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About this book

What does love mean to a hunter whose life is shaped by solitude, danger, and the wilderness?

In H. Rider Haggard's Allan's Wife, Allan Quatermain tells the story of his marriage to Stella. A seasoned hunter and trader, he speaks as a practical man rather than a polished hero. His account brings love and loss into a life already familiar with risk.

Around Allan and Stella lies nineteenth-century southern Africa: open veldt, rivers, mountains, and wild animals. This country shapes their choices, not just their surroundings. Far from towns and laws, their life together unfolds amid danger. Through Allan's eyes, the tale also reveals the Victorian view of Africa as a place of mystery.

What you’ll discover

  • The hunter behind the adventures Meet Allan as a husband, with more at stake than his own survival.
  • A marriage under threat Follow Allan and Stella into a shared life where love meets the dangers of the wilderness.
  • Country that shapes lives Enter a landscape of veldt, rivers, and mountains that shapes every choice.
  • A plainspoken storyteller Hear a modest, practical hunter tell his own story without a polished hero's manner.
  • A Victorian lens Explore Africa as Haggard's European narrator pictures it, through mystery, danger, and frontier adventure.

Who will love it

For readers who love adventure, tales told by a weathered narrator, and the African frontier as Victorian writers pictured it, with love, danger and loss at the heart of the story.

What’s inside

The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary

  1. Quatermain tells his own story
  2. The wilderness shapes every choice
  3. Love and loss run through the tale
  4. A Victorian view of Africa and adventure

Who’s who

  • Allan QuatermainA seasoned hunter and trader in southern Africa, honest and modest, who tells the story of his marriage.
  • StellaAllan's wife, whose life with him in the wilderness gives the tale its title and its feeling.

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5 h 43 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
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Hardcover
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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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Adventure

La esposa de Allan

by H. Rider Haggard · 1889

Allan Quatermain recalls the woman he married and the African wilderness that tests their life together.

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La esposa de Allan by H. Rider Haggard, the cover

From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 4

Quatermain tells his own story

The tale comes from Allan Quatermain himself. He is a plain, practical hunter, not a polished hero. He speaks in a slow, honest voice, and he admits his fears and his mistakes.

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What is Allan's Wife about?

It is a short adventure story told by the hunter Allan Quatermain. He recalls his marriage and the dangers of life in the African wilderness, mixing love, risk and loss.

Who wrote Allan's Wife and when?

H. Rider Haggard wrote it, and it was published in 1889. Haggard had lived in southern Africa as a young man, and that experience colours his Quatermain stories.

Is Allan's Wife part of the Allan Quatermain series?

Yes. It features Allan Quatermain, the hunter who also appears in King Solomon's Mines. Here the focus is on his personal life and his wife.

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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