King Solomon's Mines

'King Solomon's Mines' is the narrative of Allan Quatermain, elephant hunter and explorer, and his adventures in the company of Danish man of action Sir Henry Curtis and Royal Navy officer Captain Good. Sir Henry Curtis hires Quatermain to use his knowledge of Africa and his skills as a hunter to lead an expedition in search of Sir Henry's lost brother, George Neville. George vanished while seeking the long-lost diamond mines of King Solomon in an unexplored part of Africa. The possibility of riches, along with a stipulation that Sir Henry will provide for Quatermain's medical student son should he meet his end, persuades Quatermain to take the job. It is a popular novel by the Victorian adventure writer and fabulist, Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a quest into an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain in search of the missing brother of one of the party. It is significant as the first English fictional adventure novel set in Africa, and is considered the genesis of the Lost World literary genre.