A runaway bestseller on its publication in 1887 is a novel by H. Rider Haggard. She is one of the classics of imaginative literature, and one of the best-selling books of all time, with over 83 million copies sold in 44 different languages as of 1965.
It does rank with King Solomon's Mines as an enduring adventure tale. In the novel, a young man discovers that he is the lone descendant of an ancient Egyptian priest who had been executed for having loved a princess. The priest's executioner, a beautiful and jealous queen, still reigns in the faraway city of Kor, and so the hero, Leo Vincey, endeavors to find her. Together with an old friend and a servant, Leo undertakes the dangerous journey to Kor.
There Leo eventually meets the queen, Ayesha--also known as She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed--who believes him to be the reincarnation of the priest she loved, and killed, centuries earlier. Leo, in turn, is hypnotized by her extraordinary beauty and believes himself in love with her even though he senses her evil nature. The Characters are Horace Holly, Leo Vincey,Ayesha,Job,Billali,Ustane,Kallikrates and Amenartas.The Background: South Africa and Return to Britain.Genre:Fantasy and science fiction.Themes :Imperialism,Race and evolution,Female authority and sexuality.Modern interpretations:Feminist,Legacy,Adaptation
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H. Rider Haggard English Novelist of Adventure Stories,Best known for "King Solomon's Mines", 1905 |
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