''The People of the Mist'' is a classic lost race

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

novel written by H. Rider Haggard. It was first published serially in the weekly magazine ''

Tit-Bits ''Tit-Bits from all the interesting Books and Newspapers of the World'', more commonly known as ''Tit-Bits'', was a British weekly magazine founded by George Newnes, a founding figure in popular journalism, on 22 October 1881. History In 1886 ...

'', between December 1893 and August 1894; the first edition in book form was published in London by

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

in October, 1894. It was reprinted in December, 1973 by Ballantine Books as the sixty-third paperback volume of the ''Ballantine Adult Fantasy'' series.

Plot

''The People of the Mist'' is the tale of a British adventurer seeking wealth in the wilds of Africa, finding romance, and discovering a lost race and its monstrous god. The penniless Leonard Outram attempts to redress the undeserved loss of his family estates by seeking his fortune in Africa. In the course of his adventures, he and his Zulu companion Otter save a young English woman, Juanna Rodd, together with her nursemaid Soa, from slavery. Leonard and Juanna are plainly attracted to each other, but prone to bickering, and their romance is impeded by the watchful and jealous Soa. The protagonists seek the legendary People of the Mist, said to possess a fabulous hoard of jewels. On finding them, they immediately become embroiled in the turbulent political affairs of the lost race, which is driven by a power struggle between its king and the priests of its giant crocodile god. The heroic Outram can do little more than react to events. The action climaxes in a hair-raising escape by tobogganing a large flat stone down a steep glacier.

Reception

Gary Westfahl Gary Wesley Westfahl (born May 7, 1951) is an American scholar of science fiction. He has written reviews for the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''The Internet Review of Science Fiction'' and Locus Online. He worked at the University of California, River ...

described ''The People of the Mist'' as "Haggard's best African singleton...which effectively engages a reader's attention."Westfahl, Gary., "Haggard, (Sir) H(enry) Rider" in ''St. James Guide To Fantasy Writers'', ed.

David Pringle David Pringle (born 1 March 1950) is a Scottish science fiction editor and critic. Pringle served as the editor of '' Foundation'', an academic journal, from 1980 to 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective whi ...

, London, St. James Press, 1996, , (p. 259).

Per ardua ad astra

The motto of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

and other Commonwealth air forces, first adopted a generation after publication, has been attributed to a passage from the book.

References

External links

*
Images and bibliographic information for various editions
of ''The People of the Mist'' at SouthAfricaBooks.com 1894 British novels Novels by H. Rider Haggard 1894 fantasy novels English fantasy novels Lost world novels Novels set in Africa Novels first published in serial form {{1890s-fantasy-novel-stub