6 h 47 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 47 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
How far will one man go for his faith when his message threatens another man's power?
In The Wizard, H. Rider Haggard follows a Christian missionary into the African interior. He comes to preach, certain of his calling. Opposing him is the wizard, a priest who guards the old beliefs and fears the loss of his authority.
Between them stands a community deciding whom to trust. The chief's favour or anger may decide the stranger's fate. As argument gives way to danger, the missionary faces the cost of his convictions. This short adventure explores faith and sacrifice through a distinctly Victorian view of Africa.
What you’ll discover
- A calling under pressure Follow a sincere missionary as danger tests how much he will risk for his beliefs.
- A guardian of old beliefs Meet a priest whose spiritual role and authority face a direct challenge.
- A community between powers See the conflict through people caught between familiar ways and a stranger's message.
- Adventure with a moral edge Feel the tension as a contest of beliefs becomes a question of sacrifice.
- A Victorian lens Consider Haggard's view of faith and Africa, with an outlook shaped by his time.
Who will love it
For readers who love Victorian adventure, short fiction with a moral edge, and stories about religion under pressure, courage and sacrifice.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A missionary sets out for the interior
- An older power guards its people
- Faith is tested by danger and sacrifice
- How Haggard tells it and how to read it
Who’s who
- The missionaryA sincere Christian who travels into the African interior to preach, ready to risk everything for his calling.
- The wizardA powerful native priest who guards the old faith and fears the loss of his authority.
- The peopleThe community that must decide whom to trust, caught between the old ways and a new message.
- The chiefA ruler whose favour or anger may decide the fate of the stranger and his mission.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
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- Audiobook
- 6 h 47 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 4 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Der Zauberer in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Der Zauberer
by H. Rider Haggard · 1896
A missionary enters the African interior, where a powerful priest guards his faith and the people's loyalty is at stake.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Wizard is a short adventure tale by H. Rider Haggard, published in 1896.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A missionary sets out for the interior
The tale begins with a man driven by calling. He is a Christian missionary who believes he has been sent to carry his faith to people who have never heard it. Haggard presents him as sincere, stubborn and a little otherworldly, a person who cares more for his task than for his own safety.
The journey takes him far from the settled coast into country where European law has no hold. This is the ground Haggard knew from his own years in southern Africa, and he uses it to give the opening a sense of distance and risk. The land is wide, the roads are few, and a traveller depends on the goodwill of those he meets.
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What is The Wizard by H. Rider Haggard about?
It is a short adventure story about a Christian missionary who travels into the African interior and clashes with a native priest over faith, power and the loyalty of the people.
When was The Wizard written?
Haggard published it in 1896. It is a work of fiction, though he drew on his own years in southern Africa for its setting and atmosphere.
Is The Wizard a true story?
No, it is an invented tale. Haggard used his knowledge of southern Africa and the missionary movement of his day to give the story its setting and its conflict.
The author
H. Rider Haggard
1856–1925 · English adventure novelist
Henry Rider Haggard (1856–1925) was an English novelist. He was born in Norfolk, lived in southern Africa from 1875 to 1881, and later settled in Norfolk. He wrote King Solomon’s Mines (1885), She (1887), and Beatrice (1890). He also wrote about agriculture and rural life. He died in London.
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