 First edition (UK) | |
| Author | H. Rider Haggard |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Allan Quatermain |
| Publisher | Hutchinson & Co (UK) Doubleday Doran (US) |
Publication date | 1926 |
| Preceded by | She and Allan |
| Followed by | The Ivory Child |
The Treasure of the Lake is one of the two posthumously published novels by H. Rider Haggard featuring Allan Quatermain. [1] In publication order it is the seventeenth of the eighteen Allan Quatermain stories.
Allan Quatermain finds a village in the middle of the Dark Continent ruled by a huge, pale man with a strange knowledge of future events.
Allan Quatermain, accompanied by the Hottentot Hans, is journeying through the East Coast of Africa when he encounters a village ruled by a man called Kaneke. Although the inhabitants of this village are Arabs, Kaneke is not of their race and only feigns practicing their religion. Kaneke tells Allan he is of the Dabanda people, a tribe living further inland inside the crater of an extinct volcano. Within this crater is the holy lake of Mone, and on an island in this lake dwells their prophetess or oracle, known as the Shadow, the Engoi, or Treasure of the Lake. Kaneke promises he and Allan will travel to Mone, both because Kaneke wishes to return to his homeland and because Allan wishes to see new things.
Shortly before they leave on their expedition, the Arabs ruled by Kaneke turn against him and wish to overthrow and execute him: Allan and Hans save him by night.
Allan, his two native hunters (known as Tom and Jerry), Hans, and Kaneke set off on their expedition. On the way to Mone-land Kaneke shows himself to have an uncanny power over animals, able to order even lions and elephants about. Kaneke claims many of the Dabanda possess this trait.
The lush crater in which the Dabanda live is surrounded by an arid landscape inhabited by the Abanda, the Dabanda's mortal enemies. When Allan, Hans and their companions are travelling through the land of the Abanda they find that a white man is being chased by these savage tribesmen. They rescue the man and find he is called John Taurus Arkle. Arkle is an Englishman like Allan and believes himself to be the desired husband of the Treasure of the Lake. However, it transpires that Kaneke is in fact chosen to be her husband; as the party are on the borders of Mone-land the jealous Kaneke attempts to murder Arkle. The white man triumphs in the ensuing hand-to-hand fight, making Kaneke swear on pain of death to relinquish his role as future husband of the Shadow.
The group - now lacking Tom and Jerry, who died fighting the Abanda - is welcomed into Mone-land by Kumpana, a powerful and elderly priest. The Shadow appears in public before Arkle to show that he is her chosen husband, but a raging Kaneke attacks her. Thwarted he flees Mone-land and becomes the chief of the neighbouring Abanda, planning to use his new subjects to invade Mone-land, kill Arkle, and capture the Shadow.
Meanwhile Allan and Hans become increasingly aware of the eeriness of the Dabanda people and their strange customs and powers, particularly after they spend a night in the forest surrounding the holy lake. As Allan says, the 'unearthly atmosphere' of the place 'at last got upon my nerves to such an extent that if I had stopped there much longer I believe I should have gone crazy.'
Just before the war with Kaneke commences, a giant thunderstorm erupts over the land of both the Dabanda and the Abanda. Following this, the hopelessly outnumbered Dabanda lure the Abanda army deep into the forest, where the Treasure of the Lake commands the elephants to kill all the enemy soldiers, thereby winning victory for the Dabanda.
Arkle weds the Shadow, while Allan and Hans depart to the West Coast in safety.
E. F. Bleiler described The Treasure of the Lake as "a good adventure story, obviously influenced by the work of James Frazer". [2]
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. Haggard dedicated this book to his childhood idol 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 also appears in the novel as a major character. Along with the other three novels in the series, She and Allan was adapted into the 1935 film She.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
King Solomon's Treasure is a 1979 British-Canadian low-budget film based on the novels King Solomon's Mines (1885) and Allan Quatermain (1887) by H. Rider Haggard. It stars John Colicos as Allan Quatermain, as well as David McCallum, Britt Ekland, and Patrick Macnee who replaced Terry-Thomas.
Benita: An African Romance is a novel by H. Rider Haggard.
The Ivory Child is a novel by H. Rider Haggard featuring Allan Quatermain.
The Ancient Allan is a novel by H. Rider Haggard.
Heu-Heu; or, The Monster is a novel by H. Rider Haggard. Allan Quatermain tells the story of a monster in Rhodesia.
Allan Quatermain is an 1887 novel by H. Rider Haggard. It is the sequel to Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines.