H. Rider Haggard · 1885 · overland

H. Rider Haggard's 1885 adventure. Hunter Allan Quatermain leads Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good north from Durban after Sir Henry's lost brother and the fabled diamond mines of King Solomon. Across a killing desert and over the icy peaks called Sheba's Breasts they descend into the hidden kingdom of Kukuanaland - and a war for its throne that guards the way to the treasure.

1. 1
   Durban

   At the port of Durban the old elephant hunter Allan Quatermain agrees to guide Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good inland after Sir Henry's brother, who vanished seeking the legendary mines of King Solomon.

2. 2
   Sitanda's Kraal

   The party treks far up-country to the last outpost at Sitanda's Kraal, on the edge of a vast waterless desert that no traveller is known to have crossed and lived to tell of it.

3. 3
   Sheba's Breasts

   Half-dead with thirst they struggle over the burning sands to the twin snow-capped mountains called Sheba's Breasts, and freeze near their summits before finding the pass that leads down the far side.

4. 4
   Kukuanaland

   Below lies the hidden kingdom of the Kukuanas, ruled by the cruel usurper Twala. The travellers are swept into a civil war to restore the rightful king - the price of passage to the mountains beyond.

5. 5
   Solomon's Mines

   Victorious, they are led to the ancient diamond mines at last, deep in the Place of Death - where treachery seals them in a treasure chamber among the bones of kings, and only a desperate escape saves their lives.