For the films of the same name, see King Solomon's Mines (film).

King Solomon's Mines, first published in 1885, was a best-selling novel by the Victorian adventure writer and fabulist, H. Rider Haggard. It relates a journey into the heart of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain in search of the missing brother of one of the party, Sir Henry. It is significant as the first fictional adventure novel set in Africa, and is considered the genesis of the Lost World literary genre.

Background

The book was first published in September 1885 with billboards and posters around London announcing "The Most Amazing Book Ever Written". It became an immediate best seller. By the late 19th century explorers were uncovering lost civilizations around the world, such as Egypt's Valley of the Kings, the city of Troy, the empire of Assyria. Africa was still largely unexplored and King Solomon's Mines was the first novel of African adventure published in English, capturing public imagination.

The "King Solomon" of the book's title was of course the Biblical king renowned both for his wisdom and for his wealth. A number of sites have been identified as being the location of the mines of Solomon, including the workings at Timna near Eilat, and many "fictional" locations.

Haggard knew Africa well having penetrated deep within the continent as a 19-year-old during the Anglo-Zulu War and the First Boer War which provided his background and inspiration for this and many later stories.

Analysis

The novel is said to have been written as a result of a wager with Haggard's brother, namely that he could not write a novel half as good as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (1883).

Like Treasure Island, the novel was written largely from the first person subjective perspective as a journal account of the adventure. This was in contrast with most Victorian fiction which had adopted the position of the third-person omniscient perspective favored by influential writers such as Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins and Anthony Trollope.

King Solomon's Mines was highly influential as the genesis of the Lost World genre, such as would be followed by Edgar Rice Burroughs The Land That Time Forgot, Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, Edgar Wallace's King Kong and Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King.

Kukuanaland is said in the book to be forty leagues north of the Lukanga river in modern Zambia which would place it in the extreme south-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The culture of the Kukuanas shares many attributes with other South African tribes, such as IsiZulu being spoken, and the Kraal system.

The novel has been adapted to film at least four times, see King Solomon's Mines (film).

Plot summary

Allan Quatermain, an English adventurer and hunter based in Durban, South Africa, is approached by an English aristocrat, Sir Henry, and his friend Captain Good, seeking his help to find Sir Henry's brother, who was last seen traveling north into the unexplored interior, on a quest for the fabled King Solomon's Mines. Quatermain obtained a map purporting to lead to the mines years ago but had never taken it seriously, but agrees to lead an expedition in return for part of the treasure, or a stipend for his son if he is killed along the way. He has little hope they will return alive. They also bring along a mysterious native, Umbopa, who seems more regal, handsome and well spoken than most porters of his class, but who is very anxious to join the party.

Traveling by oxen and cart, they reach the edge of a desert. Quatermain's map shows an oasis 60 miles or halfway across, and they continue on foot, almost dying of thirst before reaching the oasis. They cross the desert without incident and reach a mountain chain. They climb to the top and enter a cave where they find the dried and frozen corpse of José Silvestre, the 16th century Portuguese explorer who had drawn Quatermain's map. They cross the mountains into a raised valley, lush and green, known as Kukuanaland, whose inhabitants have a well organized army and society and speak an ancient dialect of IsiZulu. Kukuanaland's biggest city and its capital is Loo. It is dominated by a Royal Kraal in the center of the city, and a magnificent road from ancient times.

They are taken to see King Twala, who rules over his people with ruthless violence. He came to power years ago when he murdered his brother, the previous king, and drove his brother's wife and infant son out into the desert to die. Twala is king in name only; an old, scheming, evil, withered hag named Gagool is really in charge.

When Umbopa reveals that he is actually the son of the former king, a rebellion breaks out. Although outnumbered, the rebels succeed in overthrowing Twala and, in accordance with Kukuana tradition, Sir Henry kills Twala in a duel. The Englishmen also capture the evil Gagool; she promises to lead them to King Solomon's Mine. Once there, she tricks her captors, sealing them inside the mountain tomb with a giant boulder. With no light and little water, they prepare to die. With luck, they find an escape route, bringing with them a few pocketfuls of diamonds from the immense hoard, enough to make them rich.

The party leaves the valley and returns to the desert. Taking a different route, they find Sir Henry's brother stranded in an oasis with a broken leg, unable to go forward or back. They all return to Durban and eventually to England, wealthy enough to live out comfortable lives.

External link

1885 novels | English novels | H. Rider Haggard novels