An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

332: King Solomon's Mines

May 15, 2023

Description

In 1885, H. Rider Haggard’s brother offered him a wager: five shillings if he could write a book half as good as Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island”. By the end of the year, Haggard had...
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Books Referenced

King Solomon's Mines

Author: Henry Ryder Haggard

Context:

Main subject of the episode - described as 'one of the best-selling novels of the Victorian age' published in 1885

Treasure Island

Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

Context:

Mentioned as published in 1883, described as a tremendous hit that inspired Haggard to write King Solomon's Mines after a bet with his brother

The Go-Between

Author: Hartley

Context:

Mentioned as 'Hartley's great novel' - the setting Brandon Hall was based on Ryder Haggard's childhood home

Alan Quartermain

Author: Henry Ryder Haggard

Context:

Mentioned as a sequel to King Solomon's Mines that Haggard wrote quickly after his first success

She

Author: Henry Ryder Haggard

Context:

Described as another bestseller by Haggard published in 1887, called 'another absolutely foundational text in our kind of popular imagination'

The Lord of the Rings

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

Context:

Mentioned in comparison to King Solomon's Mines - Tolkien was described as 'a massive fan of Haggard' and similarities in quest structure noted

Heart of Darkness

Author: Joseph Conrad

Context:

Referenced when discussing the idea of blank spaces on maps and Africa as 'the heart of darkness'

The Lost World

Author: Conan Doyle

Context:

Mentioned as being influenced by the tradition established by She and King Solomon's Mines

Dracula

Author: Bram Stoker

Context:

Mentioned in context of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, referencing 'Mina Harker from Dracula'

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Author: Alan Moore

Context:

Described as 'a comic book' featuring Alan Quartermain and other late 19th century literary heroes