Name: Lysbeth
Price: 1028.00 TWD
Availability: InStock
Author: Henry Rider Haggard
ISBN: 9781544087566

Type

Physical Book

Author

Henry Rider Haggard

Publisher

Createspace

Language

English

Pages

398

Format

Paperback

Dimensions

22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm

Weight

0.53 kg.

ISBN13

9781544087566

Synopsis "Lysbeth"

In token of the earnest reverence of a man of a later generation for his character, and for that life work whereof we inherit the fruits to-day, this tale of the times he shaped is dedicated to the memory of one of the greatest and most noble-hearted beings that the world has known; the immortal William, called the Silent, of Nassau. Author's Note There are, roughly, two ways of writing an historical romance-the first to choose some notable and leading characters of the time to be treated, and by the help of history attempt to picture them as they were; the other, to make a study of that time and history with the country in which it was enacted, and from it to deduce the necessary characters. In the case of "Lysbeth" the author has attempted this second method. By an example of the trials, adventures, and victories of a burgher family of the generation of Philip II. and William the Silent, he strives to set before readers of to-day something of the life of those who lived through perhaps the most fearful tyranny that the western world has known. How did they live, one wonders; how is it that they did not die of very terror, those of them who escaped the scaffold, the famine and the pestilence? This and another-Why were such things suffered to be?-seem problems worth consideration, especially by the young, who are so apt to take everything for granted, including their own religious freedom and personal security. How often, indeed, do any living folk give a grateful thought to the forefathers who won for us these advantages, and many others with them? The writer has sometimes heard travellers in the Netherlands express surprise that even in an age of almost universal decoration its noble churches are suffered to remain smeared with melancholy whitewash. Could they look backward through the centuries and behold with the mind's eye certain scenes that have taken place within these very temples and about their walls, they would marvel no longer. Here we are beginning to forget the smart at the price of which we bought deliverance from the bitter yoke of priest and king, but yonder the sword bit deeper and smote more often. Perhaps that is why in Holland they still love whitewash, which to them may be a symbol, a perpetual protest; and remembering stories that have been handed down as heirlooms to this day, frown at the sight of even the most modest sacerdotal vestment. Those who are acquainted with the facts of their history and deliverance will scarcely wonder at the prejudice.

Henry Rider Haggard

(Author)

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Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856–1925) was a prolific British novelist, a pioneer of the adventure genre, and known for his stories set in Africa and ancient Egypt. Born in Bradenham, Norfolk, he was the son of a lawyer and a writer. After studying at Ipswich high school and working in South Africa as the secretary to the governor of Natal, Haggard returned to England in 1882. There, he wrote a story about the Zulus and prepared to enter the Bar, although his literary career soon eclipsed his legal practice.

His greatest success came with King Solomon's Mines (1885), an African adventure novel that introduced the character Allan Quatermain. This book marked the beginning of the "lost worlds" subgenre and was followed by She (1887), which became a classic of fantasy literature. The protagonist of She, Ayesha, was cited by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung as a prototype of the feminine.

Throughout his career, Haggard wrote more than 60 novels, many of them set in Africa or other parts of the British Empire. His work influenced later writers such as Rudyard Kipling and Edgar Rice Burroughs. He was knighted in 1912 for his services in the agricultural reform of the British Empire. He died in 1925 in London and was buried at St. Mary's Church in Ditchingham, Norfolk.

Although his novels reflect the imperialist ideals of his time, they also show a remarkable sympathy towards the native African populations, which distinguishes them from other colonial works of his time.
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