“Behold the House of She-who-must-be-obeyed,” said Billali. “Had ever such a queen such a throne before?” “It is wonderful, my father,” I answered. (headpiece): composite woodblock illustration by Edward Killingworth Johnson, R. W. S., in H. Rider Haggard's "SHE:" A History of Adventure, 7 by 9 inches (12.8 cm high by 17.7 cm wide). The Graphic (6 November 1886): Volume XXXIV, p. 497, framed. In the 1887 volume edition, “I looked up and saw what appeared to be a line of roadway running towards the base of the mountain.” 3 ⅜ by 5 ⅜ inches (8.8 cm high by 13.7 cm high by wide), p. 125. Scanned image, caption, and commentary by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image, and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.] Click on the image to enlarge it.
Passage Illustrated: The English Adventurers Arrive at Ayesha's Realm at Kôr
Anything more grand and imposing than the sight presented by this great natural castle, starting in solitary grandeur from the level of the plain, I never saw, and I suppose I never shall. Its very solitude added to its majesty, and its towering cliffs seemed to kiss the sky. Indeed, generally speaking, they were clothed in clouds that lay in fleecy masses upon their broad and level battlements.
I sat up in my hammock and gazed out across the plain at this thrilling and majestic sight, and I suppose that Billali noticed it, for he brought his litter alongside.
“Behold the house of ‘She-who-must-be-obeyed!’” he said. “Had ever a queen such a throne before?”
“It is wonderful, my father,” I answered. “But how do we enter? Those cliffs look hard to climb.”
“Thou shalt see, my Baboon. Look now at the path below us. What thinkest thou that it is? Thou art a wise man. Come, tell me.” [Chapter XI, "The Plain of Kôr," 498; in the 1887 volume edition, 124]
Commentary
During the perilous cross-country journey carried in litters, the three European adventurers have had to endure tangled swamps and fetid heat, to say nothing of malarial fever. However, since Holly has saved their patriarchal conductor, Billali, from drowning when his litter tumbled into the mire, the narrator is likely to enjoy a highly positive reception from Queen Ayesha, She-who-must-be-obeyed, when they finally arrive at her realm on the Plain of Kôr in central Africa. Shortly Haggard will dramatise the scene that he has kept readers waiting half the book for: Ludwig Horace Holly's meeting the fabled Ayesha in her battlemented palace.
The panorama of the volcano atop which the party will enter the Queen's citadel introduces readers to the engineering marvels effected by the founders of the city of Kôr. In the foreground, right, Johnson has placed Billali, Ustane, the litter-bearers, Holly, and the five guards carrying long spears. Missing from our view as the party prepares to enter the plain from the swamp are the stricken Leo and Job.
Related material
- Maurice Greiffenhagen's Ayesha Unveils (1888)
- [Ayesha reveals her beauty] H. Rider Haggard
- Ayesha’s Doom: Her Body Ages and Decays
- The Female Body in the Nineteenth Century — Primary & Secondary Materials
Bibliography
Haggard, H. Rider. "SHE:" A History of Adventure. Illustrated by E. K. Johnson. The Graphic Magazine, Vols. XXXIV and XXXV. 2 October 1886 to 8 January 1887.
Haggard, H. Rider. SHE: A History of Adventure. Illustrated by E. K. Johnson. New York: Harper & Bros., 1887.
Haggard, H. Rider. She: A History of Adventure. Illustrated by Maurice Greiffenhagen and Charles H. M. Kerr. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1888.
"Johnson, Edward Killingworth." Haynes Fine Art. Web. Accessed 8 April 2025. https://www.haynesfineart.com/artists/edward-killingworth-johnson-uk
Created 10 May 2025