Diary of an African Journey: The Return of H.Rider Haggard

Haggard, H. Rider

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1850654689 ISBN 13: 9781850654681

Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, 2001

This is a diary of Sir Henry Rider Haggard's tour of South Africa in 1914. It captures his feelings and perceptions on the change of Southern Africa, and of himself, since his departure in 1881. In 1914, Sir Henry Rider Haggard, returned to South Africa. He had left in 1881, in his mid-twenties, an unknown, he returned a houshold name, after the success of his novels, such as "King Solomon's Mines" and "She". Touring the country as a member of the Dominions Royal Commission, Haggard found it hard to recognise the South Africa of his youth; war and politics had left their mark. Haggard had also changed, he considered himself a "man of affairs" rather than as a novelist. This account of his journey through Southern Africa shows his feelings and views on the changes he encountered and shows his thoughts on the plight of the Zulus and his meeting with John Dube, the first president of the African National Congress.

Review:

'Anyone who is interested in South African history or the British Empire at its zenith will be intrigued by Haggard's descriptions of the country and its leaders shortly after the end of the Boer War. [A...] Haggard's diary is a collection of fading sepia images of another time and another world, full of interesting notes and appendices.' -F.W. de Klerk, The Times, August 2001

About the Author:

Sir Henry Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines was one of the inspirational texts of the British Empire in the late Victorian era, the publication of which inaugurated the cult of the bestseller and launched the genre of adventure-imperialism. Haggard followed this with She (1887) and Allan Quatermain (1887). Stephen Coan is an assistant editor of the Natal Witness.