She. A History of Adventure -
H. Rider Haggard
1887 - Longmans, London - First English Edition, First Issue
‘And now it appeared that there was a mysterious Queen clothed by rumour with dread and wonderful attributes, and commonly known by the impersonal, but, to my mind, rather awesome title of She’
First edition, first issue, and illustrated with two colour plates of The Sherd of Amenartas.
Inspired by Haggard’s experiences of colonial South Africa, and written in just over six weeks, the enigmatically titled She is one of the finest examples of Lost World literature. First published as a serialised work in 1886, H. Rider Haggard’s gothic tale introduced the late Victorian public to one of the most terrifying and sinister female antagonists ever written, ‘she-who-must-be-obeyed’, causing not a small amount of controversy over his portrayal of the villainous Ayesha, as one of the first examples of a true femme fatale. An instant hit at the time of it’s publication, ‘She’ has since become one of the best-selling books of all time. Henry Rider Haggard (1856–1925), creator of ‘Lost World’ literature, a genre which became immensely popular during the late Victorian era, usually featuring exotic locations and lost civilisations, was born in Norfolk, England. At the age of 19, Haggard's father sent him to South Africa, to work as unpaid assistant to the secretary to Sir Henry Bulwer, Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of Natal. In 1876 he was transferred to the staff of Sir Theophilus Shepstone, Special Commissioner for the Transvaal. Haggard returned to England in 1881, studied law and was called to the bar in 1884, but preferred to spend his evenings writing books. In the course of an argument with his brother, Haggard bet a shilling that he could write a book which would be just as good and just as successful as the recently published Treasure Island. A year later, in 1885, King Solomon’s Mines was published – and Haggard won his bet. The sequel, Allan Quatermain, and his novel She followed two years later, all three set in Africa.
In public, Haggard claimed that his novel-writing was just to make money, while his real work was writing and advising the government about agriculture and the British colonies. But the fact that he wrote roughly a novel a year belies this public claim. Sir Henry Rider Haggard (he was knighted in 1913, and then again in 1919 for war services) was a tall, angular, rugged man, who could have appeared in one of his own novels, where the heroines are always beautiful, the heroes are good and strong, and there are adventures every minute of the day.
First English Edition, published in January 1, 1887 (First Edition - New York, December 24th 1886). First Issue, with the following errors; 'geneleman' for 'genelman' p.59, line 22, 'had' for 'have' p126, line 26, 'it compared' for 'if compared' p.258, line 37 and 'godness me' p.269, line 38.’ Whatmore fails to note the 'geneleman' misspelling but lists one further misprint 'mysogymist' for 'mysogynist', p.88, line 4. This in itself may be erroneous - one specialist noting ‘we have not encountered such a mistake in all our years of cataloguing this title’, and it is correctly spelt here.
Actually printed in December 1886. Previously published as a serial story in the Graphic, October 1886-January 1887, illustrated by E.K. Johnson. The book-form edition features some textual revisions from that version.
References: McKay, Bibliography of the Writings of Sir H. Rider Haggard 5a. Penguin Random House, Web. Patrick Brantlinger, ‘She: A History of Adventure’ Penguin Classics. Whatmore, H Rider Haggard: A Bibliography F4. Bleiler, Checklist of Fantastic Literature 317. Listed in Jones & Newman; 100 Best Horror Novels. Scott Bibliography of the Works of Sir Henry Rider Haggard 37.
Octavo (book size 19x14cm), pp. [8] 317 [1] [2 publisher’s advertisements]. Publisher's dark blue cloth, bevelled edges, lettered in gilt to spine and front board with small hieroglyphic in gilt to front board, patterned endpapers. Condition: Near fine, light rubbing to cloth and corners, front inner hinge chipped, and light foxing to verso of first frontispiece, else internally fine. Ref: 112377 Price: HK$ 7,000
First edition, first issue, and illustrated with two colour plates of The Sherd of Amenartas.
Inspired by Haggard’s experiences of colonial South Africa, and written in just over six weeks, the enigmatically titled She is one of the finest examples of Lost World literature. First published as a serialised work in 1886, H. Rider Haggard’s gothic tale introduced the late Victorian public to one of the most terrifying and sinister female antagonists ever written, ‘she-who-must-be-obeyed’, causing not a small amount of controversy over his portrayal of the villainous Ayesha, as one of the first examples of a true femme fatale. An instant hit at the time of it’s publication, ‘She’ has since become one of the best-selling books of all time. Henry Rider Haggard (1856–1925), creator of ‘Lost World’ literature, a genre which became immensely popular during the late Victorian era, usually featuring exotic locations and lost civilisations, was born in Norfolk, England. At the age of 19, Haggard's father sent him to South Africa, to work as unpaid assistant to the secretary to Sir Henry Bulwer, Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of Natal. In 1876 he was transferred to the staff of Sir Theophilus Shepstone, Special Commissioner for the Transvaal. Haggard returned to England in 1881, studied law and was called to the bar in 1884, but preferred to spend his evenings writing books. In the course of an argument with his brother, Haggard bet a shilling that he could write a book which would be just as good and just as successful as the recently published Treasure Island. A year later, in 1885, King Solomon’s Mines was published – and Haggard won his bet. The sequel, Allan Quatermain, and his novel She followed two years later, all three set in Africa.
In public, Haggard claimed that his novel-writing was just to make money, while his real work was writing and advising the government about agriculture and the British colonies. But the fact that he wrote roughly a novel a year belies this public claim. Sir Henry Rider Haggard (he was knighted in 1913, and then again in 1919 for war services) was a tall, angular, rugged man, who could have appeared in one of his own novels, where the heroines are always beautiful, the heroes are good and strong, and there are adventures every minute of the day.
First English Edition, published in January 1, 1887 (First Edition - New York, December 24th 1886). First Issue, with the following errors; 'geneleman' for 'genelman' p.59, line 22, 'had' for 'have' p126, line 26, 'it compared' for 'if compared' p.258, line 37 and 'godness me' p.269, line 38.’ Whatmore fails to note the 'geneleman' misspelling but lists one further misprint 'mysogymist' for 'mysogynist', p.88, line 4. This in itself may be erroneous - one specialist noting ‘we have not encountered such a mistake in all our years of cataloguing this title’, and it is correctly spelt here.
Actually printed in December 1886. Previously published as a serial story in the Graphic, October 1886-January 1887, illustrated by E.K. Johnson. The book-form edition features some textual revisions from that version.
References: McKay, Bibliography of the Writings of Sir H. Rider Haggard 5a. Penguin Random House, Web. Patrick Brantlinger, ‘She: A History of Adventure’ Penguin Classics. Whatmore, H Rider Haggard: A Bibliography F4. Bleiler, Checklist of Fantastic Literature 317. Listed in Jones & Newman; 100 Best Horror Novels. Scott Bibliography of the Works of Sir Henry Rider Haggard 37.
Octavo (book size 19x14cm), pp. [8] 317 [1] [2 publisher’s advertisements]. Publisher's dark blue cloth, bevelled edges, lettered in gilt to spine and front board with small hieroglyphic in gilt to front board, patterned endpapers. Condition: Near fine, light rubbing to cloth and corners, front inner hinge chipped, and light foxing to verso of first frontispiece, else internally fine. Ref: 112377 Price: HK$ 7,000