H. Rider Haggard (1856-1925) worked in South Africa during the time of Britian's war with the Zulus and the First Boer War. He turned these experiences into fiction on his return to England and achieved popular and critical acclaim with KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1885), ALLAN QUATERMAIN (1887) and SHE (1887).

Patrick Brantlinger is Professor of English at Indiana University, Illinois. He has published work on British literature and imperialism in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.