Swallow: A Tale of the Great Trek

Extended Description and Notes

Beautiful copy of this scarce book Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856-1925), author of "King Solomon's Mines", combines romance and exotic adventure in this novel of the Voortrekkers of 1836: Swallow is a Dutch girl raised in South Africa among the Kaffirs. Lonely, she gazes from shore over the waves of a storm-tossed sea, and dreams of a brother entering her life . . . and soon finds herself face-to-face with a shipwrecked waif cast ashore by the storm. Swallow grows to love the English boy Ralph Kenzie. He returns her love -- but must face the murderous Swart Piet, who is intent on taking Swallow for himself -- and equally set on bringing war to the region. Torn from Ralph's side, Swallow faces adventures of her own alongside Sihamba, the Kaffir witch-doctoress. Sir Henry Rider Haggard KBE (1856-1925) was a Victorian writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations. After failing his army entrance exam he was sent to a private 'crammer' in London to prepare for the entrance exam for the British Foreign Office, for which he never sat. Haggard's father sent him to Africa in an unpaid position as assistant to the secretary to Lieutenant-Governor of Natal Sir Henry Bulwer. Heavily influenced by the larger-than-life adventurers he met in Colonial Africa, the great mineral wealth discovered in Africa, and the ruins of ancient lost civilizations in Africa such as Great Zimbabwe, Haggard created his Allan Quatermain adventures. Haggard also wrote about agricultural and social issues reform, in part inspired by his experiences in Africa, but also based on what he saw in Europe. Haggard is most famous as the author of the best-selling novel King Solomon's Mines (1885). A few of his other well-known works are She (1887), Allan Quatermain (1888), Eric Brighteyes (1891) and Ayesha (1895).

Bookseller

River House Books (US)

Bookseller's Inventory #

4

Title

Swallow

Author

H. Rider Haggard

Format/Binding

Hardcover Cloth

Book Condition

Used - Very Good

Jacket Condition

No Jacket

Quantity Available

1

Edition

First

Binding

Hardcover

Publisher

Longmans, Green, And Co.

Date Published

1899

Weight

0.00 lbs

Keywords

HAGGARD, FIRST EDITION

Bookseller catalogs

Rare Books; Novel; First Editions;

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Shelf Wear

Shelf wear (shelfwear) describes damage caused over time to a book by placing and removing a book from a shelf. This damage is...

Jacket

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Edges

The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...

Gilt

The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...

Bookplate

Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...

Beveled

Beveled edges, or beveled boards, describe a technique of binding in which the edges of book boards have been cut into slanted...

Spine

The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....

Cloth

"Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...