Summary
Summary of King Solomon's Mines
Key ideas
Key idea 1
A cautious hunter accepts a quest
Allan Quatermain is an elephant hunter in southern Africa, not a man who thinks of himself as a hero. Two Englishmen ask him to guide them into unmapped country, looking for a missing brother and a mountain said to hold an ancient king's diamonds. Their request turns a rumor into a possible journey.
His cautious, practical voice grounds the adventure. A map, a desert, snowy mountains and a hidden kingdom promise danger, but the man telling the tale never pretends that courage means having no doubts.
Key idea 2
A bloodstained map makes danger personal
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Key idea 3
The desert tests trust and character
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Key idea 4
The mountains reveal a hidden land
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Key idea 5
A welcome carries an uneasy warning
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Key idea 6
The court exposes rule by fear
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Key idea 7
Honor matters more than promised riches
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Key idea 8
A plain voice grounds extraordinary events
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Key idea 9
Adventure leaves room for moral judgment
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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 enjoy a fast quest with maps, deserts and lost kingdoms, and anyone curious about where the adventure genre began.
What this book is
King Solomon's Mines is an adventure novel by H. Rider Haggard, published in 1885. It is told by Allan Quatermain, an elephant hunter in southern Africa who sets down the account of a journey that changed his life. Haggard was a young Englishman who had lived in Natal and the Transvaal, and he wrote the book quickly, partly to prove that he could write a tale as exciting as the ones he admired. It became one of the first popular novels of lost worlds and hidden treasure.
The story begins with a promise. Quatermain is asked to guide two Englishmen into unmapped country to search for a missing brother and for a mountain said to hold the diamonds of the ancient king. He is cautious, practical and a little tired. He does not think of himself as a hero, and that plain voice is much of the book's charm.
You get a quest with a map, a desert, a snowy pass, a hidden kingdom and a cruel king. You also get a picture of how a Victorian writer saw Africa, which is worth watching with a clear eye. Let us begin with the man who tells the tale, and with the visitors who come to him in Natal.
In this summary
- 1A hunter agrees to guide strangersFree
- 2A map drawn in blood
- 3Supplies, servants and a tall stranger
- 4Crossing the desert with too little water
- 5Sheba's Breasts and the road of kings
- 6The Kukuanas receive the white men
- 7Twala, Scragga and the witch hunter Gagool
- 8What the story is really about
- 9How Haggard tells the tale
Key point 1 of 9
A hunter agrees to guide strangers
Allan Quatermain opens the book in Natal, where he has spent many years hunting elephants and trading. He tells us he is writing partly for a practical reason. His son Harry is studying medicine in London, and the money from this venture may help the young man. Quatermain is not a boaster. He calls himself a timid man who has simply survived a great many dangers.
He explains how he first heard of the mines. Years before, he had been told stories of a land far to the north, beyond a desert and a mountain range, where King Solomon was said to have found his wealth. Hunters and traders passed the tale along, and most of them laughed at it. Quatermain had never met anyone who had seen the place, and he did not expect to.
Then, on a ship from the Cape to Durban, he meets two fellow passengers. One is Sir Henry Curtis, a huge, bearded Englishman with great strength and a calm manner. The other is Captain John Good of the Royal Navy, a neat, cheerful man who wears a monocle and is very particular about his appearance. Quatermain studies them as a hunter studies strangers, and he decides he likes them.
Curtis takes him aside and asks a strange question. Did Quatermain once meet a man named Neville in the far interior, and did that man speak of a journey north? Quatermain says that he did. Neville had been heading for the lands beyond the known map, and Quatermain had warned him against going.
Neville is really Curtis's younger brother, who left England after a quarrel and has not been heard from since. Curtis is determined to find him. Quatermain sees at once what the question means. If he agrees to help, he will be walking toward the very land he has always called a fable, and the book's real adventure begins to move.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
Why is Curtis determined to make the journey?
Right. “Curtis begins the trip to find his brother, and that family bond is the reason for the whole expedition.”Not quite. “Curtis begins the trip to find his brother, and that family bond is the reason for the whole expedition.”
What does finding water in the desert suggest about Silvestra's map?
Right. “It also proves that the old map can be trusted, at least in part.”Not quite. “It also proves that the old map can be trusted, at least in part.”
What does Twala's reign reveal about power?
Right. “Twala's reign shows what happens when a ruler uses fear and superstition to control a people.”Not quite. “Twala's reign shows what happens when a ruler uses fear and superstition to control a people.”
Who’s who
- Allan Quatermain
- An experienced elephant hunter and narrator, he guides Curtis and Good partly to provide for his son Harry.
- Sir Henry Curtis
- A strong, steady Englishman, he recruits Quatermain to help search for his missing brother.
- Captain John Good
- A cheerful naval officer and Curtis's companion, he joins Quatermain's expedition with his monocle and carefully maintained comforts.
- Umbopa
- A tall Zulu who joins the travelers as a servant, he carries himself with unusual authority.
- Infadoos
- A courteous Kukuana nobleman, he welcomes the strangers while harboring doubts about the king he serves.
- Twala
- The one-eyed king of the Kukuanas, he rules through fear and regards Quatermain's party with suspicion.
- Gagool
- An ancient witch-finder at Twala's court, she exercises terrifying power over his subjects.
- Scragga
- Twala's cruel son, he shares his father's appetite for power and contempt for those beneath him.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 83,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 5 h 35 min
- Listening time9 h 15 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages
