The Annotated She: A Critical Edition of H. Rider Haggard's Victorian Romance (Visions (Bloomington, Ind.))

when It Appeared In 1887, H. Rider Haggard's She Caused A Sensation And Became One Of The Best-selling Novels Of The Nineteenth Century. The Idea Of A Powerful Woman Endowed With Immortal Beauty And Penetrating Intellect Ruling A Savage People Among The Ruins Of A Vanished Civilization In The Heart Of Africa Captivated Victorian Readers. Freud Recommended The Book To His Patients. Jung Equated Its Imaginative Power With Dante's Inferno And Wagner's Ring. Continuing To Fascinate Later Twentieth-century Readers, The Book Has Never Been Out Of Print And Has Won New Audiences Through Numerous Film Versions.

this Is The First Annotated Edition Of She. Locating The Novel Within The Context Of Late-victorian Fiction And British Imperialism, Norman Etherington Provides Biographical Information Regarding Haggard And Elucidates References In The Text Of This Archaeological Romance.

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in 1887 However, Haggard Issued Another Novel, she: A History Of Adventure, Which Does Rank With king Solomon's Mines As An Enduring Adventure Tale. In she, A Young Man Discovers That He Is The Lone Descendant Of An Ancient Egyptian Priest Who Had Been Executed For Having Loved A Princess. The Priest's Executioner, A Beautiful And Jealous Queen, Still Reigns In The Faraway City Of Kor, And So The Hero, Leo Vincey, Endeavors To Find Her. Together With An Old Friend And A Servant, Leo Undertakes The Dangerous Journey To Kor. There Leo Eventually Meets The Queen, Ayesha--also Known As She-who-must-be-obeyed--who Believes Him To Be The Reincarnation Of The Priest She Loved, And Killed, Centuries Earlier. Leo, In Turn, Is Hypnotized By Her Extraordinary Beauty And Believes Himself In Love With Her Even Though He Senses Her Evil Nature. The Novel Builds To A Climax Replete With A Pillar Of Fire And A Harrowing Escape Across A Dangerous Chasm. Where Pulp Exotica Tends To Offer Images Of Buried Treasure Found Or Ancient Powers Restored, Generic Resolutions For Artificial Problems, she Raises Real Dilemmas And Leaves Them Gapingly Unresolved, On A Note Of Unattainable Desire And Irretrievable Loss, Observed Geoffrey O'brien In The voice Literary Supplement.