Summary
Summary of Child of Storm
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Love and ambition gather around Mameena
Allan Quatermain looks back on his younger years in southern Africa, among the Zulu people and their rulers. His tale brings together love, ambition and betrayal in a world of royal courts, witchcraft and war. At its center stands Mameena, whose name carries the sense of a child born in a storm.
She is beautiful, quick-witted and dangerous to those who love her. Chiefs, soldiers and healers move around her, while Allan watches and sometimes finds himself drawn into their affairs.
Key idea 2
Allan watches before he judges
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Key idea 3
Mameena turns desire to her advantage
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Key idea 4
Private desires become public danger
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Key idea 5
Warnings leave room for uncertain choices
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Key idea 6
A wary voice follows the storm
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love Victorian and Edwardian adventure, strong female villains, and stories set in southern Africa, with royal courts, witchcraft, love and betrayal.
What this book is
Child of Storm is an adventure novel by H. Rider Haggard, published in 1913. It is told by Allan Quatermain, the hunter and trader who is Haggard's most durable hero. Here he looks back on his younger years in southern Africa, among the Zulu people and their rulers. The book belongs to a linked group of Zulu stories by Haggard, together with Marie and Finished.
At the center is a woman called Mameena, whose Zulu name means a child born in a storm. She is beautiful, quick-witted and dangerous to those who love her. Around her move chiefs, soldiers, healers and one white man who watches and is sometimes drawn in. You get a tale of love, ambition and betrayal, set in a world of royal courts, witchcraft and war. Let us begin with the man who tells it.
In this summary
- 1An old hunter looks backFree
- 2Mameena is the storm at the center
- 3A world of chiefs, wizards and ambition
- 4Fate, desire and a changing land
Key point 1 of 4
An old hunter looks back
The story comes from Allan Quatermain himself. He is an older man writing down what he saw when he was young. Haggard uses this frame in many of his African tales, and it gives the book a plain, spoken feel. Allan does not pose as a great hero. He presents himself as a careful, practical man who has seen a good deal and survived it.
His Zulu name, Macumazahn, is used by the people he meets. It is often explained as the man who gets up in the night, or one who keeps watch. The name suits his role here. He is often an observer of events that are larger than he is, and he reports them with some dry humor.
This voice matters because the plot is full of strong passions. Allan stands a little apart from them, which lets him describe courts, quarrels and killings with a steady tone. As you listen, notice how often he says what he saw, and how often he says only what he was told.
That’s 1 of 4 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
What role does Allan often take in the events he recounts?
Right. “He is often an observer of events that are larger than he is, and he reports them with some dry humor.”Not quite. “He is often an observer of events that are larger than he is, and he reports them with some dry humor.”
How does Mameena use her understanding of the men around her?
Right. “She understands the men around her and uses that knowledge.”Not quite. “She understands the men around her and uses that knowledge.”
How are personal conflicts connected to the wider political world?
Right. “As the plot moves on, private desires become public danger.”Not quite. “As the plot moves on, private desires become public danger.”
Questions about Child of Storm
What is Child of Storm about?
It is an adventure novel told by Allan Quatermain about his youth among the Zulu. It centers on Mameena, a beautiful and ruthless woman, and on the love, ambition and danger that surround her.
Who is Allan Quatermain?
Allan Quatermain is Haggard's hunter, trader and adventurer, who appears in many of his novels. The Zulu call him Macumazahn. He often tells the story himself as an older man looking back.
Who is Mameena in Child of Storm?
Mameena is the title figure, a Zulu woman of great beauty and cunning. Her name carries the sense of a child born in a storm, which suits her effect on the people near her.
Is Child of Storm a true story?
No, it is fiction. Haggard published it in 1913, and it is set in the Zulu country of the nineteenth century. He mixed invented characters with a setting drawn from his own knowledge of southern Africa.
Is Child of Storm part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to a group of Zulu stories by Haggard that includes Marie and Finished, all told by Allan Quatermain. Each can be read with its own interest, though they share a world.
