Nada the Lily

Nada the Lily is a Zulu romance which develops Umslopogaas's backstory. While it does not concern Allan Quatermain directly, NL, precedes Marie (1912), Child of Storm (1913), and Finished (1917). Haggard thought it one of his best novels and called it “a pure Zulu story,” probably because Europeans and white Africans play a minimal role to the plot. The Illustrated London News serialized NL from 2 January 1892 through 7 May 1892 and it was illustrated by R. Caton Woodville. James Thorpe, director of the Huntington Library from 1966-1983, complimented the ILN illustrations as "fine drawings" (35). Longmans, Green, and Co., London, published the first edition on 9 May 1892 in a print issue of 10,000 copies. This edition featured 23 full-page illustrations by Charles Kerr. Macdonald & Co., London, published an edition of NL illustrated by Hookway Cowles in June 1949, 1st thus, with a 4th imprint appearing in January 1958.

Further Reading

Haggard, H. Rider. The Days of My Life, An Autobiography. 2 Vols. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1926. I: 56, II: 16. Print.

Monsman, Gerald. "H. Rider Haggard's Nada the Lily: A Triumph of Translation." English Literature in Transition, 1880-1920 47.4 (2004): 371-397.

Pocock, Tom. Rider Haggard and the Lost Empire. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1993. 79, 89, 109. Print.

Thorpe, James. English Illustration: The Nineties. New York: Hacker Art Books, 1975. Print.

Whatmore, D.E.. H Rider Haggard: A Bibliography. Westport, CT: Meckler Publishing Co., 1987. F15, 25-26. Print.