An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

H. Rider Haggard

2 books referenced

Books by H. Rider Haggard

King Solomon's Mines

Referenced in 8 episodes

541. Heart of Darkness: Fear and Loathing in the Congo

February 20, 2025

Context:

Mentioned as the polar opposite to Heart of Darkness - described as a swashbuckling, optimistic journey into Africa that never questions the right of adventurers to be there

450. Custer's Last Stand: Death in the Black Hills (Part 5)

May 15, 2024

Context:

Referenced in discussion of European romanticization of frontier life and 'big game hunters' - the hosts recall discussing Haggard's portrayal of 'a man of the plains' in a previous episode.

421. Ancient Carthage: Lords of the Sea (Part 1)

February 19, 2024

Context:

Referenced when discussing the mysterious location of Ophir, noting 'Ryder Haggard situates it in Africa' in connection with a previous episode on King Solomon's mines.

372. The Birth of British Fascism

September 24, 2023

Context:

Referenced in discussion of 'the fiction of empire, and this obsession with manliness, with proving yourself'

345: Raiders of the Lost Ark (Part 1)

June 26, 2023

Context:

Discussed as a Victorian imperial fiction classic that influenced Raiders of the Lost Ark and the adventure serial genre that Spielberg drew upon

338: Ireland: Home Rule, Mutiny - and Civil War? (Part 3)

June 05, 2023

Context:

Referenced in passing when discussing the Edwardian era's obsession with manliness and brotherhood, noting they had done a previous podcast about this book published about 20 years earlier

239: Young Churchill: Born to Lead (Part 1)

October 03, 2022

Context:

Explicitly mentioned as a book Churchill had read, referenced when discussing his love of imperial adventure stories

53. Game of Thrones

May 17, 2021

Context:

Referenced as an example of earlier colonial adventure novels featuring 'white hunters or white heroes going to remote cities' that modern sensibilities wouldn't permit

She

Referenced in 1 episode

190. Jubilees

May 30, 2022

Context:

Explicitly mentioned as 'H. Ryder Haggard's book, She' from 1887, cited alongside A Study in Scarlet to establish the cultural moment of the Golden Jubilee