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Editor's Statement

Dr. Therne

Drthernecolliercover

Smallpox decimates a small English town in H. Rider Haggard's tragic propagandistic novel Dr. Therne. In fact, the novelist cites DT as “my only novel with a purpose" because it "deals with the matter of the Anti-Vaccination craze—not, it may be thought, a very promising topic for romance. I was led to treat of it, however, by the dreadful things I had seen and knew of the ravages of smallpox in Mexico and elsewhere, and the fear, not yet realised, that they should repeat themselves in this country” (Haggard II: 139-140). Haggard dedicated DT to the Jenner Society, founded in 1897 and named in honor of vaccination’s discoverer, Dr. Edward Jenner (1749-1823). On 17 December 1898 the medical periodical The Lancet reviewed DT, labelling it a “grim story … intended to stimulate the unintelligent and to enlighten the uneducated parents who are ready to gamble with the lives of their children and neighbours by taking advantage of the ‘conscientious objection’ clause of the new Vaccination Act” (1640).

DT was first published by Longmans, Green and Co., London, on 28 November 1898. 10,000 copies printed. Longmans, Green, and Co., New York, published the 1st US edition the same year. In 1899 Tauchnitz of Leipzig published a copyright edition. The periodical The Dawn of the Day ran a serial of DT from January 1900 to December 1900 that was accompanied by 36 illustrations (three per monthly issue) by W. S. Stacey. George Newnes, London, published an edition in 1903 titled Doctor Therne, Anti-Vaccinist. 200,000 copies issued. P. F. Collier & Son, New York, published a volume combining DT with Haggard’s Mr. Meeson’s Will (1888), which included a frontispiece for DT illustrated by T. D. Art Walker.

Further Reading


Haggard, H. Rider. The Days of My Life, An Autobiography. 2 Vols. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1926.


Pocock, Tom. Rider Haggard and the Lost Empire. London: Weidenfeld and Nicoloson, 1993. 109.


"Review and Notices of Books: Dr. Therne." The Lancet (17 Dec. 1898): 1640-41. Google Books. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.


Whatmore, D.E.. H Rider Haggard: A Bibliography. Westport, CT: Meckler Publishing Co., 1987. F21, 33-35.



Editions of Dr. Therne

Aninspectordd73
Dawn of the Day, no. 268. London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, April 1900.
Hesawdd169
Dawn of the Day, no. 272. London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, August 1900.
Facetodd265
Dawn of the Day, no. 276. London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, December 1900.
Antoniopointeddd25
Dawn of the Day, no. 266. London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, February 1900.
Missbeckerdd1
Dawn of the Day, no. 265. London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, January 1900.
Letthedd145
Dawn of the Day, no. 271. London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, July 1900.
Helifteddd121
Dawn of the Day, no. 270. London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, June 1900.
Oneofdd49
Dawn of the Day, no. 267. London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, March 1900.
Thetrialdd97
Dawn of the Day, no. 269. London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, May 1900.
Drthernecolliercover
Authorized Edition, Mr. Meeson's Will, A Novel, Doctor Therne. New York: P. F. Collier & Son, None.
Shelookeddd241
Dawn of the Day, no. 275. London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, November 1900.
Thechildrendd217
Dawn of the Day, no. 274. London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, October 1900.
Janevisiteddd193
Dawn of the Day, no. 273. London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, September 1900.

Illustrations from Dr. Therne

Thehaciendadd27
Nexticollierfrontispiece
Antonioseateddd28
Oneofdd49
Aninspectordd73
Sirjohndd53
Iwantdd124
Heopeneddd76
Ikisseddd99
Helifteddd121
Hesawdd169
Letthedd145
Infavourdd148
Sealedupdd149
Janevisiteddd193
Rushingtodd219
Iamdd243
Thechilddd125
Stephenhasdd171
Iremonstrateddd195
Sheaskeddd197
Thechildrendd217
Andtheredd270
Aduskyfaceddd5
Missbeckerdd1
Sheswungdd7
Antoniopointeddd25
Heshoweddd52
Whenitdd77
Thetrialdd97
Goingtodd102
Atelegramdd173
Afrienddd221
Shelookeddd241
Wavingjanedd244
Facetodd265
Withinhalfdd269
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