She: A History of Adventure
She, subtitled A History of Adventure, is a novel by the English writer H. Rider Haggard, published in book form in 1887 following serialisation in The Graphic magazine between October 1886 and January 1887. She was extraordinarily popular upon its release and has never been out of print.
The story is a first-person narrative which follows the journey of Horace Holly and his ward Leo Vincey to a lost kingdom in the African interior. They encounter a primitive race of natives and a mysterious white queen named Ayesha who reigns as the all-powerful “She” or “She-who-must-be-obeyed”. Haggard developed many of the conventions of the lost world genre which countless authors have emulated.[1]
Haggard was “part of the literary reaction against domestic realism that has been called a romance revival.”[2] Other writers following this trend were Robert Louis Stevenson, George MacDonald, and William Morris.[2] Haggard was inspired by his experiences living in South Africa for seven years (1875–82) working at the highest levels of the British colonial administration. Like many of his works, She is a vivid example of what is now labeled as “imperialist literature”. As such, the story embraces concepts of race and evolution, especially notions of degeneration, racial decline and racial purity, prominent in the late Victorian period and at the turn of the century—ideas whose influence would shape the 20th century. In nineteenth-century Europe and America, works by Haggard and others—such as G.A. Henty—were devoured by a voracious audience that included children.[3] In the figure of She, the novel notably explored themes of female authority and feminine behaviour. Its representation of womanhood has received both praise and criticism.[4]
A young Cambridge University professor, Horace Holly, is visited by a colleague, Vincey, who reveals that he will soon die. Vincey proceeds to tell Holly a fantastical tale of his family heritage. He charges Holly with the task of raising his young son, Leo (whom he has never seen) and gives Holly a locked iron box, with instructions that it is not to be opened until Leo turns 25. Holly agrees, and indeed Vincey is found dead the next day. Holly raises the boy as his own; when the box is opened on Leo’s 25th birthday they discover the ancient and mysterious “Sherd of Amenartas”, which seems to corroborate Leo’s father’s story. Holly, Leo and their servant, Job, follow instructions on the Sherd and travel to eastern Africa but are shipwrecked. They alone survive, together with their Arab captain, Mahomed; after a perilous journey into an uncharted region of the African interior, they are captured by the savage Amahagger people. The adventurers learn that the natives are ruled by a fearsome white queen, who is worshipped as Hiya or “She-who-must-be-obeyed”. The Amahagger are curious about the white-skinned interlopers, having been warned of their coming by the mysterious queen.
Billali, the chief elder of one of the Amahagger tribes, takes charge of the three men, introducing them to the ways of his people. One of the Amahagger maidens, Ustane, takes a liking to Leo and, by kissing him and embracing him publicly, weds him according to Amahagger customs. Leo, likewise, grows very fond of her.
Billali tells Holly that he needs to go and report the white men’s arrival to She. In his absence, some of the Amahagger become restless and seize Mahomed, intending to eat him as part of a ritual “hot pot”. Realising what is about to happen, Holly shoots several of the Amahagger. Mahomed dies in the effort to save him from the hot pot, when a bullet passes through one of the Amahagger and kills him as well. In the ensuing struggle Leo is gravely wounded, but Ustane saves his life by throwing herself onto his prostrate body to shield him from spears. All seems lost as the Amahagger resolve to kill Ustane along with the white men but Billali returns in the nick of time and declares that the three men are under the protection of She. Leo’s condition, however, worsens and he eventually nears death as Ustane faithfully attends to him.
