Historical Adventures

The third volume of a great historical fiction series There are few who have heard of H. Rider Haggard's novels who do not know his principal character-Allan Quatermain-the archetypal white man in Africa. Here was a hero who would take on a Zulu Impi, a charging rhinoceros, a giant gorilla God, a lost tribe, slavers, a magical eternal queen, malign spirits and still come back for more-bringing a host of readers with him. In short, Haggard knew what it took to write a good adventure which is why some of his books have been among the most popular in modern times. Haggard was a prolific author: aside from the Quatermain stories, he produced a sequence of novels concerning the ancient world, four featuring his other great character, Ayesha-'She who must be obeyed'-and a collection of adventure novels taking Africa as their stage but without the presence of Quatermain. All are excellent. In Haggard's lifetime his public eagerly awaited his next book, but today, while many are aware of his reputation, that knowledge often applies to but a small proportion of the reading enjoyment his books have to offer. Fortunately Leonaur now publish most of these works in matching sets at great value by combining two or more novels in each volume. Now Leonaur is pleased to offer Haggard's historical adventure series. Predictably Haggard's inventive pen was able to create several more lead characters of the stamp of Quatermain and they populate many of the ages of history with gripping adventures set against momentous events in many lands. Haggard fans are sure to be pleased with the first novel-the fifth in the series-in this the penultimate volume in this special Leonaur collection of his historical fiction. Once again he has deftly combined fact with his fertile imagination and created a story of high adventure in which its hero-hunting the Spanish murderer of his mother-is drawn towards Mexico in the early sixteenth century to join the ranks of the exotic Empire of the Aztecs. There he will meet his destiny and assist them in their battles against the Spanish invaders. In The Lady of Blossholme, the second tale in this volume, England is a troubled land. It is the time of Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell and the dissolution of the monasteries. This adventure is set against the events of 'The Pilgrimage of Grace' a gently named term for an armed rebellion against the Crown which ended for many upon the executioner's scaffold. Available in soft cover and hard cover with dust jacket.