KING SOLOMON

The most precious diamond

King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard

King Solomon's Mines is an engaging adventure novel that was written by Haggard because he bet five-shillings to his brother that he could write a book half as good as Stevenson's Treasure Island. This was not an easily attainable challenge, as it was one of the most popular novels at that time.

Regarding structure the novel is similar to the other contemporary adventure novels, because Haggard did not make any innovation and followed the standard form. First of all, there is an introduction in which the protagonist and narrator of the novel, the hunter Allan Quatermain, presents the other characters, together with the context and the different purposes of the expedition they aimed to make. After that, the characters do not only experience many astonishing adventures, such as fighting in a civil war, but they also encounter numerous difficulties like hunger, thirst and deaths. Nevertheless, they finally manage to arrive to their destination, that is, to King Salomon’s Mines where they find the diamonds, the objectives of the characters are fulfilled and they return triumphant to their homes.

It is Haggard’s creativity and the way the book is written that made this novel successful. As far as the former, King Solomon’s Mines is the first English adventure novel that is set in Africa, mixing real places like South Africa with fictitious places like Kukuanaland. Due to the creation of this new land that is discovered by the characters, it is considered to be the first lost-world narrative.

Besides, in spite of being a truthful adventure novel, some marvelously imaginative inventions can be found, for instance the character Gagool and the Place of Death. Apart from that, there is a complete change in the role of a character, which can be foreseen thanks to the numerous hints the narrator gives when telling the story. However, it is not very clear until that turning point comes and this make the story more engaging.

As for the writing style, King Solomon’s Mines is an exception for the popular believe that a book has to be written carefully in order to be excellent. According to Haggard, the secret to write a great novel is to finish it without almost stopping, that is why he wrote it in only six weeks. For this reason, the way it is written is not the best, but, instead of considering this a flaw, it may be considered a strong point because the narrator, which is a hunter that tells a story that occurred to him in first person, has more experience with rifles than with pens, so this spontaneous writing style makes it more believable and authentic.

In addition to this, every little thing, from landscapes to firearms, is described in great detail with interesting and convincing details; however, these descriptions could be considered a drawback by some readers, since they slow down the pace of the narration.

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