She Came, She Saw, She Conquered

The Scramble for Africa may have negative connotations, but Henry Rider Haggard saw it as his opportunity to seek adventure. It wasn't hard to find one, and many were certain that the native of Brandenham studied the Great Zimbabwe. It was one of the numerous ruins found in Africa. It may be older than the Great Pyramid of Giza.

"She: A History of Adventure", which was first serialized in The Graphic Magazine, would allude to the 19th century. The perils of British Imperialism. The inferiority of the black people. The theory of evolution. It was Haggard's most popular work, but some wondered if there was more to the story. The author lived in South Africa, where he heard tales of lost cities in dense jungles. It wasn't a surprise that many of his works were set in that continent.

Déjà vu

Amenartes, an ancient Egyptian priestess, and Kallikrates, an ancient Greek, fled Egypt two thousand years ago. They thought Africa's interior could be their refuge, but they met Ayesha. She was a sorceress from the Arab peninsula, who was told of the Spirit of Life. Whoever bathed in it would attain immortality. Ayesha fell for Kallikrates, but the Greek sworn his devotion to Amenartes. The sorceress was enraged. She killed Kallikrates, but not Amenartes (She was protected by Se and the other Egyptian deities.) The priestess cursed Ayesha and fled the interior. Her son (with Kallikrates) was born.

Horace Holly, a young academician from Cambridge, was musing his solitary existence when Vincey, his only friend, came to his place unexpectedly. He was dying. Vincey asked Holly to look after his infant son. He also left him a locked iron box, which should be opened when his son would be twenty five years of age.

Leo Vincey turned out to be a handsome Englishman. And the iron box revealed details of Amenartes and her descendants. (They managed to find their way to Europe.) It would lead Holly and Leo to Africa's interior. They set foot on Kôr, which predated Ancient Egypt. And Ayesha was alive. She was hoping for the return of Kallikrates, and Leo turned out to be his spitting image.

Call it what you want

The ruins of Kôr were located on what used to be a caldera. The inhabitants drained the water, which flowed into the verdant plain below it. A marsh was formed, which surrounded the ancient city. The citizens of Kôr built canals, which kept the lakebed dry. It was a perfect location. They were blessed with fine weather. But a famine wiped out the populace. The Amahagger people, whom Ayesha called the savage descendants of the people of Kôr, treated their womenfolk like first-class citizens. Holly was a misogynist, but Ayesha was something else. In fact, the academician was terrified when she wanted to see London.

Haggard thought of Circe. Ayesha could be (the Mitochondrial) Eve. She was lovelier than Aphrodite. (Holly did fell for her.) She might be the New Woman, the kind of woman (in Victorian society) that would inspire feminism. The author wasn't rewriting religion, though.

Haggard's description of Kôr would point to the Great Rift Valley, where Africa's active volcanoes could be found. And he wasn't the only one who believed in the existence of a lost city in that area. (Michael Crichton's "Congo" saw his characters finding the Lost City of Zinj, which was near the base of an active volcano.) Any proof of its existence could change history. In the case of Kôr, the statue of Truth would suggest that they were the first to know the Earth to be a sphere.

Haggard would imagine a lost city. And another one (and so on). It was a dangerous path, and only the lucky ones lived to tell the tale.