She - A History of Adventure by H. Rider Haggard

She – H. Rider Haggard

Ludwig Holly and his ward Leo's quest for the truth behind legend of Leo's ancestry takes them to Africa.

CAST:
Ludwig Holly ...... Tim McInnerny
Leo ...... Oliver Chris
Ayesha ...... Mia Soteriou
Job ...... Howard Coggins
Billali ...... Ben Onwukwe
Amenartas/Ustane ...... Janice Acquah
Vincey ...... Tom Sherman
Agarah ...... Damian Lynch
Young Leo ...... Oliver Baynham

Composed music by Elizabeth Purnell.

Producer: Sara Davies

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.

1. Episode 1
Ludwig Holly and his ward Leo's quest for the truth behind legend of Leo's ancestry takes them to Africa.

Here they find Ayesha, 2000 years old but beautiful beyond all description, despotically ruling her secret kingdom.

2. Episode 2
Ayesha, the queen whose beauty enthrals and terrifies all who see her, believes Leo to be the lover for whom she has waited 2000 years. She takes Leo and his guardian Holly deep into the mountains to the Pillar of Life.

Hattie Naylor's adaptation of H Rider Haggard's 19th century best-seller set in a mysterious African kingdom explores the complex themes of imperial arrogance, sexual obsession, power and isolation that lie behind the high adventure.

She, subtitled A History of Adventure, is a novel by the English writer H. Rider Haggard, published in book form in 1887 following serialization in The Graphic magazine between October 1886 and January 1887. She was extraordinarily popular upon its release and has never been out of print.
The story is a first-person narrative which follows the journey of Horace Holly and his ward Leo Vincey to a lost kingdom in the African interior. They encounter a native people and a mysterious white queen named Ayesha who reigns as the all-powerful "She" or "She-who-must-be-obeyed". Haggard developed many of the conventions of the lost world genre which countless authors have emulated.

Haggard was "part of the literary reaction against domestic realism that has been called a romance revival." Other writers following this trend were Robert Louis Stevenson, George MacDonald, and William Morris. Haggard was inspired by his experiences living in South Africa for seven years (1875–1882) working at the highest levels of the British colonial administration. In the figure of She, the novel notably explored themes of female authority and feminine behavior. Its representation of womanhood has received both praise and criticism.

Plot
Horace Holly, a young Cambridge University professor, is visited by Vincey, a colleague who, convinced that he will soon die, charges him with the task of raising his young son, Leo. He gives Holly a locked iron box, with instructions that it is not to be opened until Leo's 25th birthday. Holly agrees. Vincey is found dead the next day, and Holly raises the boy as his own. When the box is opened they discover the ancient "Sherd of Amenartas". Holly, Leo, and their servant, Job, follow instructions on the Sherd and travel to eastern Africa. After surviving a shipwreck, they and their Arab captain, Mahomed, journey into the African interior where they are captured by the savage Amahagger people. The adventurers learn that the natives are ruled by a fearsome white queen who is worshipped as Hiya or "She-who-must-be-obeyed".