5 h 43 minAudiobook3 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout 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
This is for readers who enjoy old-fashioned adventure, tales told by a weathered narrator, and the African frontier as Victorian writers pictured it.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Quatermain tells his own story
- The wilderness shapes every choice
- Love and loss run through the tale
- 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.
Formats and delivery
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- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 5 h 43 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 3 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
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Allan's Wife
by H. Rider Haggard· 1889
What does love mean to a hunter whose life is shaped by solitude, danger, and the wilderness?
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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.
This voice is the first thing to notice. Haggard uses it in other books too, and it gives the story the feel of a tale told by a fire at night. The listener is meant to trust Allan because he does not boast.
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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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