King Solomon's Mines

Adventure, discovery, immortality and terror--these are the themes of King Solomon's Mines. Three men set out on a journey into the heart of Africa to search for a lost friend. They stumble upon an unknown country, cut off from civilization, and learn of a diamond mine, from which no one has returned...

Gale Research

As legend has it, Haggard wagered that he could produce a tale equal to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, which was enormously popular at that time. The result was King Solomon's Mines, an exhilarating account of adventurer Allan Quatermain's search for lost treasure in Africa. During his quest, Quatermain nearly freezes to death in the mountains, becomes a captive of barbaric natives, and narrowly avoids a dangerous trap while recovering lost diamonds. This exciting tale, though perceived as somewhat slapdash in style by some reviewers, found considerable favor with English readers. As Andrew Lang noted in an 1885 edition of Saturday Review, "Since Treasure Island we have seen no such healthily exciting volume." In 1987,Armchair Detective contributor Robert Sandels commented that King Solomon's Mines "has an appeal and durability which leads one to wonder if it isn't more than just a well-told tale."

SIMON PREBBLES, a British-born performer of considerable talent and experience, has built a successful career that spans the Atlantic. As a stage and television actor he has played in everything from soaps to Shakespeare, but it is as a veteran narrator of some 275 audio book titles that he has made his mark since coming to the U.S. in 1990. "Audiofile" magazine has named him a 'Golden Voices' and in 2004 he was named "Narrator of the Year" by " Publishers Weekly. He lives with his wife in New York.