King Solomon's Mines
King Solomon's Mines, first published1885, wasbest-selling novel byVictorian adventure writerfabulist, H. Rider Haggard. It relatesjourney intoheartAfrica bygroupadventurerssearch oflegendary wealth saidbe concealed inmines ofnovel's title. The novelsaid have been written asresult ofwager, that he could not writenovel as good as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.The novel was written largely fromfirst person subjective perspective asjournalled account ofadventure. This goes rather againstgeneral grainmidlater Victorian fiction which had adoptedposition ofthird-person omniscient perspective favoured by influential writers such as Charles Dickens, Wilkie CollinsAnthony Trollope.
The "King Solomon" ofbook's title wascoursebiblical king renowned bothhis wisdomfor his wealth. A numbersites have been identified as beinglocation ofminesSolomon, includingworkings at Timna near Eilat, Israel.
A film was made ofbook1950 which wonAcademy AwardBest Picture,an article aboutmay be found here. There wasremake1985 starring Richard ChamberlainSharon Stone.
The character Allan Quatermain from this (and other) novels by Haggard was placed by science fiction writer Philip José Farmer asmember of"Wold Newton family". The character was also used bygraphic novelist Alan Moorehis series The LeagueExtraordinary Gentlemen.
The book should not be confusedBarbara Vine's novel King Solomon's Carpet.
