Eerie and compelling (She - H. Rider Haggard)

Member Name: rose_haire

Product:	She - H. Rider Haggard
Date:	06/12/00 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fascinating storyline

Disadvantages: somewhat unbelievable plot twists, archaic style

I've already reviewed "Allan Quatermain" by Rider Haggard, so I thought I would continue the tradition!

She is an African adventure story. A Cambridge Don, Lawrence Holly and his ward, Leo Vincey, travel into the heart of Africa where they find a seemingly immortal white queen ruling a tribe of cannibals. The plot is gripping, like "Allan Quatermain".

The story is truly eerie. The Amahaggar people live in caves hollowed out of mountains by a prehistoric race who also possessed skills akin to Egyptian mummification techniques. However these mysterious techniques are much more effective than the Egyptians' and result in bodies being perfectly appeared; people dead for thousands of years appear to be merely sleeping.

The book concludes with a journey into the centre of a mountain, across a ravine in the heart of the earth. Ayesha, the queen, promises eternal life to Leo who becomes her lover; the ending is a true shock which I won't spoil for you.

Like "Allan Quatermain", this story reveals a lot about Victorian preoccupations with recent scientific theories. Darwin's "Origin Of Species" has a clear influence on the novel. Orientalism was a major interest of the Victorian era and this is displayed in the Egyptian-influenced parts of the book.

This was Haggard's best-selling work in Victorian times and deserves to be equally popular now.

Summary: