Smith and the Pharaohs and Other Tales [Hardcover]

H. Rider Haggard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2003

This short story collection includes: "Smith and the Pharaohs," "Magepa the Buck," "The Blue Curtains," "Little Flower," "Only a Dream," and "Barbara Who Came Back."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: Wildside Press (August 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592241697
• ISBN-13: 978-1592241699
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,285,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A FINE COLLECTION OF HAGGARD'S SHORTER WORKS, June 6, 2005

By 

s.ferber (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smith and the Pharaohs and Other Tales (Hardcover)

Although H. Rider Haggard wrote a total of 58 books of fiction during his four decades as a writer, only two of those titles consist of short stories: "Allan's Wife" (1889), which includes that novella and three short tales, and "Smith and the Pharaohs" (1920). This latter volume consists of six brief stories, and is thus a practically unique demonstration of this master storyteller's way with the shorter form. Four of these stories take place in Africa, the setting of so many of Haggard's novels, and all are eminently readable and of interest. The collection kicks off with the title tale, and concerns a budding Egyptologist who is locked up one night in the Cairo Museum, and dreams that he is put on trial for grave robbing by the ghosts of Egypt's pharaohs and queens. Or is it a dream? This is a very amusing, somewhat lighthearted, at times eerie tale, which also serves as a bit of a history lesson for those not up on their ancient lore. While perhaps not on a par with Algernon Blackwood's story "A Descent Into Egypt," it remains most entertaining. (Haggard does make a rare goof in this tale, when he writes that Thotmes III was Hatshepu's brother and husband; in actuality, he was her son. Thotmes II was her husband. I know, I know...who cares, right?) Next up is a tale for all fans of Haggard's arguably greatest creation, the hunter Allan Quatermain. Haggard wrote 14 novels dealing with Quatermain, plus those aforementioned three short tales. This volume's "Magepa the Buck" was the only bit of Quatermain that I'd not previously read, so it was of great interest to me indeed. Here, Allan tells us the story of the greatest instance of bravery that he ever came across during his long career; the tale of Magepa, a Zulu man, and the great sacrifice that he makes for his grandson. It's an exciting little story, well told and moving. "The Blue Curtains" tells the tale of a British army captain who is stationed in South Africa, and the love affair that he has with an undeserving woman back home in London. This tale builds to a surprisingly tragic conclusion. Next up is my favorite story of the bunch, "Little Flower," in which an English missionary and his family live with a Zulu tribe in the hopes of spreading the Good Word. But our small-minded missionary meets his match in the local witch doctor, Menzi, a wonder-worker whose magics are apparently real. This battle of wills is very well paced by the author, and features some exciting set pieces (those magic demonstrations, that stormy finale). A neat touch in this story is the reference to Zikali, the Zulu witch doctor who figured so prominently in many of the Quatermain books. In "Only a Dream," Haggard seems to pay tribute to Edgar Allan Poe himself; at least, this short-short is the closest thing to a Poe-like tale of terror that I believe the author ever attempted. Here we meet a man who is seemingly haunted by the spirit of his deceased wife on the eve of his wedding to wife #2. This tale gets a bit gruesome but, short as it is, never really attains to any prolonged shudders. It's fun while it lasts, though. The collection winds up with "Barbara Who Came Back," a love tale of sorts in which Haggard gets to revisit some of his favorite themes: eternal love (i.e., love that survives beyond the grave) and reincarnation. We also get to see, in this story, what the author's conception of the afterlife is, and truth to tell, it really doesn't sound half bad! This is also a tale of a mother making a beyond-ultimate sacrifice for her child, and the conclusion of the story will certainly provide some food for thought; a nice ending to a fine collection of Haggard's shorter works. I've never read a novel by this man that I haven't enjoyed, and now I can say the same for his shorter pieces, as well. This is a book well worth your time and attention. And thanks to the folks at Wildside Press--who have brought this and some three dozen other Haggard titles back into publication in no-frills but somewhat overpriced editions--you don't have to spend major bucks to enjoy this comparatively obscure collection.