Nada the Lily (Valancourt Classics) [Paperback]

H. Rider Haggard (Author), Gerald Monsman (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Valancourt Classics | Publication Date: October 6, 2007

Nada the Lily is the thrilling story of the brave Zulu warrior Umslopogaas and his love for the most beautiful of Zulu women, Nada the Lily. Young Umslopogaas, son of the bloodthirsty Zulu king Chaka, is forced to flee when Chaka orders his death. In the adventures that ensue, Umslopogaas is carried away by a lion and then rescued by Galazi, king of an army of ghost-wolves.

Together, Umslopogaas and Galazi fight for glory and honour and to avenge their wrongs. With their fabled weapons, an axe called Groan-Maker and the club Watcher of the Woods, the two men become legendary warriors. But even these two unstoppable heroes may finally have met their match when the Zulu king sends his army of slayers to destroy them!

Although he is more famous for his romances King Solomon's Mines (1885) and She (1887), the unjustly neglected Nada the Lily (1892) is one of H. Rider Haggard's finest achievements. Nada the Lily is a dazzling blend of adventure, romance, fantasy, and the Gothic, brilliantly weaving fiction and history into an unforgettable tale. This edition features a new introduction and notes by Haggard scholar Gerald Monsman. Also included in this edition is an appendix containing excerpts from Haggard's sources.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Valancourt Books (October 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934555177
• ISBN-13: 978-1934555170
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,648,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A DEMONSTRATION OF THE ART OF STORY TELLING, June 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Nada the Lily (Hardcover)

Almost everyone is familiar with King Solomon's Mines, She and Alan Quatermain etc but I have encountered relatively few readers of Nada the Lily. This is extraordinary since it is one of Haggard's greatest stories. Given the scenario of an adventure/love story spread out accross the South African landscape during the ruthless and absolute rule of the Zulu king Chaka, this is, as they say, a story that has everything. In this regard I have often wondered that whilst Haggard is one the most filmed if not over filmed authors, Nada the Lily has never made it to the cinema even though it reads as if it was written for the big sreen and the bigger the screen the better.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding African Victorian adventure story, August 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Nada the Lily (Hardcover)

Sadly, Rider Haggard is no longer required reading in the school system. Nevertheless, this rip-roaring action story about the early life of Umslopogas, a character more usually found in a supporting role in the novel Alan Quartermain, is probably Haggard's most poetic and free-flowing yarn. A multiplicity of interesting characters is to be found in this tale, although the central theme is the moving love story of Umslopogas and Nada (a native girl of great beauty). If you have been moved by West Side Story or Romeo and Juliet, and also enjoy a rollicking action-packed adventure saga, this book is a must for you!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Choose THIS version of currently available printings of Nada the Lily. You won't regret it!, May 3, 2010

By 

Doyle Elmo Collins (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nada the Lily (Valancourt Classics) (Paperback)

Gerald Monsman in his 2007 Valancourt Books printing of H. Rider Haggard's 1892 Nada the Lily provides notes and an insightful introduction. It also includes an appendix with excerpts from Haggard's autobiography showing that the novel's principle character, the Zulu Umslopogaas, was modeled on a real Zulu warrior of Haggard's acquaintance. Monsman is an expert in 19th century British and Anglo-African literature, so he knows what he is talking about. One striking point he makes is that there might have been an intended or unconscious connection between Haggard's loss to another man of his "true love" Lilly and the title character of this book. Indeed, his love of Lilly and what amounts to her spirit seemed to haunt and reverberate through Haggard's whole life and writing career. This is one of the three magnificent Haggard African romances that feature Umslopogaas, the other two being Allan Quatermain and She and Allan. This story is especially notable because it is entirely encompassed by the factual bloody rise and fall of Shaka (here called Chaka) and his astonishing Zulu empire. This Valancourt Books printing with Monsman's introduction is highly recommended. Some other notable reissues of Nada the Lily have been Macdonald, 1973; Newcastle's Forgotten Fantasy Library,1979; and Wildside Press, 2003).