Historical Adventures

Two more adventures from the pages of history and pen of a great writer

There are few who have heard of H. Rider Haggard's novels who do not know his principal character-Allan Quatermain-the archetypal white man in Africa. Here was a hero who would take on a Zulu Impi, a charging rhinoceros, a giant gorilla God, a lost tribe, slavers, a magical eternal queen, malign spirits and still come back for more-bringing a host of readers with him. In short, Haggard knew what it took to write a good adventure which is why some of his books have been among the most popular in modern times. Haggard was a prolific author: aside from the Quatermain stories, he produced a sequence of novels concerning the ancient world, four featuring his other great character, Ayesha-'She who must be obeyed'-and a collection of adventure novels taking Africa as their stage but without the presence of Quatermain. All are excellent. In Haggard's lifetime his public eagerly awaited his next book, but today, while many are aware of his reputation, that knowledge often applies to but a small proportion of the reading enjoyment his books have to offer. Fortunately Leonaur now publish most of these works in matching sets at great value by combining two or more novels in each volume. Now Leonaur is pleased to offer Haggard's historical adventure series. Predictably Haggard's inventive pen was able to create several more lead characters of the stamp of Quatermain and they populate many of the ages of history with gripping adventures set against momentous events in many lands.
In this, the second volume of Leonaur's collection of Haggard's historical adventures-the third novel is The Virgin and the Sun. To the pleasure of his many aficionados Haggard rarely drew back from combining fact with fantastical and this classic tale concerns an imagined time long before the Conquistadors despoiled the mighty empire of the Incas of Peru. But was this the first time a European had walked among them? Apparently not! The second novel, and fourth in the series, is Fair Margaret. The action of this high adventure takes place in the England of Henry VII and the Spain of Ferdinand and Isabella between 1491 and 1501. Available in soft cover and hard cover with dust jacket for collectors.