Today we salute the life and work of one of the founding masters of modern speculative fiction, H. Rider Haggard. Though his creations remain classics in world literature, his name isn’t widely recognized among the general public. So today, May 14th, on the ninety-sixth anniversary of Haggard’s death, let’s take the opportunity to celebrate him and his legacy.

One of the most remarkable things about Haggard is his unremarkable early life, which suggested practically nothing about his creative potential. Born June 22, 1856 in Norfolk, England, he showed little promise as a young man. A poor student who failed the entrance exam for the British Foreign Office, he drifted among various occupations and eventually ended up in southern Africa, where he took an unpaid position in the British administrative office overseeing the empire’s African colonies.

Upon his return to England, Haggard wrote an account of recent events in Africa, and published two novels, all disappointments.

However, his next work, the adventure novel King Solomon’s Mines, captured the reading public’s imagination and made a fortune for himself and his publisher. The protagonist, Allan Quatermain, leads a rescue party in search of the missing brother of one of the searchers. Death and mystery stalk the men as they journey over bleak African deserts, deadly rapids, and savannahs crawling with dangerous animals. With its backstory based on King Solomon of the Old Testament, the public’s fascination with recent expeditions in Africa, and the authenticity Haggard brought to the story thanks to his knowledge of the continent, the novel set new records for book sales.

Happily, the one-time poor student who’d struggled with math turned down the publisher’s offer of 100 pounds for the rights to the book, opting instead for a 10% royalty. Well played.

Haggard’s next novel, She, was another smashing success. The protagonist, Horace Holly, is a professor at Cambridge university. He adopts Leo Vincey, the son of an old friend, upon his friend’s death. When Leo turns 25, Holly gives the young man a rusting iron chest, a gift from his long-departed father. When they unlock it, they find a remnant of ancient pottery inscribed with the fantastic tale of a magical queen ruling over a lost land hidden in a hollow mountain in Africa.

Holly, a scholar of Ancient Greek and Arabic, decides the text is authentic. He and Leo resolve to make the perilous journey to find this shadowy land and its mysterious ruler.

She brought Haggard additional renown and royalties, and is still in print. His literary career continued with a steady stream of fiction and non-fiction works, spanning the genres of adventure, science fiction, fantasy, as well as recent history.

Haggard’s groundbreaking masterpieces inspired many authors, including J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert E. Howard, whose rousing tales of ancient magic and dying civilizations also took place among lost lands and crumbling palaces. Other authors that Haggard influenced include Edgar Rice Burroughs, Arthur Conan Doyle, and H.P. Lovecraft.

Not only did H. Rider Haggard motivate many legendary authors, his career continues to inspire today’s writers. The sale of the manuscript of King Solomon’s Mines was burdened by Haggard’s rather unpromising publication history. Worse, the plot was deemed so unlike anything before it, numerous publishers turned it down, judging it too exotic and far-fetched to appeal to the public. But Haggard didn’t give up. After six months of persistent effort, Haggard found a publisher for his novel, which turned out to be the best-selling novel the year it was released.

Like the heroes of his novels, Haggard hung in there despite the odds, and succeeded. Here’s to the man who shared his daring imagination and resilience with the world.

M. C. Tuggle lives and writes in Charlotte, North Carolina. His fantasy, science fiction, and mystery short stories have appeared in several publications, including Mystery Weekly, Hexagon, and Metaphorosis. The Novel Fox released his novella Aztec Midnight in 2016. He blogs on all things literary at https://mctuggle.com/