Sir Henry Curtis

Last updated

Sir Henry Curtis is a fictional character in a series of adventure novels by H. Rider Haggard. His Zulu name is Incubu, which means "Elephant". He is the constant companion and fellow traveller of Allan Quatermain. [1]

Sir Henry first became acquainted with Quatermain when he left from England to Natal province, South Africa to request help in search of his brother, George. Although unwilling at first, Quatermain is eventually persuaded to help lead him along with Commander John Good of the Royal Navy to the Heart of Kukuanaland, where George is expected to have disappeared looking for King Solomon's Mines.

Sir Henry is especially noted for his enormous size and stature, his muscular physique, and his long, blond locks, no doubt inherited from his Danish forebears.

Sir Henry is, especially in Kukuanaland, noted for his bravery in battle, such as when he led the Greys, the elite regiment in the Kukuana army, against the king Twala in an unevenly matched battle. After a long day of fighting, he even slays the king himself in hand-to-hand combat. This feat so impressed the natives that any feat of strength afterward in Kukuanaland has been known as Incubu's Blow.

Notes

  1. Franey, Laura E. Victorian Travel Writing and Imperial Violence: British Writing on Africa, 1855-1902. Springer, 2003 ISBN   9780230510036 (p. 72)

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, continue to be popular and influential.

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

King Solomon's Mines (1885) is a popular novel by the English Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain 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.

<i>Richard III</i> (play) Shakespearean history play

Richard III is a play by William Shakespeare. It was probably written c. 1592–1594. It is labelled a history in the First Folio, and is usually considered one, but it is sometimes called a tragedy, as in the quarto edition. Richard III concludes Shakespeare's first tetralogy and depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of King Richard III of England.

<i>Edward III</i> (play) 1596 play often attributed to Shakespeare

The Raigne of King Edward the Third, commonly shortened to Edward III, is an Elizabethan play printed anonymously in 1596, and at least partly written by William Shakespeare. It began to be included in publications of the complete works of Shakespeare only in the late 1990s. Scholars who have supported this attribution include Jonathan Bate, Edward Capell, Eliot Slater, Eric Sams, Giorgio Melchiori, and Brian Vickers. The play's co-author remains the subject of debate: suggestions have included Thomas Kyd, Christopher Marlowe, Michael Drayton, Thomas Nashe, and George Peele.

<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.

<i>Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold</i> 1986 film by Gary Nelson

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold is a 1986 American adventure comedy film directed by Gary Nelson and released in West Germany on December 18, 1986, and in the United States on January 30, 1987. It is loosely based on the 1887 novel Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard. It is the sequel to the 1985 film King Solomon's Mines.

<i>Richard III</i> (1955 film) 1955 film by and with Laurence Olivier

Richard III is a 1955 British Technicolor film adaptation of William Shakespeare's historical play of the same name, also incorporating elements from his Henry VI, Part 3. It was directed and produced by Laurence Olivier, who also played the lead role. Featuring many noted Shakespearean actors, including a quartet of actors who were later knighted, the film depicts Richard plotting and conspiring to grasp the throne from his brother King Edward IV, played by Sir Cedric Hardwicke. In the process, many are killed and betrayed, with Richard's evil leading to his own downfall. The prologue of the film states that history without its legends would be "a dry matter indeed", implicitly admitting to the artistic licence that Shakespeare applied to the events of the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Holmes (Royal Navy officer)</span> British Royal Navy Admiral (1622–1692)

Sir Robert Holmes was an English Admiral of the Restoration Navy. He participated in the second and third Anglo-Dutch Wars, both of which he is, by some, credited with having started. He was made Governor of the Isle of Wight, where he is buried in Yarmouth Parish Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester</span>

Lieutenant-General Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester, known as The Lord Wilmot between 1643 and 1644 and as The Viscount Wilmot between 1644 and 1652, was an English Cavalier who fought for the Royalist cause during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

<i>The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen</i> (film) 2003 superhero film by Stephen Norrington

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, also promoted as LXG, is a 2003 dieselpunk superhero film loosely based on the first volume of the comic book series of the same name by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, it was released on 11 July 2003 in the United States, and 17 October in the United Kingdom. It was directed by Stephen Norrington and starred Sean Connery, Naseeruddin Shah, Peta Wilson, Tony Curran, Stuart Townsend, Shane West, Jason Flemyng, and Richard Roxburgh. It was Connery's final role in a theatrically released live-action film before his retirement in 2006 and death in 2020.

<i>Watusi</i> (film) 1959 film by Kurt Neumann

Watusi is a 1959 American adventure film, It is the sequel to the 1950 film King Solomon's Mines. The film was directed by Kurt Neumann and starring George Montgomery, Taina Elg, David Farrar and Rex Ingram. It was produced by Al Zimbalist and Donald Zimbalist. The screenplay was by James Clavell loosely based on the 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard.

<i>King Solomons Mines</i> (2004 film) American TV series or program

King Solomon's Mines is a 2004 American two-part television miniseries, the fifth film adaptation of the 1885 novel of the same name by Henry Rider Haggard. Starring Patrick Swayze as Allan Quatermain and Alison Doody as Elizabeth Maitland, the film was produced by Hallmark Entertainment, and originally aired June 6, 2004, on Hallmark Channel.

<i>King Solomons Mines</i> (1985 film) 1985 film by J. Lee Thompson

King Solomon's Mines is a 1985 action adventure film, and a film adaptation of the 1885 novel of the same name by H. Rider Haggard. It stars Richard Chamberlain, Sharon Stone, Herbert Lom and John Rhys-Davies. It was produced by Cannon Films. It was adapted by Gene Quintano and James R. Silke and directed by J. Lee Thompson. This version of the story was a light, comedic take, deliberately referring to, and parodying, the Indiana Jones film series. It was filmed outside Harare in Zimbabwe. The film was made and released exactly 100 years after the release of the novel on which the film is based.

"Allan and the Sundered Veil" is a six-part horror comic story written in the style of a boy's periodical by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, included at the back of each issue of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume I and collected at the back of that volume. It serves as a prequel to the comic.

<i>The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen</i> (novel) 2003 book by Kevin J. Anderson

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a 2003 steampunk/adventure novel by Kevin J. Anderson. It is a novelization of the script of the movie of the same name, written by James Dale Robinson, which itself was based on the comic by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.

<i>Azincourt</i> (novel) 2008 novel by Bernard Cornwell

Azincourt is an historical novel written by Bernard Cornwell, published in 2008. The book relates the events leading to the Battle of Agincourt through its protagonist Nicholas Hook. In the United States, it was published under the title Agincourt.

<i>Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls</i> 2008 American film directed by Mark Atkins

Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls is a 2008 American adventure film directed by Mark Atkins and starring Sean Cameron Michael, Christopher Adamson, Sanaa Lathane, Daniel Bonjour, and Wittly Jourdan. It was created by The Asylum. The film follows the adventures of explorer Allan Quatermain, and was filmed entirely on location in South Africa. It was released directly to DVD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Readeption of Henry VI</span> 1470 restoration of Henry VI to the throne of England

The Readeption was the restoration of Henry VI of England to the throne of England in 1470. Edward, Duke of York, had taken the throne as Edward IV in 1461. Henry had fled with some Lancastrian supporters and spent much of the next few years in hiding in the north of England or in Scotland, where there was still some Lancastrian support. Henry was captured in 1465 and was held as a prisoner in the Tower of London. Following dissent with his former key supporter, Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, Edward was forced to flee in 1470. Henry was then restored to the throne, although he was deposed again the following year.

<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.

Allan Quatermain is an 1887 novel by H. Rider Haggard. It is the sequel to Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines.