King Solomon's Mines
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King Solomon's Mines, first published in 1885, is a perennially popular novel by the Victorian adventure writer and fabulist, H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a quest into an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain in search of the missing brother of one of the party. It is significant as the first English fictional adventure novel set in Africa, and is considered the genesis of the Lost World literary genre.
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Contents |
[edit] King Solomon's Mines
[edit] Dedication
This faithful but unpretending record of a remarkable adventure is hereby respectfully dedicated by the narrator, ALLAN QUATERMAIN, to all the big and little boys who read it.
[edit] Author's Note
The author ventures to take this opportunity to thank his readers for the kind reception they have accorded to the successive editions of this tale during the last twelve years. He hopes that in its present form it will fall into the hands of an even wider public, and that in years to come it may continue to afford amusement to those who are still young enough at heart to love a story of treasure, war, and wild adventure.
Ditchingham, 11 March, 1898.
[edit] Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter I: I Meet Sir Henry Curtis
- Chapter II: The Legend of King Solomon's Mines
- Chapter III: Umbopa Enters our Service
- Chapter IV: An Elephant Hunt
- Chapter V: Our March into the Desert
- Chapter VI: Water! Water!
- Chapter VII: Solomon's Road
- Chapter VIII: We Enter Kakuanaland
- Chapter IX: Twala the King
- Chapter X: The Witch-Hunt
- Chapter XI: We Give a Sign
- Chapter XII: Before the Battle
- Chapter XIII: The Attack
- Chapter XIV: The Last Stand of the Greys
- Chapter XV: Good Falls Sick
- Chapter XVI: The Place of Death
- Chapter XVII: Solomon's Treasure Chamber
- Chapter XVIII: We Abandon Hope
- Chapter XIX: Ignosi's Farewell
- Chapter XX: Found
[edit] Haggard's 1907 post scriptum
Now, in 1907, on the occasion of the issue of this edition, I can only add how glad I am that my romance should continue to please so many readers. Imagination has been verified by fact; the King Solomon's Mines I dreamed of have been discovered, and are putting out their gold once more, and, according to the latest reports, their diamonds also; the Kukuanas or, rather, the Matabele, have been tamed by the white man's bullets, but still there seem to be many who find pleasure in these simple pages. That they may continue so to do, even to the third and fourth generation, or perhaps longer still, would, I am sure, be the hope of our old and departed friend, Allan Quatermain.
H. Rider Haggard.
Ditchingham, 1907.
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This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1923.
The author died in 1925, so this work is also in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 80 years or less. This work may also be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. |
