King Solomon's Mines

The elephant hunter Allan Quatermain is hired by Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good to find Sir Henry's brother, who vanished while searching for the legendary diamond mines of King Solomon. With an old map drawn in blood, they cross a desert and mountains into a hidden kingdom ruled by a cruel king and an ancient witch, and their servant Umbopa turns out to be more than he seems.

H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925), who had worked as a young colonial official in southern Africa, wrote the novel in 1885 after betting his brother he could write a book as exciting as Treasure Island. It created the lost-world adventure, though its colonial outlook belongs to its time. Haggard's She is equally famous.