 First edition (UK) | |
| Author | H. Rider Haggard |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Allan Quatermain |
| Publisher | Cassell (UK) Longman, Green (US) |
Publication date | 1920 |
| Preceded by | She: A History of Adventure |
| Followed by | Allan and the Ice-gods |
The Ancient Allan is a novel by H. Rider Haggard. [1] It is the fourteenth of the eighteen overall stories Haggard wrote about the hunter Allan Quatermain, and the tenth novel in the series.
Though The Ancient Allan features Haggard's recurring hero Allan Quatermain, most of the plot concerns one of his past lives. In the frame story, he and Lady Ragnall (introduced in The Ivory Child ) inhale Taduki, a fictional drug that induces visions of previous incarnations. Thus, Quatermain relives the experiences of ancient Egyptian aristocrat Shabaka (a descendant of the pharaoh of the same name)—alongside flashes of his earlier lives—and Ragnall those of Amada, an ancient priestess of Isis; several other characters of the Quatermain novels, such as the Hottentot Hans, Lord George Ragnall, the wizard Harût, and the elephant-god Jana, also appear under various guises. The Egypt of The Ancient Allan is under the rule of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and much of the story is about a revolt against their domination. The Ancient Allan is set in nineteenth century England as well as ancient Persia, Egypt and Ethiopia.
E. F. Bleiler stated the novel had "reasonably good adventure material in the first portion of the novel, but threadbare characterizations and Victorian ethics." [2]
The Ancient Allan, like many of Haggard's works, is an adventure story with strong fantastical elements involving metempsychosis and telepathy. Ancient Egypt and its religion as usual play the largest part in this web of occultism. It is strongly applied in The Ancient Allan (as well as in a few other Quatermain adventures, such as She and Allan ) that the curse of the Egyptian goddess Isis pursues several characters throughout their successive incarnations.
The Ancient Allan also has pronounced elements of the historical romance.
It is the second book in a trilogy of Quatermain stories involving Taduki, a drug which induces clairvoyance and visions. The drug first appeared in The Ivory Child (1916), to which The Ancient Allan is a sequel, and appeared again in Allan and the Ice-Gods (1927).
The Ancient Allan is the tenth novel and the fourteenth story overall in Haggard's Allan Quatermain series. It was preceded by Finished (1917) and followed by She and Allan (1921).
The Ancient Allan is the second in a trilogy of Quatermain books involving the Taduki drug; it is a sequel to The Ivory Child (1916), while the trilogy was concluded by Allan and the Ice-Gods (1927), the eighteenth and final Quatermain story.
The events of the book occur around 1882, [3] after Quatermain's adventures in King Solomon's Mines (1885). By this time he is over sixty years old and living comfortably in England, although he returns to Africa in the chronologically final story, Allan Quatermain (1887).
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, continue to be popular and influential.
King Solomon's Mines (1885) is a 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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
Nada the Lily is an historical novel by English writer H. Rider Haggard, published in 1892. It is said to be inspired by Haggard's time in South Africa (1875–82). It was illustrated by Charles H. M. Kerr.
Wisdom's Daughter is a fantasy novel by British writer H. Rider Haggard, published in 1923, by Hutchinson & Co in the UK and Doubleday, Page and Company in the US. It is the final published book in the Ayesha series but chronologically the first book in the series. Along with the other three novels in the series, Wisdom's Daughter was adapted into the 1935 film She.
Maiwa's Revenge, or The War of the Little Hand is a short novel by English writer H. Rider Haggard about the hunter Allan Quatermain. The story involves Quatermain going on a hunting expedition, then taking part in an attack on a native kraal to rescue a captured English hunter and avenge Maiwa, an African princess whose baby has been killed. It is the third novel and sixth overall story in the Allan Quatermain series.
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.
Finished is a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard featuring Allan Quatermain. It is the last in a trilogy about the Zulu kingdom, which also includes Marie and Child of Storm, and involved the dwarf Zikali. Across the broader Quatermain series it is the ninth novel and the thirteenth story overall.
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.
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.
The Ghost Kings is a 1908 mystery-adventure novel by H. Rider Haggard, set on the borders of Zululand in Africa.
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.
Heu-Heu; or, The Monster is a novel by H. Rider Haggard. Allan Quatermain tells the story of a monster in Rhodesia. Heu-Heu is the twelfth of the fourteen novels in the Quatermain series and the sixteenth of the eighteen overall stories.
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.
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