When I was fifteen, back in 1961, I tried reading several books by classic adventure author, H. Rider Haggard, but my mind wasn't ready for the slower pace of the novels, the huge amount of background and description, and the casual way fantasy fit into the story. First came King Solomon's Mines and after that, She. They were his two most famous novels and I couldn't finish either one. Too wordy, too slow, too long was my final assessment of Haggard's work and I decided he wasn't an author I wanted to read.

Life changes unexpectedly, and I was in Europe, visiting London and Paris in the winter of 1967-1968. One afternoon I found myself wandering about a huge English language bookstore in the heart of Paris. On the shelf were a half dozen Haggard titles, new editions with white dust jacket spines and colorful illustrations on the cover. The books were listed as the MacDonald Illustrated Editions of H. Rider Haggard and were priced at 12/6 net. Each novel was between 225 and 300 pages long, and the books were illustrated by a number of black and white full page illustrations. The dollar was riding high at the time in regards to foreign currency so the cost of the books worked out to less than $3 a volume. On a whim, I bought two - Heart of the World and The Brethren. The first was a lost race style novel set in South America, while the second was a rousing tale of the Crusades. On my flight back from Paris to New York I devoured both books and wanted more. In the six or so years that had passed since I had first tried reading Haggard, my tastes in literature had changed. Now, I appreciated good writing, well done description, and vivid characterization. I also found that Haggard's somewhat leisurely pace in getting a story told suited me better than the rush-rush-rush of many modern novels. In short, I became a Haggard fan.

In the United States, I learned that Richard Witter's Fantasy & SF Book Service carried all of the MacDonald illustrated Haggard books. Slowly but surely I assembled a set. As I did, I studied articles about Haggard and learned that he was much more prolific than even the reprint series indicated. In total, Haggard had written nearly 50 adventure novels, along with several deadly dull mainstream melodramas. Avoiding the melodramas, I concentrated on buying all of the novels that MacDonald had not reprinted. As with all my obsessions, my mania continued to grow over time, and within a few years I owned first editions of all of Haggard's works. I even had several books inscribed by Haggard, which seemed to be quite uncommon.

Now, I've decided to share some of my love of Haggard's work with the readers of this web site. I've posted cover illos from most of the MacDonald reprints, not because they are the best illustrations ever done for Haggard, but because they were the art that got me into collecting Haggard. I've also included photos of some early Haggard editions in dust jacket. And, I've included a stunning painting by A.C. Michael of Murgh the Death, perhaps the most unusual character ever created by Haggard, who appeared in the novel, Red Eve.

Next site update, I'll post more Haggard book scans as well as scans of covers from the pulps in which his stories sometimes appeared. As always, I'm interested in hearing from any Haggard fans about their favorite Haggard book or illustration. Of course, I'm always looking to buy pulp or paperback art illustrating Haggard's work. During my years of collecting art, I've only found one painting illustrating Haggard, and unfortunately was unable to keep it as part of my collection.

	King Solomon's Mines - One of the greatest adventure novels ever written. After having written two fairly mundane melodramas and one highly regarded non-fiction book on Africa, Haggard bet his brother he could write an adventure novel as good as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, which, at the time, was extremely popular in England. The resulting book, written over several weekends, was King Solomon's Mines. In it, hunter Allan Quatermain accompanies three Englishmen searching for a lost explorer in Africa and finds the lost diamond mines of King Solomon.		Allan Quatermain - The sequel to King Solomon's Mines. Allan, and the Zulu warrior, Umslopogaas, find a lost civilization in the heart of Africa. At the end of this novel, Allan, who is an old man in these adventures, dies. Haggard evidently did not plan to write any more adventures featuring him. But the public demanded otherwise.
Click on any bookcover to see a larger version of it.
	Nada the Lily - A tie-in novel of sorts to Allan Quatermain, this is the story of the rise of the Zulu nation under Chaka, their greatest king. It is seen through the eyes of his rival, Umslopogaas, who plays a major role in the story.		Allan's Wife - the story of Allan Quatermain's second wife, Stella, who died soon after their marriage.
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	Marie - The tale of Allan's first true love, his first wife, Marie Marais, who died before he married Stella. This novel serves as the beginning of an unnamed trilogy in which the Zulu wizard, Zikali, gains his revenge on the Zulu nation and its king, Cetawayo.		Child of Storm - The second novel of the "Revenge of Zikali" trilogy, featuring the beautiful but totally amoral Zulu woman, Mameena, the child of storm.
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	Finished - The third and final novel of the Zikali trilogy, in which the evil Zulu wizard brings about the downfall of the Zulu nation. It also features Mameena.		The Holy Flower - Allan hunts rare orchids in Africa.
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	The Ivory Child - Allan vs. a giant elephant.		Maiwa's Revenge - An early novel, as related by Allan. A Zulu = woman's revenge.
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	The Ancient Allan - Allan relives past lives with the help of the = flowers of the rare orchids he found in Africa.		She - One of the finest tales of fantasy adventure ever written, featuring "She, Who Must Be Obeyed."
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	Ayesha - The sequel to She.		The World's Desire - Written with Andrew Lang, though the book is mostly Haggard. The further adventures of Helen of Troy and Ulysses in Egypt, after the fall of Troy.
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	Moon of Israel - The story of the Exodus, told by an Egyptian magician who discovers that the God of Israel is working through a woman, not a man.		Heart of the World - a lost civilization in the heart of Central America.
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	Eric Brighteyes - A novel of the Vikings.		The Brethren - A novel of the Crusades.
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	Montezuma's Daughter - An Englishman ends up in the court of Montezuma and witnesses the arrival of the Spaniards in the New World.
Haggard's books were illustrated by some of the world's finest illustrators. Here are some of the more striking illustrations from Haggard stories as they appeared in book and magazine appearances.
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	One of several covers for the American serialization of "Ayesha, the Return of She."		Another cover illustration for the American serial version of "Ayesha."
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	A stunning illo from the 1st hardcover edition of "Morning Star."		Cover by Lawrence for the Famous Fantastic Mysteries reprint of "Morning Star."
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	An interior illustration by Finlay for the magazine reprint of "Morning Star."		Another interior illustration by Finlay for "Morning Star."
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	Cover by Lawrence for the Famous Fantastic Mysteries reprint of "The Wanderer's Necklace."		A color illustration from the hardcover 1st edition of "The Wanderer's Necklace."

One of the great joys of collecting H. Rider Haggard material is finding rare and unexpected illustrations of some of his novels in the most unlikely places. The Readers Library was a series of hundreds of very inexpensive hardcover books published by Collins Publishers in the 1920's and 1930's. These pocket-sized hardcover volumes featured full color jackets, oftentimes wrap-around covers by lesser-known artists of the period. In many cases, the artwork used on these books was fantastic. Among the most collectible books published by the Readers Library was Metropolis and The Girl in the Moon, both of which can be seen on my Rare Books page. Just recently, I discovered that the Readers Library reprinted a number of H. Rider Haggard volumes. All of them have wrap-around covers with spectacular art. They are reproduced below. I know that She was also done as a Readers Library volume but have yet to find a copy in jacket. If anyone knows of any other Haggard books published as part of this series, please let me know.

 

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