Edward Killingworth Johnson, R. W. S. (born 30 May 1825 in Stratford le Bow, London – died 7 April 1896 in Halstead, Essex), was a Victorian wood engraver, illustrator, watercolourist and painter in oils, specialising in rural genre scenes. During the 1860s he was a regular contributor to The Illustrated London News and latterly The Graphic (founded in 1869). His most significant commission for that large-scale, folio periodical remains H. Rider Haggard's She: A History of Adventure, first published as a weekly serial from 2 October 1886 through the beginning of January 1887 (Volumes XXXIV and XXXV). An American edition was published by Harper & Bros. in New York on 24 December 1886; this included Johnson's original serial illustrations. On 1 January 1887, a new British edition was published by Longmans, Green, & Co., without any illustrations. It featured some significant textual revisions by Haggard, who subsequently made further revisions for the British edition of 1888, which included a new series of volume-appropriate wood-engravings by noted illustrator Maurice Greiffenhagen and engraver C. H. M. Kerr.
| Part | Date | Chapter | Title of Illustration | Page in Magazine | Format |
| 1887 | Harper's Volume Edition. Frontispieces: | Facsimile of the Sherd of Amenartas, one-half size; the Reverse . . . , one-half size | Facing one another in volume. | vertical | |
| 2 October | "Introduction." Chapter One, “My Visitor” | A tall man of about thirty, with the remains of great personal beauty, came hurrying in, staggering beneath the weight of a massive iron box | p. 365 | vertical | |
| 9 October | Chapter 2: "The Years Roll By" | “At last the lock yielded, and the casket stood open before us.” | p. 389 | horizontal | |
| 16 October | Chapter 4: "The Squall." | “The top of the peak, which was about eighty feet by one hundred and fifty thick at its base, was shaped like a negro’s head and face.” | p. 417 | horizontal | |
| 23 October | Chapter 6: "An Early Christian Ceremony." | “I drew my revolver, and fired it by a sort of instinct straight at the diabolical woman who had been caressing Mahommed.” | p. 441 | horizontal | 30 October | Chapter 8: "The Feast and After!" (Continued) | “I took tis cold fragment of mortality in my hand, and looked at it in the light of the lamp with feelings which I cannot describe.” | p. 469 | vertical |
| 6 November | Chapter 10: "Speculations." | “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. | p. 497 | horizontal | |
| 13 November | Chapter 12: "Ayesha Unveils." | “The hand grasped the curtain, and drew it aside.” | p. 521 | horizontal | |
| 20 November | Chapter 14: "A Soul in Hell." | “When the lamps were held up I saw that it was nothing but one vast charnel-house.” | p. 549 | vertical | |
| 27 November | Chapter 16 (continued) | “Next second her tall and willowy form was staggering back across the room.” | p. 577 | horizontal | |
| 4 December | Chapter 18: "Go, Woman!" | “Even now, mayhap, She hears us.” | p. 605 | vertical | |
| 11 December | Chapter 20: "Triumph" | “As we were returning Billali met us.” | p. 635 | horizontal | |
| 18 December | Chapter 22 (continued) | “'It is safe,' she called.” | p. 661 | vertical | |
| 25 December | Chapter 24 (continued) | “Ayesha turned towards it, and stretched her arms to greet it.” | p. 685 | horizontal | |
| 1 January 1887 | Chapter 26 (continued) | “Next instant I felt Leo seize me by the right wrist with both hands.” | Vol. XXXV, p. 17 | vertical |
The Publication History
"She:" A History of Adventure is H. Rider Haggard's second best-seller, his first, King Solomon's Mines, also published serially in The Graphic (1885), featuring the action-hero Allan Quartermain. First printed in a series of installments for the folio-sized illustrated magazine The Graphic in the autumn and winter of 1886-87, "She" was one of the first pieces of serial literature to reach a large British readership. Narrated in the first person by the protagonist, the rather peculiar-looking Horace Holly, the adventure story concerns his expedition with his friend’s son, Leo Vincey, to a long-forgotten African kingdom. Making their way through the dense jungle in the African interior, Leo and Horace (easily distinguished in every illustration) discover a lost civilisation ruled by a mysterious queen, Ayesha, who appears to be white. Ayesha's followers hail her simply as “She,” stemming from the natives’ oft-repeated mantra — a periphrasis that conveniently avoids her taboo name — “She-who-must-be-obeyed.” In this late nineteenth-century adventure story in which he uses his own African experiences, Rider Haggard inaugurates the archetype of the “lost world” novel, a subgenre of action-adventure fiction copied by such later popular writers as H. G. Wells.
Publication of She in The Graphic and in Volume
"SHE:" A History of Adventure was first published as a weekly serial story in The Graphic, a large folio magazine printed in London, between 2 October 1886 and 8 January 1887. The serialisation was accompanied by the fifteen large-scale composite woodblock illustrations of Edward Killingworth Johnson. Since British and American copyright regimes would remain distinct for another decade, a separate American edition was published by Harper & Bros. in New York on 24 December 1886; surprisingly, this volume included Johnson's illustrations rather than tose of an American artist. On 1 January 1887 a new British edition was published by Longmans, Green, & Co., without any illustrations. It featured some significant textual revisions by Haggard that toned down the violence of the original serial text. He made further revisions for the British edition of 1888, which included a new series of volume-appropriate, smaller wood-engravings by Maurice Greiffenhagen and C. H. M. Kerr.
Scanned images and text 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.]
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, rpt. 1927.
"Johnson, Edward Killingworth." Haynes Fine Art. Web. Accessed 8 April 2025. https://www.haynesfineart.com/artists/edward-killingworth-johnson-uk
Created 30 April 2025