H. Rider Haggard once confessed that the origin of his first book was a pretty face, seen for a moment in the street, or was it in church? His second book, by which he was at once raised to the level of a popular author, was certainly inspired by love of adventure.
In this, "Benita, An African Romance', he combines the sources of inspiration. A very beautiful heroine is launched on a course of treasure-hunting, worthy of the searchers of "King Solomon's Mines", in the Africa that Haggard, as an ex-African, delights in.
There is a Jewish hypnotist, a Svengali with a touch of the Rand speculator, a ghost, a passage with unnumbered steps and bags of gold alongside and footprints spiritualistic and other in the dust. There are shipwrecks, Matabeles and crocodiles, over all of which the heroine triumphs with lead male character Hans.
The yarn goes with great spirit, but it is quite absurd to look on the book as anything more than a good wholesome tale of adventure, told by a man who knows better than novelists often do the country and people of whom he writes.
In this book Haggard has wisely dropped the excess of slaughter in which now and again he used to delight to wade and fortunately increased those passages of hilarious humor that made the distinction of that admirable tour de force, "King
Solomon's Mines".
We the publishers conclude that "Benita: An African Romance" is as good a book in its class as could be wished. Hero and heroine are perfect, the villain insane, and many things, happen rapidly.
