She

Front Cover
Oxford University Press, 1998 - Fiction - 332 pages
Drawing on his knowledge of Africa and of ancient legends, adventure writer H. Rider Haggard weaves this disturbing tale of Ayesha, the mysterious and immortal white queen of a Central African tribe. She, or "She-who-must-be-obeyed," is the embodiment of the mythological female figure who is both monstrous and desirable, and deadlier than the male. She is a pioneering work in the "Lost World" genre.
 

Contents

My Visitor
16
The Years Roll By
24
The Sherd of Amenartas
30
The Squall
52
The Head of the Ethiopian
60
SHE I
68
An Early Christian Ceremony
70
Ustane Sings
81
The Tombs of Kôr
162
The Balance Turns
171
Go Woman
182
Give Me a Black Goat
192
Triumph
200
The Dead and Living Meet
210
Job has a Presentiment
217
The Temple of Truth
227

The Feast and After
91
A Little Foot
100
Speculations
107
The Plain of Kôr
116
She
125
Ayesha Unveils
135
A Soul in Hell
146
Ayesha Gives Judgment
154
Walking the Plank
235
The Spirit of Life
244
What We Saw
255
We Leap
263
Over the Mountain
270
Explanatory Notes
276
Copyright

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About the author (1998)

Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856-1925) is best remembered for his 34 adventure fantasy novels set in exotic locations. As a child, Haggard, whose father was an English barrister, was considered dim-witted and was inclined to daydreaming. His parents ended his formal education when he was seventeen, and he was sent to work in South Africa, where his imagination was inspired by the people, animals, and jungle. He became close friends with authors Rudyard Kipling and Andrew Lang. Haggard's most popular books are King Solomon's Mines (1886) and She (1887). He also wrote short stories, as well as nonfiction on topics such as gardening, English farming, and rural life, interests which led to duties on government commissions concerned with land maintenance. For his literary contributions and his government service, Haggard was knighted in 1912. Several of Haggard's novels have been filmed. She was filmed in 1965, starring Ursula Andress. King Solomon's Mines was filmed with Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr in 1950, and again with Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone in 1985. Also, the novel Allan Quatermain was filmed as Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold with Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone in 1986.

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