King Solomon’s Mines
About this audiobook
A bold elephant hunter journeys to an unknown land in search of fabled lost treasure. But terrible dangers threaten anyone who approaches the wonderful diamond mines of King Solomon.
On board a ship bound for Natal, adventurer Allan Quatermain meets Sir Henry Curtis and Captain John Good. His new friends have set out to find Sir Henry’s younger brother, who vanished while seeking King Solomon’s legendary diamond mines in the African interior. By strange chance, Quatermain has a map to the mines, drawn in blood, and agrees to join the others on their perilous journey. The travelers face many dangers on their quest—the baking desert heat, freezing mountains, the hostile lost tribe they discover, and the evil “wise woman” who holds the secret of the diamond mines.
King Solomon’s Mines is a brilliant work of adventure romance that has gripped readers for generations. This novel is an enduring favorite that is filled with qualities close to the human heart: the spirit of adventure and discovery, the desire for immortality, primal terror, and the search for the primitive. Few knew the Dark Continent as Haggard did; his experience of savage life and wild lands lends a visceral credibility that makes us believe the impossible. Yet beyond all this lies a feeling for the supernatural. Adventure alone was not enough for Haggard: “The thing must have a heart.”
About the author
Henry Rider Haggard was a prolific English writer whose works are full of action in colorful locations where his protagonists often find exotic, hidden societies and encounter numerous dangers and characters with strange powers. His best-known work is the romantic adventure tale King Solomon's Mines, which was inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. During his lifetime, Haggard wrote over forty books, many of which have been made into films, including the historical novel Cleopatra. Haggard was born in Norfolk, England, in 1856. He was the eighth son of a country squire and an amateur writer. Although his father considered him the family dunce, he was educated in private schools. In 1875, Haggard served as secretary to the governor of the Natal colony. He later joined the staff of the special commissioner and became master and registrar of the High Court in Transvaal. Like his friend Rudyard Kipling, Haggard was sympathetic to the British colonial policy but also saw the dangers of European intrusion. While in Africa, Haggard had an affair with an African woman and became fascinated with the Zulu culture. This inspired many novels, including his Zulu trilogy: Marie, Child of Storm, and Finished. Haggard returned to England, married a Norfolk heiress, and moved to his ostrich farm in Transvaal. However, when Transvaal was ceded to the Dutch, Haggard and his wife were forced back to England. Haggard studied law and was admitted to the bar, but he hardly practiced law. Instead, he devoted himself to writing. Between 1912 and 1917, he traveled extensively as a member of the Dominions Royal Commission. Haggard was an expert on agricultural and social conditions in England and on colonial migration. In 1912, he was knighted for his government services and was later appointed knight commander of the British Empire. Haggard died in London on May 14, 1925.
Stefan Rudnicki is a Grammy-winning audiobook producer and an award-winning narrator who has won several Audie Awards and been named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices. Stefan’s early singing career included choral and solo concerts at Carnegie Hall, Judson Hall, and Lincoln Center.
