H Rider Haggard
1) Dawn
H. Rider Haggard's Dawn offers something for everyone: thrilling action sequences, tender romance, and a fascinating glimpse into the social forces that governed courtship in the nineteenth century. If you prefer your tales of star-crossed lovers to be served up with a whole lot of page-turning suspense and excitement, put this novel on your must-read list.
In the late sixteenth century, the world was on the brink of precipitous change. In H. Rider Haggard's novel Fair Margaret, the turmoil of this transitional period plays itself out in personal relationships. The beautiful daughter of an affluent merchant, Margaret's planned marriage is derailed when she is whisked away by a hot-blooded Spaniard. Her fiancé gives chase, and the story transitions into a high-seas adventure that will keep
...3) Jess
Set in nineteenth-century South Africa during a time of conflict, deprivation and hardship, the tale Jess is something of a departure from the typical formula of H. Rider Haggard's novels. Following the travails of a pair of sisters who are fighting to save their family's farm, Jess is a captivating look at the brave sacrifices that so many people are called on to make in wartime.
4) Beatrice
Though Beatrice is a significant departure from most of his literary output, critics and fans alike regard this fine novel as one of H. Rider Haggard's most accomplished works. A richly detailed account of an ill-fated but spiritually significant romance, the tale contains some of Haggard's most affecting writing in terms of emotional resonance and in-depth characterization.
What starts out as an enjoyable father-son outing turns into something entirely different in this thrilling tale from action-adventure master H. Rider Haggard. When famed explorer Allan Quatermain tries to teach his son a few life lessons on safari, he gets much more than he bargained for.
An important innovator in the action-adventure genre, H. Rider Haggard didn't rest on his laurels after creating an immensely popular series based around gentleman explorer Allan Quatermain. Instead, Haggard continued to push the genre forward—sometimes by harking to the ancient past. In the novel Eric Brighteyes, Haggard borrows heavily from Norse mythology, setting a classic action-adventure tale in the land now known as Iceland.
...If you're hankering for a classic H. Rider Haggard action-adventure tale, dive into Black Heart and White Heart. Set amidst the Zulu nation, this gripping account of a blood feud among the ranks of the tribe unspools at a breakneck pace. With all of the elements that made Haggard one of the most popular writers of his time, this classic adventure novel is sure to satisfy.
Another of Henry Rider Haggard's renowned action-adventure tales, Nada the Lily tells the story of revered warrior Umslopogaas, an illegitimate son of the Zulu monarch Chaka, who is forced into exile and must fight to defend his honor -- as well as to win the love of the sought-after and seemingly unattainable beauty Nada. With plenty of battlefield action and stirring romance, this rollicking tale has something to offer every reader.
...9) Allan's Wife
H. Rider Haggard's ongoing saga about dashing explorer Allan Quatermain continues in Allan's Wife, a novel that recounts some of the quests that Quatermain fell into while married to his second wife, an equally fearless woman named Stella. The pair discovers a lost tribe ruled over by a mysterious creature and experiences dozens of other hair-raising adventures along the way.
Intrepid adventurer and explorer Allan Quatermain can't turn away from a challenge, especially if an injustice has been perpetrated. In this tale of a hunting trip that goes horribly awry, Quatermain has met his match, joining forces with an African warrior princess who is dead-set on revenge.
11) Doctor Therne
Though regarded as one of the towering figures in the action-adventure genre, H. Rider Haggard's body of work is sometimes regarded as slightly lacking in terms of thematic heft and thought-provoking insight. Doctor Therne proves that assertion wrong. The novel is a fascinating glimpse into nineteenth-century medical ethics and the creation of the smallpox vaccine, but yet is still filled with the kind of pulse-pounding suspense that has
...Allan Quatermain, the swashbuckling adventurer who is H. Rider Haggard's best-remembered character, often faced down formidable adversaries in exotic lands around the globe. But in The Ancient Allan, the perilous journey that Quatermain undertakes is one that leads him into the murky depths of his own distant past, where he learns more about his adventures in a previous existence that took place long ago.
Transport yourself back to the turbulent atmosphere of early modern England with this exciting historical novel from H. Rider Haggard, one of the luminaries of the action-adventure genre. After an exhilarating romance, a deeply-in-love young couple is wed. But will the scheming local abbot allow them to live their lives in peace?
14) Red Eve
Take a trip back in time with acclaimed action-adventure master H. Rider Haggard. In Red Eve, Haggard sets a suspenseful love story against some of the most dramatic events in history, including the devastation wrought by the Black Plague. Will dashing protagonist Hugh de Cressi survive long enough to live happily ever after with his true love?
Much of H. Rider Haggard's body of work focuses on the globetrotting adventures of grizzled explorer Allan Quatermain. The thought-provoking tale The Mahatma and the Hare finds the author in a more philosophical mood. Almost fable-like in its simplicity, this profound story probes questions of morality, fairness and life after death.
Raised in near-isolation in South Africa, a young Dutch girl named Swallow spends her days gazing upon the sea and dreaming of a happier life filled with friends, family and love. Soon, her daydreams begin to become reality in ways she could never have imagined possible. Ranking among H. Rider Haggard's best novels, Swallow deftly combines romance, historical detail, and adventure.
While many of H. Rider Haggard's acclaimed action-adventure tales take place in exotic locations, Colonel Quaritch, V.C. unfolds in the author's own backyard. After leaving active service, a decorated officer moves back to his ancestral village. Instead of finding the peace and quiet he was seeking, however, life in this "quaint" community proves to be just as dramatic as his days on the battlefield. Fans of Victorian domestic dramas will
...A series of misadventures lead Englishman Thomas Wingfield to join a Spanish expedition to New Spain. There he witnesses the first meeting between the conquerers and the natives, and the many abuses of the latter at the hands of the former. He marries the daughter of a native king, only to see his native family killed. He wreaks his revenge before returning to England.
19) Finished
The third installment in H. Rider Haggard's Zulu trilogy, Finished is a detailed historical account of the decline of the once-mighty Zulu nation, recounted from the perspective of globe-trotting adventurer Allan Quatermain. From the thrill of the safari to battlefield play-by-plays, this novel will not disappoint fans of the classic action-adventure genre.
20) The Ghost Kings
Young missionary Rachel Dove has spent most of her life in the darkest depths of Africa, sacrificing her health and happiness to support her father's charitable initiatives on the continent. Little does she know that a nefarious villain and a renowned African warrior are scheming to whisk her away and make her the queen of a long-lost civilization. Will her beloved be able to rescue her in time?
