In the late 19th century, discoveries of ancient civilizations, like those in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, stirred the imaginations of Europeans with regard to the largely unexplored interior of Africa. First published in 1885, H. Rider Haggard’s “King Solomon’s Mines” was one the first novels to capitalize on this fascination of the public. It is the story of adventurer Allan Quatermain, who is enlisted by the aristocratic Sir Henry Curtis and his friend Captain Good to help them find Henry’s...
