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King Solomon's Mines

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King Solomon's Mines

By: H. Rider Haggard
Narrated by: Toby Stephens
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On board a ship bound for Natal, adventurer Allan Quatermain meets Sir Henry Curtis and Captain John Good. His new friends have set out to find Sir Henry's younger brother, who vanished while seeking King Solomon's legendary diamond mines in the African interior. By strange chance, Quatermain has a map to the mines, drawn in blood, and agrees to join the others on their perilous journey.

The travellers face many dangers on their quest - the baking desert heat, the hostile lost tribe they discover and the evil 'wise woman' who holds the secret of the diamond mines. King Solomon's Mines is an exciting adventure that has gripped generations.

It is the first English story set in Africa and is considered to be the origin of the Lost World literary genre that inspired others such as Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King and HP Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness.

Haggard wrote the novel as a result of a five-shilling wager with his brother to see whether he could write a novel half as good as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (1883). The novel ended up becoming the best seller of 1885.

Narrator Biography

Toby Stephens is an award winning actor who has an extensive array of credits over stage, film, television and audiobooks. He narrated Ian Fleming's Bond, From Russia with Love, along with Jeffery Deaver's Carte Blanche: A James Bond Novel. Throughout his stage appearances he has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company appearing in a number of their productions; Theatre Royal Haymarket, The Almeida, The Donmar Warehouse and The Old Vic.

Toby Stephens film credits include the James Bond film, Die Another Day where he plays the villain Gustav Graves, All Things To All Men, Believe, The Journey and the Oscar-nominated film 13 Hours. He is well known for his role of Captain Flint in the Starz series Black Sails, other notable television credits include, And Then There Were None, the role of Edward Fairfax Rochester in a BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre, Walking The Dead, Robin Hood and Wired. In 2018 he will appear as John Robinson in the Netflix remake of the 1965 TV Series, Lost In Space.

©1951 H. Rider Haggard (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Fiction Africa Royalty Funny Adventure British Legends

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Enjoyed immensely. Toby Stephens does a fantastic job. A great yarn. Well worth listen. Enjoy.

Great little story

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A fun and light adventure book suitable for young teens.
the cavalier attitudes of the heroes towards the nigger/kaffir "noble savages", and the trophy hunting of wild life really remind the reader of how times have changed since this was written.

a time capsule of 19th century british colonialism

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The narration is really excellent and Toby Stephens’ character voices really work - especially Gagool.
The story is still entertaining after all these years despite the diluting effect of the many books and films that copy it. The casual everyday racism is eye-opening as are the forces that are already awakening against it.

Prototype treasure hunt adventure

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Above being a first rate adventure story, this classic novel gives insight into an era that is so different to today and where personal values were the cornerstone of life

A must read classic

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I really enjoyed the story which stands the test of time, and is in the Indiana Jones style. The production is also very well done with lots of different voices by Tony Stephen’s.

Great story - Excellent performance

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