She: A History of Adventure

"She" by H. Rider Haggard was first serialized in "The Graphic" from October 1886 to January 1887. The novel tells of the adventures of L. Horace Holly and Leo Vincey as they travel to the east coast of Africa to track down an ancient legend regarding Vincey's ancestry. They encounter a white queen, Ayesha, who has made herself immortal by bathing in a pillar of fire, the source of life itself. She is to be both desired and feared. She is a breathtakingly beautiful creature who will not hesitate to kill any one who displeases her or stands in her way. The travelers discover that Ayesha has been waiting for 2000 years for the reincarnation of her lover Kallikrates, whom she had slain in a fit of jealous rage. She believes that Leo Vincey is the reincarnation of Kallikrates. Henry Rider Haggard, born June 22, 1856, Bradenham, Norfolk, Eng., died May 14, 1925, London, was a Victorian writer of adventure novels set in locations considered exotic by readers in his native England.