Wrote "King Solomon's Mines" in six weeks on a bet, and almost sold the
manuscript to the publisher for a paltry 500 pounds. At the last
minute, he insisted on 10% of the royalties, which set him up for
life.
British novelist of Danish ancestry. Wrote African-based adventure stories, best known of which are the often filmed "She" (1887) and "King Solomon's Mines" (1885). He was based in South Africa (1875-1882) as assistant to the secretary to Sir Henry Bulwer, Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of Natal.
Six adaptations of "She" were filmed by 1917. All in all, there have been thirty screen adaptations of Haggard's work.
Haggard was good friends with Rudyard Kipling.
Haggard wrote over 50 novels, most of which have an African background, but his fames rests primarily on only two, "She" and "King Solomo's Mines.".