She: A History of Adventure

She: A History of Adventure
	Cover of the first edition (1887)
Author	H. Rider Haggard
Illustrator	E. K. Johnson (Graphic); Maurice Greiffenhagen & C. H. M. Kerr (1888 ed)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Ayesha series
Genre	Fantasy, adventure, romance, Gothic
Set in	Cambridge and East Africa (Zanzibar), 1860s–80s
Publisher	Longmans
Publication date	1887
Media type	Print (serial, hardback, paperback)
Pages	317 (1887 hardback)
Dewey Decimal	823.8
LC Class	PR4731 .S6
Preceded by	King Solomon's Mines
Followed by	The Ancient Allan
Text	She: A History of Adventure at Wikisource

She, subtitled A History of Adventure, is a novel by the English writer Sir H. Rider Haggard, published in book form in 1887 following serialisation in The Graphic magazine between October 1886 and January 1887. She was extraordinarily popular upon its release and has never been out of print.

The story is a first-person narrative which follows the journey of Horace Holly and his ward Leo Vincey to a lost kingdom in the African interior. They encounter a native people and a mysterious white queen named Ayesha who reigns as the all-powerful "She" or "She-who-must-be-obeyed". Haggard developed many of the conventions of the lost world genre which countless authors have emulated.^[1]

Haggard was "part of the literary reaction against domestic realism that has been called a romance revival."^[2] Other writers following this trend were Robert Louis Stevenson, George MacDonald, and William Morris.^[2] Haggard was inspired by his experiences living in South Africa for seven years (1875–1882) working at the highest levels of the British colonial administration. In the figure of She, the novel notably explored themes of female authority and feminine behaviour. Its representation of womanhood has received both praise and criticism.^[3]

^ Carter, Lin, ed. (1976). Realms of Wizardry. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co. p. 64.
^ ^a ^b "Sir H. Rider Haggard, British author". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
^ Murphy, Patricia (1 November 1999). "The Gendering of History in She". SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900. 39 (4): 747–72. doi:10.1353/sel.1999.0036. ISSN 1522-9270. PMID 20169694. S2CID 36100703.

[1] Carter, Lin, ed. (1976). Realms of Wizardry. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co. p. 64.

[:0-2] "Sir H. Rider Haggard, British author". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 15 March 2020.

[3] Murphy, Patricia (1 November 1999). "The Gendering of History in She". SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900. 39 (4): 747–72. doi:10.1353/sel.1999.0036. ISSN 1522-9270. PMID 20169694. S2CID 36100703.

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