Heu-Heu

Last updated

Heu-Heu; or, The Monster
Heuheu.png
First edition (UK)
Author Sir H. Rider Haggard
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Hutchinson & Co (UK)
Doubleday Doran (US)
Publication date
1924
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Preceded by The Holy Flower  
Followed by She and Allan  

Heu-Heu; or, The Monster is a novel by H. Rider Haggard. Allan Quatermain tells the story of a monster in Rhodesia. [1] Heu-Heu is the twelfth of the fourteen novels in the Quatermain series and the sixteenth of the eighteen overall stories.

Contents

The novel features a legend about a giant gorilla monster, to which young women are sacrificed. Some writers have speculated that Heu-Heu influenced the plot of the film King Kong (see Influence).

Plot

Allan and his sidekick, the faithful and always amusing Hottentot Hans go on a mission for the Zulu wizard Zikali (who had previously appeared several times in the series) and endeavour to bring back some leaves from the rare Tree of Illusions. They also attempt to delve into the mystery of Heu-Heu, a monstrous, 12-foot-tall, clawed and red-bearded semi-gorilla god who may or may not exist. As is usual in Haggard's novels, Heu-Heu starts off with an action set piece, a storm in which the heroes are forced to seek shelter in a Bushmen's cave, and from there moves swiftly and excitingly.

Reception

E. F. Bleiler's review of Heu-Heu states "while the lost-race aspects of the Walloo are somewhat stale, the descriptions of Black native life are, as always, fascinating" [2]

Influence

It has been suggested that Heu-Heu influenced the script of the movie King Kong (by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace), which has a similar plotline. [3]

Writer G.W. Thomas has speculated that Heu-Heu influenced the ape-monsters of Robert E. Howard in the 1930s, in stories such as "Rogues in the House" and "Queen of the Black Coast". [4] [5]

The motif of an ape-monster deified by a lost African tribe had appeared in a previous Quatermain adventure, The Holy Flower (1915).

In the fourth chapter of Heu-Heu, the wizard Zikali mentions the Taduki drug. This strange herb first appears in The Ivory Child (1916), and enables Quatermain to have visions of his past lives in The Ancient Allan (1920) and Allan and the Ice-Gods (1927).

Heu-Heu also marks the fourth and final appearance of Zikali in the Quatermain series.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. Rider Haggard</span> English adventure novelist (1856–1925)

Sir Henry Rider Haggard was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform throughout the British Empire. His stories, situated at the lighter end of Victorian literature and including the eighteen Allan Quatermain stories beginning with King Solomon's Mines, continue to be popular and influential.

<i>King Solomons Mines</i> 1885 novel by H. Rider Haggard

King Solomon's Mines is an 1885 popular novel by the English Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of an expedition through an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain, searching for the missing brother of one of the party. It is one of the first English adventure novels set in Africa and is considered to be the genesis of the lost world literary genre. It is the first of fourteen novels and four short stories by Haggard about Allan Quatermain. Haggard dedicated this book to his childhood idol Sir Humphry Davy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Quatermain</span> Fictional character

Allan Quatermain is the protagonist of H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines, its one sequel Allan Quatermain (1887), twelve prequel novels and four prequel short stories, totalling eighteen works. An English professional big game hunter and adventurer, in film and television he has been portrayed by Richard Chamberlain, Sean Connery, Cedric Hardwicke, Patrick Swayze and Stewart Granger among others.

The lost world is a subgenre of the fantasy or science fiction genres that involves the discovery of an unknown Earth civilization. It began as a subgenre of the late-Victorian adventure romance and remains popular into the 21st century.

<i>Ayesha</i> (novel) 1905 novel by H. Rider Haggard

Ayesha, the Return of She is a gothic-fantasy novel by the English Victorian author H. Rider Haggard, published in 1905 as a sequel to his 1887 novel She. Chronologically, it is the final novel of the Ayesha and Allan Quatermain series. It was serialised in issues 120 to 130 of the Windsor Magazine, where it was illustrated by Maurice Greiffenhagen.

<i>Cleopatra</i> (Haggard novel) 1889 novel by H. Rider Haggard

Cleopatra: Being an Account of the Fall and Vengeance of Harmachis is an adventure novel written by English author H. Rider Haggard and first printed in 1889 by Longmans. Cleopatra mixes historical action with supernatural events, and could be described as a historical fantasy novel.

<i>King Kong</i> (comics) Appearances of King Kong in comics publications

Throughout the decades King Kong has been featured in numerous comic book publications from numerous publishers.

<i>She and Allan</i> 1921 novel by H. Rider Haggard

She and Allan is a novel by H. Rider Haggard, first published in 1921. It brought together his two most popular characters, Ayesha from his 1887 novel She, and Allan Quatermain from his 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines. Umslopogaas from Nada the Lily (1892) also appears in the novel as a major character. Along with the other three novels in the Ayesha series, She and Allan was adapted into the 1935 film She. She and Allan is the third story in the Ayesha series and the fifteenth in the Quatermain series.

<i>Allans Wife and Other Tales</i> Book by Henry Rider Haggard

Allan's Wife and Other Tales is a collection of Allan Quatermain stories by H. Rider Haggard, first published in London by Spencer Blackett in December 1889. The title story was new, with its first publication intended for the collection, but two unauthorized editions appeared earlier in New York, based on pirated galley proofs. The other three stories first appeared in an anthology and periodicals in 1885, 1887, and 1886.

<i>Nada the Lily</i> 1892 novel by Henry Rider Haggard

Nada the Lily is an historical novel by English writer H. Rider Haggard, published in 1892. Inspired by Haggard's time in South Africa (1875–82). It was illustrated by Charles H. M. Kerr.

<i>Conan and the Treasure of Python</i> Book by John Maddox Roberts

Conan and the Treasure of Python is a fantasy novel by American writer John Maddox Roberts, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in trade paperback by Tor Books in November 1993; a regular paperback edition followed from the same publisher in August 1994.

<i>Child of Storm</i> 1913 novel by Henry Rider Haggard

Child of Storm is a 1913 novel by H. Rider Haggard featuring Allan Quatermain. The plot is set in 1854-56 and concerns Quatermain hunting in Zululand and getting involved with Mameena, a beautiful African girl who causes great turmoil in the Zulu kingdom. It is the sixth novel, and the tenth story overall, in the Quatermain series.

<i>The Holy Flower</i> 1915 novel by H. Rider Haggard

The Holy Flower is a 1915 novel by H. Rider Haggard featuring Allan Quatermain. It was serialised in The Windsor Magazine from issue 228 to 239, illustrated by Maurice Greiffenhagen, and in New Story Magazine from December 1913 through June 1914. The plot involves Quatermain going on a trek into Africa to find a mysterious flower. It is the seventh Quatermain novel, and the eleventh Quatermain story overall.

<i>Allan and the Ice-gods</i> 1927 novel by H. Rider Haggard

Allan and the Ice-Gods is a novel by H. Rider Haggard featuring his recurring character Allan Quatermain, based on an idea given to Haggard by Rudyard Kipling. The story details Quatermain's past life regression to a Stone Age ancestor and the various adventures involved.

<i>The Ghost Kings</i> 1908 novel by H. Rider Haggard

The Ghost Kings is a 1908 mystery-adventure novel by H. Rider Haggard, set on the borders of Zululand in Africa.

<i>The Ivory Child</i> 1916 novel by H. Rider Haggard

The Ivory Child is a novel by H. Rider Haggard featuring Allan Quatermain. It is the eighth Quatermain novel, and the twelfth Quatermain story overall.

<i>The Ancient Allan</i> 1920 novel by H. Rider Haggard

The Ancient Allan is a novel by H. Rider Haggard. It is the fourteenth of the eighteen overall stories Haggard wrote about the hunter Allan Quatermain, and the tenth novel in the series.

<i>The Treasure of the Lake</i> 1926 novel by H. Rider Haggard

The Treasure of the Lake is one of the two posthumously published novels by H. Rider Haggard featuring Allan Quatermain. In publication order it is the seventeenth of the eighteen Allan Quatermain stories.

Allan Quatermain is an 1887 novel by H. Rider Haggard. It is the sequel to Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines. Allan Quatermain is the second novel and fourth overall story in the eighteen-part series of the same name, though chronologically it is the final entry.

References

  1. "Books of the Week". The Brisbane Courier . National Library of Australia. 19 April 1924. p. 18. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  2. Bleiler, Everett (1983). The Guide to Supernatural Fiction. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press. p. 221. ISBN   0873382889.
  3. Everett, Elden K. "H. Rider Haggard: Creator of King Kong?" In Gottesman, Ronald, and Geduld, Harry M., The Girl in the Hairy Paw: King Kong as Myth, Movie, and Monster. New York, Avon Books, 1976 ISBN   9780380006106 (pgs. 43-6)
  4. Thomas, G. W. (23 November 2019). "The Adventures of Allan Quatermain". Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  5. Thomas, G. W. (26 February 2021). "Those Fantastic Ape Monsters". Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.