to find the good in it. To be fair, it is both dated AND the kind of book I would never enjoy anyway, so there's that.
King Solomon's Mines is an adventure/survival story about three white guys trekking across Southern Africa murdering herds of African elephants for ivory, being disgusted when Zulu men dare to speak to them as equals, spending a few pages listing all of the guns they brought with them, and eyeing up some hot local women-- the description of whom was so grotesquely racist that I made note of it, but find now I can't bring myself to type it out.
This is all while they're on the hunt for Sir Henry's missing brother, yada yada, who cares anyway?
The whole point of a survival story is that you should want the characters to survive, but why would I? I was honestly delighted when one of the elephants— a ‘brute’ according to Quartermain —fought back when they attacked him. But, of course, none of the main three were killed.
If you’re looking for the most ugly, nauseating and culturally disrespectful example of imperialism, then look no further than this book. A bunch of white guys go tromping through southern Africa with guns, acting like they own the place, sneering at the locals and killing the wildlife.
Allan Quartermain, go fuck yourself.
April 5, 2022
What wild adventures are those of Allan Quatermain and his companions!
Rider Haggard gleefully slaughters some elephants and giraffes to feed our treasure hunters. By the way, the heroes help restore a rightful heir to his throne - just that.
The book is captivating, and I walked around it pleasantly, like in some Jules Verne.
These King Solomon Mines are the goal of an odyssey that cannot enrich the European trio too much. Solomon's treasures are damn well protected!
As for the slightly condescending tone of the book, it has this somewhat outdated character which makes the charm of a pure entertainment reading (the cinema of the time).
If Spielberg did Tintin, with his Raiders of the Lost Ark, Hergé still pumped a lot on Rider Haggard! Does the "eclipse stroke" to panic the savages remind you of nothing?
This work is an adventure book (a real one) to read while on vacation with a good drink close at hand.
Rider Haggard gleefully slaughters some elephants and giraffes to feed our treasure hunters. By the way, the heroes help restore a rightful heir to his throne - just that.
The book is captivating, and I walked around it pleasantly, like in some Jules Verne.
These King Solomon Mines are the goal of an odyssey that cannot enrich the European trio too much. Solomon's treasures are damn well protected!
As for the slightly condescending tone of the book, it has this somewhat outdated character which makes the charm of a pure entertainment reading (the cinema of the time).
If Spielberg did Tintin, with his Raiders of the Lost Ark, Hergé still pumped a lot on Rider Haggard! Does the "eclipse stroke" to panic the savages remind you of nothing?
This work is an adventure book (a real one) to read while on vacation with a good drink close at hand.
September 2, 2018
دمج رائع بين التاريخ والخيال والعصر الذي عاش فيه الكاتب. احداث مشوقة وسريعة وغامضة تنتقل من مشهد الى اخر.
كنوز الملك سليمان يحصل عليها المغامرون بعد مغامرتهم الرائعة ولكن لكل منهم كنزه ومن يضحك آخراً يضحك كثيرا.
واختار افريقيا مسرحا لهذه الرواية مع ان تاريخيا كانت مملكة سليمان في آسيا. لان افريقيا تبقى القارة الغامضة وخاصة في عصر كتابة الرواية .
جميلة ومثيرة ومشوقة
كنوز الملك سليمان يحصل عليها المغامرون بعد مغامرتهم الرائعة ولكن لكل منهم كنزه ومن يضحك آخراً يضحك كثيرا.
واختار افريقيا مسرحا لهذه الرواية مع ان تاريخيا كانت مملكة سليمان في آسيا. لان افريقيا تبقى القارة الغامضة وخاصة في عصر كتابة الرواية .
جميلة ومثيرة ومشوقة
December 18, 2020
Alan Quartermain is an African explorer and hunter.He is asked to accompany Sir Henry Curtis,a Dane whose brother,George Neville,has gone missing while looking for King Solomon's diamond mines Also with them is Captain Good.
The journey is not an easy one.They follow an ancient map and nearly die of thirst,as they go deep into the desert.
Surviving that ordeal,they arrive in the land of the cruel king Tawala and his advisor,Gagool.After a civil war and a series of adventures,Gagool leads them to King Solomon's diamond mines.Those diamonds can make them very rich.
It is a pretty good adventure,with the flavour of Africa and its sometimes cruel tribal customs.I first read it as an Urdu translation when I was a kid,and it left quite an impact at the time.
Revisiting it a long time later,I enjoyed it.However,the Alan Quartermain movies,generally disappointed me.
The journey is not an easy one.They follow an ancient map and nearly die of thirst,as they go deep into the desert.
Surviving that ordeal,they arrive in the land of the cruel king Tawala and his advisor,Gagool.After a civil war and a series of adventures,Gagool leads them to King Solomon's diamond mines.Those diamonds can make them very rich.
It is a pretty good adventure,with the flavour of Africa and its sometimes cruel tribal customs.I first read it as an Urdu translation when I was a kid,and it left quite an impact at the time.
Revisiting it a long time later,I enjoyed it.However,the Alan Quartermain movies,generally disappointed me.
September 5, 2017
***2017 Summer Lovin’ Reading List***
King Solomon’s Mines is very much a product of its Victorian, colonial times. Don’t go into this book expecting anything else. Allan Quartermain is an unlikely protagonist, an elephant hunter, something that would get him publically shamed on the internet nowadays. This is very much an adventure tale, set in deepest, darkest Africa. White men have no doubt that they are at the very tippy-top of the social hierarchy and have no compunctions about expressing that belief. They believe Africans to be primitive, superstitious, and prefer them subservient. An African may be king in his own lost-kingdom, but must still admit his unworthiness to equality with a ne’er-do-well hunter like Quartermain.
Not recommended for the overly politically correct, but providing many insights into the colonial mindset that still plagues us today. A fantastical adventure in the Victorian style.
King Solomon’s Mines is very much a product of its Victorian, colonial times. Don’t go into this book expecting anything else. Allan Quartermain is an unlikely protagonist, an elephant hunter, something that would get him publically shamed on the internet nowadays. This is very much an adventure tale, set in deepest, darkest Africa. White men have no doubt that they are at the very tippy-top of the social hierarchy and have no compunctions about expressing that belief. They believe Africans to be primitive, superstitious, and prefer them subservient. An African may be king in his own lost-kingdom, but must still admit his unworthiness to equality with a ne’er-do-well hunter like Quartermain.
Not recommended for the overly politically correct, but providing many insights into the colonial mindset that still plagues us today. A fantastical adventure in the Victorian style.
March 4, 2013
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.
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.
Read
November 21, 2017I got my copy of this book on holiday in Devon as a child, probably on a Wednesday afternoon. The bookshop was shut, but there was a shelf of books outside with sign asking you to put the money under the door if you wanted something and for twenty pence I had myself a copy.
It is a Vikings meet Zulus story, noble savages and fearless adventurers crossed with the mythical wealth of King Solomon from the old testament with a hidden heir and a treasure map book. It comes of course with the best advice for any traveller determined to bring about a coup de etat in a hidden kingdom populated by noble savages - always know when the next eclipse is due.
Of particular interest in the nineteenth century racial thinking of the author is that when the White men are armoured in antique battle gear and armed with battle axes and spears they are revealed to be intrinsically skilled in their use. Which I suppose just goes to show why racists have such high self-esteem.
Naturally not all the savages are noble - some of them (dramatic pause) are women, or as they are also known in the story: witches. Ah, there is nothing quite like Victorian values.
It is a Vikings meet Zulus story, noble savages and fearless adventurers crossed with the mythical wealth of King Solomon from the old testament with a hidden heir and a treasure map book. It comes of course with the best advice for any traveller determined to bring about a coup de etat in a hidden kingdom populated by noble savages - always know when the next eclipse is due.
Of particular interest in the nineteenth century racial thinking of the author is that when the White men are armoured in antique battle gear and armed with battle axes and spears they are revealed to be intrinsically skilled in their use. Which I suppose just goes to show why racists have such high self-esteem.
Naturally not all the savages are noble - some of them (dramatic pause) are women, or as they are also known in the story: witches. Ah, there is nothing quite like Victorian values.
August 22, 2021
If I ever have to read the phrase “the nipple of the mountain” again I will scream
March 26, 2022
Written in the Victorian era in 1885, this is an adventure story that had me thinking of Indiana Jones. In fact, this novel has greatly influenced the adventure genre and is considered the first of the “lost world” novels. It takes place in South Africa which was a mysterious and unknown part of the world at the time making the exploits that much more exciting to its early readers.
Our main hero is elephant hunter Allan Quartermain who is writing his story to his son of his adventures with Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good as they set out to search for the legendary King Solomon’s Mines allegedly filled with diamonds. Curtis has proposed a mission to locate his lost brother who disappeared during his own search for the treasure. That is the main gist of the story however, these gentleman encounter a plethora of strange and dangerous pursuits. As they trek across the desert with a sketchy map in hand and enough water and food that might last, they don’t know whether they will complete their task or live to see another day. Their lives are at risk each and every day that they set out on their expedition. Many of the tangles they find themselves in are deadly and treacherous and sometimes over the top.
In order to enjoy the story, a modern reader must realize the time period and take the Victorian conventions into consideration. It does contain Imperialist, racist and sexist views which can offend some people today. In fact, I would not consider this a very politically correct novel for our modern sensibilities. But keeping these things in mind, one can still enjoy the story for what it is, an adventure story with a mission set in a far away place that at the time was an unexplored area of the world.
The language and writing is rather dated and the dialogues can be a bit stiff at times. It’s an old fashioned classic adventure story but it’s very easy to read.
Our main hero is elephant hunter Allan Quartermain who is writing his story to his son of his adventures with Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good as they set out to search for the legendary King Solomon’s Mines allegedly filled with diamonds. Curtis has proposed a mission to locate his lost brother who disappeared during his own search for the treasure. That is the main gist of the story however, these gentleman encounter a plethora of strange and dangerous pursuits. As they trek across the desert with a sketchy map in hand and enough water and food that might last, they don’t know whether they will complete their task or live to see another day. Their lives are at risk each and every day that they set out on their expedition. Many of the tangles they find themselves in are deadly and treacherous and sometimes over the top.
In order to enjoy the story, a modern reader must realize the time period and take the Victorian conventions into consideration. It does contain Imperialist, racist and sexist views which can offend some people today. In fact, I would not consider this a very politically correct novel for our modern sensibilities. But keeping these things in mind, one can still enjoy the story for what it is, an adventure story with a mission set in a far away place that at the time was an unexplored area of the world.
The language and writing is rather dated and the dialogues can be a bit stiff at times. It’s an old fashioned classic adventure story but it’s very easy to read.
August 7, 2016
When reading and then reviewing a novel written in the 1880s, one has to sort of teleport back a century or so to be fair. Reading an artifact vs a contemporary work of historical fiction requires an entirely different barometer.
In many instances, the reader has to put aside the shock of sexism and xenophobia in order to jump into the tale. Occasionally, the old styled language and pace is painful. I remember once being iced in at the tiny Tupelo, Mississippi airport for seven hours. There was no coffee shop or sundry store - just vending machines, and the only thing I had to read with him me was "Far From the Madding Crowd." Omg. I actually prayed for death a time or two.
But not so with this! Sure, it is dated, but this is the still-muscle-bound great, great grandpa to Indiana Jones. Like "In Cold Blood" being the firstborn of the true crime genre, "Mines" is the initial spark of every action-adventure-quest story written. Sure, they eat the hearts of elephants in here. But there is a bunch of polygamy in the Bible, and its readers overlook that, right?
I had a blast reading this old tale. Give it a go!
In many instances, the reader has to put aside the shock of sexism and xenophobia in order to jump into the tale. Occasionally, the old styled language and pace is painful. I remember once being iced in at the tiny Tupelo, Mississippi airport for seven hours. There was no coffee shop or sundry store - just vending machines, and the only thing I had to read with him me was "Far From the Madding Crowd." Omg. I actually prayed for death a time or two.
But not so with this! Sure, it is dated, but this is the still-muscle-bound great, great grandpa to Indiana Jones. Like "In Cold Blood" being the firstborn of the true crime genre, "Mines" is the initial spark of every action-adventure-quest story written. Sure, they eat the hearts of elephants in here. But there is a bunch of polygamy in the Bible, and its readers overlook that, right?
I had a blast reading this old tale. Give it a go!
March 23, 2019
Um dos melhores livros de Aventura que já li, Onde um experiente caçador de tesouros é requisitado por um rico senhor para ir em expedição à África procurar seu irmão desaparecido há dois anos quando fora à procura das minas do rei Salomão .No trajeto , na chegada e na permanência dos "homens das estrelas" naquele lugar inóspito, acontece todo tipo de empecilhos e aventura que torna esse livro delicioso de se ler. Eu simplesmente amei.
November 3, 2020
عودة مرة أخرى إلى سلسلة "روايات عالمية" ورواية جديدة لكاتب إنجليزي وترجمة "نبيل فاروق.
الرواية تُعد مُغامرة جيدة، ولكن للأسف لم تعجبني كثيراً.
أجواء الرواية كانت جيدة، أهداف ودوافع كل شخصية جيدة، ولكنك ستشعر أنك قرأت هذه الرواية من قبل عشرات المرات.
حتى "الإلتواءة" في النهاية، كانت مُتوقعة وواضحة ولم تُفاجئني بالطبع.
على كُل حال، أتمنى أن لا يكون هذا هو حال كُل السلسلة.
March 8, 2011
Okay, good adventure story that has been around for a long time. it's been made into several movies (none of which actually resemble the book all that much. For one thing, there's no heroine...at all. There's only two semi-main female characters in the entire book).
First, there are things in this book that will offend some readers. They are "unintentional" the book is a product of it's time, the late 1800s. The racial attitudes here are from that era and anyone picking up the book should be aware of that going in. There are a couple of things that I'm sure will be found offensive to many (and ironically so in some ways as the writer is actually "being racially liberal" for his day). If possible, forgive these dated faults and see the positive story that's here. But, no one can blame those who find the book too unpalatable to read. It's just the way it is.
Okay, that being said the story is imaginative and rolls along pretty reliably. The writing style holds up pretty well though there are times when it gets a bit tedious. Hang on it's just being a bit flowery and detailed. It picks back up.
There is a "slight" anticlimax tied into the ending but it's just used to tie up a dangling story thread. Again, not a bad thing.
So, be aware of the fact that there are some troubling 19th century racial stereotypes and read it for the story. Pretty good.
First, there are things in this book that will offend some readers. They are "unintentional" the book is a product of it's time, the late 1800s. The racial attitudes here are from that era and anyone picking up the book should be aware of that going in. There are a couple of things that I'm sure will be found offensive to many (and ironically so in some ways as the writer is actually "being racially liberal" for his day). If possible, forgive these dated faults and see the positive story that's here. But, no one can blame those who find the book too unpalatable to read. It's just the way it is.
Okay, that being said the story is imaginative and rolls along pretty reliably. The writing style holds up pretty well though there are times when it gets a bit tedious. Hang on it's just being a bit flowery and detailed. It picks back up.
There is a "slight" anticlimax tied into the ending but it's just used to tie up a dangling story thread. Again, not a bad thing.
So, be aware of the fact that there are some troubling 19th century racial stereotypes and read it for the story. Pretty good.
January 20, 2021
I was inspired to reread Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines by noticing that it existed in an Oxford World’s Classics edition, edited by Roger Luckhurst, whose excellent edition of The Portrait of a Lady for the same series I had just finished. The temptation to see what contemporary literary criticism would make of this magnificent piece of hokum, which I last read when I was about eleven, was just too great.
Literally all that King Solomon’s Mines has in common with The Portrait of a Lady is the relative chronological proximity of their composition; James’s novel was published in 1880-81, Haggard’s classic yarn in 1885. As Luckhurst’s introduction to the latter makes clear, the turn to a renewed romance form on the part of writers like R.L. Stevenson and Haggard was in part a reaction to a perceived decadence in the tradition of the realist novel, as represented by James and his ilk. This decadence had a strong gender dimension, in Haggard’s perception, at least. Novels were girly! Some of them even had women as their protagonists, heaven forbid, “soliloquizing and dissecting”, while the men who appeared in them were “emasculated specimens of an overwrought age” (Gilbert Osmond and Ned Rosier, take a bow.)
No reader is ever going to accuse Haggard’s professional big game-hunter narrator, Allan Quatermain, nor his quest-fellow, the mighty and majestic Sir Henry Curtis, of being “emasculated specimens.” (I’m not quite so sure about the third in their party, the dandyish naval captain John Good, with his eyeglass and his taste for the ladies and his “beautiful white legs.”) The three set forth into unknown lands in search of Curtis’s lost brother, who has disappeared while searching in the dark heart of Africa (a.k.a. more or less Matabeleland, in modern Zimbabwe) for the fabled gold and diamond mines of the biblical King Solomon. Curtis is driven by pure family sentiment, while lucre is part of the incentive for Quatermain and Good.
The 1885 publicity campaign for King Solomon’s Mines billed it as “The Most Amazing Book Ever Written,” and I don’t have too much of a quibble about that description. Amazement follows on amazement in endless succession (in no particular order: uncanny mummifications, mass elephant slaughter, a near-death desert crossing, sinister witch cults, a full-scale civil war, a showdown in a labyrinthine cavern deep within the earth). Luckhurst notes that Jung was a fan of Haggard, and it’s not difficult to see why; archetypes abound. The novel is also fascinating as a reworking of the medieval romance, and its former updating, the Gothic novel. Although I don’t want to talk it up too much (Haggard isn’t a patch on his fellow fabulist Stevenson as a stylist), I’m glad I revisited King Solomon’s Mines; it’s a constantly thought-provoking read.
Part of what makes it so, of course, is its setting in Africa, which Haggard knew well from personal experience. One reason why I felt so curious to reread this book with the eyes of an adult was to see how it measured up ideologically, as a work crafted at the height of the so-called Scramble for Africa and dealing with three white men’s quest for treasure in that land.
I found it very interesting on that score and far more nuanced than I had been expecting. There are all kinds of words and deeds and attitudes in the novel that will make a modern reader cringe, of course, but I finished the book fully in accord with Luckhurst’s conclusion, that those who read Haggard’s imperial romances as simplistic forms of propaganda, cynically aimed at indoctrinating boys, big and little, into the glories of empire, fail to read the moral ambivalence that saturates “King Solomon’s Mines.” Haggard’s mysterious “lost tribe” race of noble warriors, the Kukuanas, are otherized and exoticized like crazy; but Haggard elegiacally celebrates their courage; and he unexpectedly sets up their young king, Ignosi, as a kind of black twin to his perfect English gentleman, Sir Henry Curtis. Luckhurst reads Haggard’s idealizing treatment of the solidarity between his white adventurers and the Kukuanas as a mournful fantasy revisiting of the recent Anglo-Zulu war (1879)—less a euphemistic mystification of the brutal realities of empire than a wistful imagining of what might have been.
Literally all that King Solomon’s Mines has in common with The Portrait of a Lady is the relative chronological proximity of their composition; James’s novel was published in 1880-81, Haggard’s classic yarn in 1885. As Luckhurst’s introduction to the latter makes clear, the turn to a renewed romance form on the part of writers like R.L. Stevenson and Haggard was in part a reaction to a perceived decadence in the tradition of the realist novel, as represented by James and his ilk. This decadence had a strong gender dimension, in Haggard’s perception, at least. Novels were girly! Some of them even had women as their protagonists, heaven forbid, “soliloquizing and dissecting”, while the men who appeared in them were “emasculated specimens of an overwrought age” (Gilbert Osmond and Ned Rosier, take a bow.)
No reader is ever going to accuse Haggard’s professional big game-hunter narrator, Allan Quatermain, nor his quest-fellow, the mighty and majestic Sir Henry Curtis, of being “emasculated specimens.” (I’m not quite so sure about the third in their party, the dandyish naval captain John Good, with his eyeglass and his taste for the ladies and his “beautiful white legs.”) The three set forth into unknown lands in search of Curtis’s lost brother, who has disappeared while searching in the dark heart of Africa (a.k.a. more or less Matabeleland, in modern Zimbabwe) for the fabled gold and diamond mines of the biblical King Solomon. Curtis is driven by pure family sentiment, while lucre is part of the incentive for Quatermain and Good.
The 1885 publicity campaign for King Solomon’s Mines billed it as “The Most Amazing Book Ever Written,” and I don’t have too much of a quibble about that description. Amazement follows on amazement in endless succession (in no particular order: uncanny mummifications, mass elephant slaughter, a near-death desert crossing, sinister witch cults, a full-scale civil war, a showdown in a labyrinthine cavern deep within the earth). Luckhurst notes that Jung was a fan of Haggard, and it’s not difficult to see why; archetypes abound. The novel is also fascinating as a reworking of the medieval romance, and its former updating, the Gothic novel. Although I don’t want to talk it up too much (Haggard isn’t a patch on his fellow fabulist Stevenson as a stylist), I’m glad I revisited King Solomon’s Mines; it’s a constantly thought-provoking read.
Part of what makes it so, of course, is its setting in Africa, which Haggard knew well from personal experience. One reason why I felt so curious to reread this book with the eyes of an adult was to see how it measured up ideologically, as a work crafted at the height of the so-called Scramble for Africa and dealing with three white men’s quest for treasure in that land.
I found it very interesting on that score and far more nuanced than I had been expecting. There are all kinds of words and deeds and attitudes in the novel that will make a modern reader cringe, of course, but I finished the book fully in accord with Luckhurst’s conclusion, that those who read Haggard’s imperial romances as simplistic forms of propaganda, cynically aimed at indoctrinating boys, big and little, into the glories of empire, fail to read the moral ambivalence that saturates “King Solomon’s Mines.” Haggard’s mysterious “lost tribe” race of noble warriors, the Kukuanas, are otherized and exoticized like crazy; but Haggard elegiacally celebrates their courage; and he unexpectedly sets up their young king, Ignosi, as a kind of black twin to his perfect English gentleman, Sir Henry Curtis. Luckhurst reads Haggard’s idealizing treatment of the solidarity between his white adventurers and the Kukuanas as a mournful fantasy revisiting of the recent Anglo-Zulu war (1879)—less a euphemistic mystification of the brutal realities of empire than a wistful imagining of what might have been.
February 19, 2020
More than a full century older than I am, this classic adventure tale still mostly holds up. The search for the mines takes a band of well-fleshed-out protagonists through vividly-imagined wilderlands, facing wild beasts and terrible thirst, finding lost kingdoms, waging wars, all the good stuff. It's usually thrilling, often funny, and occasionally sad or scary. Its villains are some real bastards that you'll cheer when they finally go down. Its heroes all experience character growth and are the better people at the end as they were at the beginning - that, or it was I who had the epiphany, since I didn't much like them at first. The prose was good: it's all well-told and -paced. And the unfortunate racial attitudes and stereotypes, everpresent in the literature back in the day, seemed quite progressive for its time and downright friendly compared to some of the other literature, let alone the attitudes of the common man of the 19th century: you can tell that Haggard was trying his best to treat every character the same regardless of the race, and to teach his readers a thing or two about tolerance.
But with all that said, many of its thrills and tricks and twists have since been done a thousand times, often better and even more exciting than here. The racism is still present, and can occasionally make you wince - and the uniformly white main characters get to hold on to the spotlight even when, at a couple occasions, it would rightly belong to their native sidekick. The romance feels tacked-in and out of place, doesn't really do anything, like it was just put there because all books need a woman to fawn over one of the male heroes - though it is a pretty revolutionary interracial thing in itself, and manages to bring forth a couple good points that I'm sure many could have used to learn back in the day (and probably never did). Finally, all the merciless slaughter of native wildlife simply did not sit well with me, not when these creatures are all facing extinction as I write this.
But overall I'd recommend it to anyone that would enjoy a good old-fashioned wilderness adventure. If for nothing else, then to take a few pointers out of the old classics.
But with all that said, many of its thrills and tricks and twists have since been done a thousand times, often better and even more exciting than here. The racism is still present, and can occasionally make you wince - and the uniformly white main characters get to hold on to the spotlight even when, at a couple occasions, it would rightly belong to their native sidekick. The romance feels tacked-in and out of place, doesn't really do anything, like it was just put there because all books need a woman to fawn over one of the male heroes - though it is a pretty revolutionary interracial thing in itself, and manages to bring forth a couple good points that I'm sure many could have used to learn back in the day (and probably never did). Finally, all the merciless slaughter of native wildlife simply did not sit well with me, not when these creatures are all facing extinction as I write this.
But overall I'd recommend it to anyone that would enjoy a good old-fashioned wilderness adventure. If for nothing else, then to take a few pointers out of the old classics.
August 14, 2019
King Solomon’s Mines
By H. Rider Haggard (1856 – 1925)
Rider Haggard was an English writer gaining fame with this adventure novel published in 1885.
It is one of the classic adventure novels of the nineteenth century which many readers know
Like ‘Robinson Crusoe’, ‘Treasure Island’, ‘Lord Jim’, ‘Moby Dick’ and others.
King Solomon’s Mines is a novel based on writings about the legendary wealthy and wise King Solomon in the Old Testament of the Bible.
It’s originality of the four adventurers travelling through African desert and mountains, following an ancient map drawn with blood on a withered hide to find the legendary diamond mines is doubtless worth five stars.
The quality of style and writing, however, leave much to be wanted for.
Readers of books from the early nineteenth century and set in Africa will expect to read a lot of racist dialogues and situations.
Also, when at the time it was still fashionable to be a hunter killing over sixty lions and even more elephants, it may not be to the liking of a modern reader.
The unlikeliness of some great battle fought between African tribes in an orderly battle formation of fifty thousand warriors, like the ancient Romans are reputed to be, leaves the reader doubtful.
And moreover, the scant descriptions of landscapes, geographical details as well as local populations, unlikely or impossible technicalities of events, leave a wish for more and better.
This work is one of the lesser adventure books to come across.
By H. Rider Haggard (1856 – 1925)
Rider Haggard was an English writer gaining fame with this adventure novel published in 1885.
It is one of the classic adventure novels of the nineteenth century which many readers know
Like ‘Robinson Crusoe’, ‘Treasure Island’, ‘Lord Jim’, ‘Moby Dick’ and others.
King Solomon’s Mines is a novel based on writings about the legendary wealthy and wise King Solomon in the Old Testament of the Bible.
It’s originality of the four adventurers travelling through African desert and mountains, following an ancient map drawn with blood on a withered hide to find the legendary diamond mines is doubtless worth five stars.
The quality of style and writing, however, leave much to be wanted for.
Readers of books from the early nineteenth century and set in Africa will expect to read a lot of racist dialogues and situations.
Also, when at the time it was still fashionable to be a hunter killing over sixty lions and even more elephants, it may not be to the liking of a modern reader.
The unlikeliness of some great battle fought between African tribes in an orderly battle formation of fifty thousand warriors, like the ancient Romans are reputed to be, leaves the reader doubtful.
And moreover, the scant descriptions of landscapes, geographical details as well as local populations, unlikely or impossible technicalities of events, leave a wish for more and better.
This work is one of the lesser adventure books to come across.
January 17, 2022
An instance when the (1950) movie is better than the book!
King Solomon’s Mines is an 1885 adventure novel about a duo who hope to locate a missing brother whom they believe ventured into an unknown and inaccessible region of Africa never to be seen again. Smartly, they hire Allan Quartermain to lead the expedition.
Sir Henry Curtis, an English Aristocrat, hasn’t seen his brother in two years since he departed for Africa on a quest for lost diamonds thought to be hidden within a mountain range (near Zimbabwe), at least, according to a secret family map. Henry’s friend, Captain John Good, an ex-navy man, has come along with Henry to lend his skills. Henry locates and enlists Quartermain’s help since his reputation as a big game hunter and adventurer make him a valuable resource.
The adventurers hire natives to carry supplies as they set forth on the treacherous foot journey. One mysterious native, Umbopa, is well-spoken with a regal air about him; his role is revealed as the story unfolds.
This rousing story holds endless dangers from the elements, animals, and native tribes. They must cross a desert and climb a mountain. Negotiate with warring tribes. Rely on trickery and ignorance to stay alive. Before the tale is finished, they must hunt, fight, and kill. They aid a would-be king to take his rightful place, put and end to a murderous and blood thirsty advisor, and look upon glorious treasure. All the while tracking the lost brother.
Not a bad story to have been quickly written on a bet between Haggard and his brother. King Solomon’s Mines became an inspiration for numerous writers (Edgar Rice Burroughs, Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Lee Falk, and Michael Crichton per the Wiki). Aside from once being a best seller, it seems more important for being an influencer of a wide range of novels and characters (Indian Jones, Tarzan). Even the viewpoint in which the book is written was altered from that period’s norm. Count all the film, comics, television, and radio adaptations and I understand why it’s on the list of 1001-books-to-read list.
I watched the 1950 film adaptation of the book and liked it better than the novel. Even with the change the movie made in the characters, the Hollywood glitz that made parts unrealistic, and the altered ending, the movie was better and recommended.
The things about the book that didn’t work for me would likely be a problem with other readers also. For instance, it has continual sexist and racist content. The author seemed fixated on describing geographical landmarks by calling them names from the female anatomy. The three main characters, the English friends and Quartermain, are so boastful about their superior abilities in all things that I found it hard to like them.
Additionally, the first few chapters of the books were both boring and confusing. Listening to the audio book, narrated by Simon Prebble, helped pass the section, I believe with more ease than had I been reading it myself. In hindsight, I pieced together that the book opens with Quartermain recuperating in the hospital from an injury he sustained on a hunting trip. This setting is where Henry comes to see him about being their guide. Once that meeting is over, Quartermain rambles on about his past hunting trips. The weather, what food they ate, how many kills he has made, and more stuff (that I don’t recall now). He does this by reading aloud from his diary entries. He did remark about how boring the diary format was and decided to get on with the story. I thought this was a wise decision. Other sections of the book were bogged down by side characters and threads that could have used the skills of an editor.
Nevertheless, King Solomon’s Mines is an exciting adventure novel. Its setting would no longer be considered exotic by modern readers, but its influence is far reaching. I have found parallels of this story in numerous books, movies, and characters I have encountered.
King Solomon’s Mines is an 1885 adventure novel about a duo who hope to locate a missing brother whom they believe ventured into an unknown and inaccessible region of Africa never to be seen again. Smartly, they hire Allan Quartermain to lead the expedition.
Sir Henry Curtis, an English Aristocrat, hasn’t seen his brother in two years since he departed for Africa on a quest for lost diamonds thought to be hidden within a mountain range (near Zimbabwe), at least, according to a secret family map. Henry’s friend, Captain John Good, an ex-navy man, has come along with Henry to lend his skills. Henry locates and enlists Quartermain’s help since his reputation as a big game hunter and adventurer make him a valuable resource.
The adventurers hire natives to carry supplies as they set forth on the treacherous foot journey. One mysterious native, Umbopa, is well-spoken with a regal air about him; his role is revealed as the story unfolds.
This rousing story holds endless dangers from the elements, animals, and native tribes. They must cross a desert and climb a mountain. Negotiate with warring tribes. Rely on trickery and ignorance to stay alive. Before the tale is finished, they must hunt, fight, and kill. They aid a would-be king to take his rightful place, put and end to a murderous and blood thirsty advisor, and look upon glorious treasure. All the while tracking the lost brother.
Not a bad story to have been quickly written on a bet between Haggard and his brother. King Solomon’s Mines became an inspiration for numerous writers (Edgar Rice Burroughs, Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Lee Falk, and Michael Crichton per the Wiki). Aside from once being a best seller, it seems more important for being an influencer of a wide range of novels and characters (Indian Jones, Tarzan). Even the viewpoint in which the book is written was altered from that period’s norm. Count all the film, comics, television, and radio adaptations and I understand why it’s on the list of 1001-books-to-read list.
I watched the 1950 film adaptation of the book and liked it better than the novel. Even with the change the movie made in the characters, the Hollywood glitz that made parts unrealistic, and the altered ending, the movie was better and recommended.
The things about the book that didn’t work for me would likely be a problem with other readers also. For instance, it has continual sexist and racist content. The author seemed fixated on describing geographical landmarks by calling them names from the female anatomy. The three main characters, the English friends and Quartermain, are so boastful about their superior abilities in all things that I found it hard to like them.
Additionally, the first few chapters of the books were both boring and confusing. Listening to the audio book, narrated by Simon Prebble, helped pass the section, I believe with more ease than had I been reading it myself. In hindsight, I pieced together that the book opens with Quartermain recuperating in the hospital from an injury he sustained on a hunting trip. This setting is where Henry comes to see him about being their guide. Once that meeting is over, Quartermain rambles on about his past hunting trips. The weather, what food they ate, how many kills he has made, and more stuff (that I don’t recall now). He does this by reading aloud from his diary entries. He did remark about how boring the diary format was and decided to get on with the story. I thought this was a wise decision. Other sections of the book were bogged down by side characters and threads that could have used the skills of an editor.
Nevertheless, King Solomon’s Mines is an exciting adventure novel. Its setting would no longer be considered exotic by modern readers, but its influence is far reaching. I have found parallels of this story in numerous books, movies, and characters I have encountered.
June 28, 2023
As Minas de Salomão estava na minha estante há anos e não fossem algumas coincidências a seu propósito iria lá ficar outros tantos.
E não é por acaso que é um dos livros favoritos de alguns escritores conhecidos, esta história de caça ao tesouro tem todos os ingredientes que tornam a leitura compulsiva, só não tem aquilo que tanto se prodigaliza hoje em dia neste género; não tem artes mágicas, não tem acontecimentos sobrenaturais, nem nada de improvável. Tem heróis que fogem em tudo ao estereotipo; homens que não escondem os seus momentos de medo, fazem belas figurinhas ridículas de vez em quando, e na maioria das vezes salvam a face com arrojados gestos de coragem e solidariedade. No final parece-nos uma história pautada por alguma ingenuidade sem que tal pese em seu desfavor.
É um daqueles livros de que tanto gosto: sem nada que me faça revirar os olhos e que se lê com um sorriso tolo do princípio ao fim.
E não é por acaso que é um dos livros favoritos de alguns escritores conhecidos, esta história de caça ao tesouro tem todos os ingredientes que tornam a leitura compulsiva, só não tem aquilo que tanto se prodigaliza hoje em dia neste género; não tem artes mágicas, não tem acontecimentos sobrenaturais, nem nada de improvável. Tem heróis que fogem em tudo ao estereotipo; homens que não escondem os seus momentos de medo, fazem belas figurinhas ridículas de vez em quando, e na maioria das vezes salvam a face com arrojados gestos de coragem e solidariedade. No final parece-nos uma história pautada por alguma ingenuidade sem que tal pese em seu desfavor.
É um daqueles livros de que tanto gosto: sem nada que me faça revirar os olhos e que se lê com um sorriso tolo do princípio ao fim.
December 22, 2023
Las minas del rey Salomón
Novela mítica de aventuras de H. Rider Haggard, un escritor con gran producción que fue amigo de R. Kipling y también del gran explorador ingles Percy H. Fawcett.
En esta conocidísima novela creó su personaje Allan Quatermain, un cazador inglés en Africa que se involucra en una expedición para encontrar un tesoro escondido. Luego el cine se encargó de dar a conocer a Quatermain con varias películas con temas parecidos.
Muy influenciado por La isla del Tesoro de Stevenson, aquí en lugar de una isla perdida los protagonistas se verán en una aventura con tribus africanas hostiles.
Leído en una edición con una traducción de la época, un poco rancia pero no molesta ya que acerca a uno a los libros de aventuras de la época juvenil.
Novela mítica de aventuras de H. Rider Haggard, un escritor con gran producción que fue amigo de R. Kipling y también del gran explorador ingles Percy H. Fawcett.
En esta conocidísima novela creó su personaje Allan Quatermain, un cazador inglés en Africa que se involucra en una expedición para encontrar un tesoro escondido. Luego el cine se encargó de dar a conocer a Quatermain con varias películas con temas parecidos.
Muy influenciado por La isla del Tesoro de Stevenson, aquí en lugar de una isla perdida los protagonistas se verán en una aventura con tribus africanas hostiles.
Leído en una edición con una traducción de la época, un poco rancia pero no molesta ya que acerca a uno a los libros de aventuras de la época juvenil.
December 18, 2013
Free download available at Project Gutenberg.
Opening lines:
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.
Quotations:
I asked a page or two back, what is a gentleman? I'll answer the question now: A Royal Naval officer is, in a general sort of way, though of course there may be a black sheep among them here and there.
For to my mind, however beautiful a view may be, it requires the presence of man to make it complete, but perhaps that is because I have lived so much in the wilderness, and therefore know the value of civilisation, though to be sure it drives away the game. The Garden of Eden, no doubt, looked fair before man was, but I always think that it must have been fairer when Eve adorned it.
But there is no journey upon this earth that a man may not make if he sets his heart to it.
Listen! what is life? It is a feather, it is the seed of the grass, blown hither and thither, sometimes multiplying itself and dying in the act, sometimes carried away into the heavens.
Life is nothing. Life is all. It is the Hand with which we hold off Death. It is the glow-worm that shines in the night-time and is black in the morning; it is the white breath of the oxen in winter; it is the little shadow that runs across the grass and loses itself at sunset."
Our future was so completely unknown, and I think that the unknown and the awful always bring a man nearer to his Maker.
Yet man dies not whilst the world, at once his mother and his monument, remains.
There are two things in the world, as I have found out, which cannot be prevented: you cannot keep a Zulu from fighting, or a sailor from falling in love upon the slightest provocation!
Opening lines:
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.
Quotations:
I asked a page or two back, what is a gentleman? I'll answer the question now: A Royal Naval officer is, in a general sort of way, though of course there may be a black sheep among them here and there.
For to my mind, however beautiful a view may be, it requires the presence of man to make it complete, but perhaps that is because I have lived so much in the wilderness, and therefore know the value of civilisation, though to be sure it drives away the game. The Garden of Eden, no doubt, looked fair before man was, but I always think that it must have been fairer when Eve adorned it.
But there is no journey upon this earth that a man may not make if he sets his heart to it.
Listen! what is life? It is a feather, it is the seed of the grass, blown hither and thither, sometimes multiplying itself and dying in the act, sometimes carried away into the heavens.
Life is nothing. Life is all. It is the Hand with which we hold off Death. It is the glow-worm that shines in the night-time and is black in the morning; it is the white breath of the oxen in winter; it is the little shadow that runs across the grass and loses itself at sunset."
Our future was so completely unknown, and I think that the unknown and the awful always bring a man nearer to his Maker.
Yet man dies not whilst the world, at once his mother and his monument, remains.
There are two things in the world, as I have found out, which cannot be prevented: you cannot keep a Zulu from fighting, or a sailor from falling in love upon the slightest provocation!
May 28, 2008
Typically, I’m a fan of Victorian adventure and mystery novels. In fact, I’ve been saving H. Rider Haggard’s masterpiece, “King Solomon’s Mines,” for almost two years because I thought I would enjoy it so much. Sadly, I was much deceived in the character of Haggard’s “great” adventure novel. The story goes that Haggard read “Treasure Island” (which I incidentally very much enjoyed), decided that he could easily write something better and made a bet to that effect. And with the idea of besting Robert Louis Stevenson, Haggard commenced writing “King Solomon’s Mines,” an African adventure tale far more steeped in the imperialism and bigotry of the time than “Treasure Island” or probably any other Victorian adventure novel I’ve ever read. Haggard wrote a best-seller and won his bet, but the book in and of itself was quite disappointing. Most things were predictable and Allan Quartermaine's remarks on the native Africans are appalling to modern ears, not even in a dated "forgive them their trespasses" kind of way, in a genuinely bad way.
In short, I was quite disappointed by this almost ridiculous book and I don't think Haggard should have won his bet.
In short, I was quite disappointed by this almost ridiculous book and I don't think Haggard should have won his bet.
March 13, 2019
Prisimenu, šią knygą iš manęs kokioj 5 ar 6 klasėj pavogė kažkuris iš klasiokų ir visos mano pastangos išsiaiškinti niekšelį ir atgauti knygą buvo bevaisės. Tiek yra liūdnosios dalies. Smagioji dalis yra ta, kad iki tol, kol kažkas taip niekšiškai apribojo mano teisę naudoti, valdyti ir disponuoti šia nuosavybe, aš vistiek perskaičiau šitą knygą, na, gal tris, gal keturis kartus... O gal ir daugiau, jau nebeprisimenu. Faktas vienas, jei skaičiau ją tiek kartų ir iki šiol prisimenu siužetą bei veikėjus, įspūdį ji man paliko neišdildomą. O už tai gali būti tik vienas vertinimas. 5*.
December 28, 2022
Written in 1885, it is definitely a product of its time when colonialism was at its height and Africa was dominated by the rich and adventure-seeking white Europeans. I have never seen any of the film adaptations, so I did not know the whole story of this classic adventure. It took me a long time to finish this because the font in this edition was so damn small for my 69 y/o eyes!! 3.5 stars.
Allan Quartermain, a big-game hunter living in Africa, is convinced by two Englishmen, Sir Henry Curtis & his friend John Good, to join their expedition to an unknown part of Africa in search of Sir Henry's lost brother. George is purported to have gone into the interior seeking the treasure of the mythic King Solomon's Mines. No one who has tried to reach this area of Africa has returned. It will be a dangerous expedition into the unknown. Along with the Englishmen, they are joined by an African guide, Umbopa, who will be a pivotal character in the unfolding of the story.
3/4 of the story finds the reader trekking with the group through difficult terrain and often under the scorching hot sun through desert plains. The tempo picks up in the last quarter where their lives are placed constantly in danger by either hostile natives, an evil witch, battles, and a cavern full of secrets and death.
The novel seems to be the origin story for many adventure novels of lost civilizations, treasure, and death-defying escapes. I could see many similarities to the Indiana Jones films I so enjoyed in their day!
Allan Quartermain, a big-game hunter living in Africa, is convinced by two Englishmen, Sir Henry Curtis & his friend John Good, to join their expedition to an unknown part of Africa in search of Sir Henry's lost brother. George is purported to have gone into the interior seeking the treasure of the mythic King Solomon's Mines. No one who has tried to reach this area of Africa has returned. It will be a dangerous expedition into the unknown. Along with the Englishmen, they are joined by an African guide, Umbopa, who will be a pivotal character in the unfolding of the story.
3/4 of the story finds the reader trekking with the group through difficult terrain and often under the scorching hot sun through desert plains. The tempo picks up in the last quarter where their lives are placed constantly in danger by either hostile natives, an evil witch, battles, and a cavern full of secrets and death.
The novel seems to be the origin story for many adventure novels of lost civilizations, treasure, and death-defying escapes. I could see many similarities to the Indiana Jones films I so enjoyed in their day!
February 19, 2023
My friend who also read this book said that it was “Heart of Darkness 2.0.”
I think her statement is very true, and y’all may know how I feel about Heart of Darkness (also a 1 star).
Just as I wrote that Heart of Darkness can be understood through reading Chinua Achebe’s and Edward Said’s analysis of the book, I think King Solomon’s Mines can be understood through reading Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation by Mary Louise Pratt. And The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon.
I say this because if Heart of Darkness was about people incapable of seeing past their time (Conrad unable to envision a world that is not based in imperialism/white dominance/superiority), then King Solomon’s Mines was about people viewing their surroundings/environment through the lens of time. In other words, the white men in the novel were caught within an imperialistic/white supremacist mindset, so they could not FATHOM that anything beautiful or with purpose in the Zulu Kingdom could be credited to Africans. Anytime they came across jewels, architecture, or ancient artifacts, they convince themselves that oh, Phoenicians were there! Or any other Northerner! They are blinded through their “imperial eyes,” so they never recognize that the Zulu Kingdom is an African creation.
I think the only way to rid yourself from the agony of reading this book is by reading Chaka by Thomas Mofolo.
Chaka is certainly, in my opinion, a rejection of the tropes/ideas displayed in King Solomon’s Mines.
I think her statement is very true, and y’all may know how I feel about Heart of Darkness (also a 1 star).
Just as I wrote that Heart of Darkness can be understood through reading Chinua Achebe’s and Edward Said’s analysis of the book, I think King Solomon’s Mines can be understood through reading Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation by Mary Louise Pratt. And The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon.
I say this because if Heart of Darkness was about people incapable of seeing past their time (Conrad unable to envision a world that is not based in imperialism/white dominance/superiority), then King Solomon’s Mines was about people viewing their surroundings/environment through the lens of time. In other words, the white men in the novel were caught within an imperialistic/white supremacist mindset, so they could not FATHOM that anything beautiful or with purpose in the Zulu Kingdom could be credited to Africans. Anytime they came across jewels, architecture, or ancient artifacts, they convince themselves that oh, Phoenicians were there! Or any other Northerner! They are blinded through their “imperial eyes,” so they never recognize that the Zulu Kingdom is an African creation.
I think the only way to rid yourself from the agony of reading this book is by reading Chaka by Thomas Mofolo.
Chaka is certainly, in my opinion, a rejection of the tropes/ideas displayed in King Solomon’s Mines.
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