H. Rider Haggard burst upon the literary scene in the late nineteenth century with novels like King Solomon’s Mines and She. He essentially created the ‘exotic adventure’ macro-genre, influencing the creators of Tarzan, Conan, James Bond and Indiana Jones. Over a hundred years after his death, Haggard’s books are still in print, biographies are being published and documentaries are being made about his creations.

H. Rider Haggard’s essay, “On Fiction”, was written in response to literary attacks by “The Dean of American Letters”, William Dean Howells. In the essay, Haggard makes one of the first great arguments for the inherent worth of adventure/fantasy fiction. It remains an early landmark in the field of literary criticism, penned by a titan just coming into his full strength.