What do you think?
Rate this book
Adventure Novels: Five Classics
Five adventure novels from the period 1885-1924 in one volume, from the swashbuckling "The Prisoner of Zenda" to the science fiction classic "The Lost World". This book includes an introduction, bibliography and filmography by George MacDonald Fraser, historian and author of the Flashman novels.
Includes: King Solomon's Mines/The Prisoner of Zenda/Under the Red Robe/The Lost World/Beau Geste
Includes: King Solomon's Mines/The Prisoner of Zenda/Under the Red Robe/The Lost World/Beau Geste
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
1 person is currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
H. Rider Haggard
1,583 books1,097 followersSir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and the creator of the Lost World literary genre. His stories, situated at the lighter end of the scale of Victorian literature, continue to be popular and influential. He was also involved in agricultural reform and improvement in the British Empire.
His breakout novel was King Solomon's Mines (1885), which was to be the first in a series telling of the multitudinous adventures of its protagonist, Allan Quatermain.
Haggard was made a Knight Bachelor in 1912 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1919. He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Conservative candidate for the Eastern division of Norfolk in 1895. The locality of Rider, British Columbia, was named in his memory.
His breakout novel was King Solomon's Mines (1885), which was to be the first in a series telling of the multitudinous adventures of its protagonist, Allan Quatermain.
Haggard was made a Knight Bachelor in 1912 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1919. He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Conservative candidate for the Eastern division of Norfolk in 1895. The locality of Rider, British Columbia, was named in his memory.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 23, 2021
(This review is just for “Beau Geste,” although I have read two of the other stories in this collection at an earlier time.)
Wow.
What an ending.
I started to read this story several years ago but could not get into it.
The odd thing is, I’ve seen the movie a couple of times and I’ve listened to some radio drama versions of the story, but I never seem to make it through to the end without falling asleep ... at least I certainly can’t remember the ending - which is a good thing, given how this story turned out.
It’s an adventure novel, but it could easily be classified as a mystery - because there is a mystery from the very beginning, then another mystery added in partway through... and both mysteries, which intertwine, are resolved one about 100 pages to go, the other at the very end.
It’s complex, in that it’s told from different viewpoints. The first part of the book is told told by a third person omniscient narrator; the vast majority of the book after that is told in first person by John Geste, the youngest of three brothers who all run off to join the French foreign Legion in North Africa. At the heart of this story, the main incident that drives it, is the theft of a precious stone known as the Blue Water by an unknown thief who appears to be a member of the family.
I won’t say much more than that because I don’t want to give anything away, but it certainly is a rousing tale of adventure, as well as a very well constructed mystery.
Wow.
What an ending.
I started to read this story several years ago but could not get into it.
The odd thing is, I’ve seen the movie a couple of times and I’ve listened to some radio drama versions of the story, but I never seem to make it through to the end without falling asleep ... at least I certainly can’t remember the ending - which is a good thing, given how this story turned out.
It’s an adventure novel, but it could easily be classified as a mystery - because there is a mystery from the very beginning, then another mystery added in partway through... and both mysteries, which intertwine, are resolved one about 100 pages to go, the other at the very end.
It’s complex, in that it’s told from different viewpoints. The first part of the book is told told by a third person omniscient narrator; the vast majority of the book after that is told in first person by John Geste, the youngest of three brothers who all run off to join the French foreign Legion in North Africa. At the heart of this story, the main incident that drives it, is the theft of a precious stone known as the Blue Water by an unknown thief who appears to be a member of the family.
I won’t say much more than that because I don’t want to give anything away, but it certainly is a rousing tale of adventure, as well as a very well constructed mystery.
Displaying 1 of 1 review