Diary of An African Journey: The Return of Rider Haggard - Hardcover

Haggard, H. Rider; Coan, Stephen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0814736319 ISBN 13: 9780814736319

Publisher: NYU Press, 2001

Synopsis

In 1914, H. Rider Haggardadventure novelist, diplomat, farmer, lawyer, and, above all, renowned author of such classic and influential bestsellers as King Solomon's Mines and Shereturned to South Africa, the country that had fired his literary imagination, for the first time in a quarter century.
Haggard, whose work is today considered a prototype of colonial literature, barely recognized the Africa of his youth. The discovery of gold, the destruction of the Zulu kingdom, and the aftermath of the Anglo-Boer war had all radically transformed the political, cultural, and often physical landscape.
No longer the diehard imperialist of his youth, when conquest and colonization were the order of the day, Haggard toured southern Africa extensively during this trip, acquiring an impression of black politics and even meeting the first president of the African National Congress, John Dube. This is the chronicle, in Haggard's own hand, of that journey.
A remarkable literary find, written by a man who helped shape Western perceptions of Africa, this hitherto unpublished manuscript presents a portrait both surprising and in some ways familiar of Africa and of a central figure in the literature of African colonialism.

About this title

About the Author

Stephen Coan is an assistant editor of The Natal Witness.

Reviews

This insightful, hitherto unpublished, memoir chronicles Victorian author Haggard's 1914 journey to South Africa and what are now Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Kenya. Best known for his influential King Solomon's Mines (1885), the 58-year-old novelist discovered that the place had changed significantly since his imperialist youth. And South Africa was no stranger to him: at 19, he had been appointed secretary to the governor of Natal; later, he became master of the high court of the Transvaal and also served during the Boer War. His diary entries reveal that he was not only sympathetic to the plight of the natives in those lands, but perhaps even prophetic: "cruelty bred of fear is no new story in South Africa. The white man neglects or oppresses the native and slights his needs until something happens; then in a panic he sets to work and butchers him." Coan, an assistant editor at the Natal Witness, has written an excellent introduction that gives a detailed overview of Haggard's life and his journeys, highlighting the trip to South Africa. Recommended for academic libraries. Lee Arnold, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0814736319
• ISBN 13: 9780814736319
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 368