The ivory child

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The Ivory Child is a novel by the British author Henry Rider Haggard (1856–1925). The book was first published in 1916 under the title The Ivory Child ; the first German translation appeared in 1925.

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During a stay in England , the hunter and Africa traveler Allan Quatermain met Lord Ragnall , his fiancée Luna Holmes and Lord Ragnall's distinguished butler Savage . During an evening party at Lord Ragnall's manor, Quatermain receives a visit from two white wizards, Kendah , Harut and Marut .

They ask Quatermain to help their people in the fight against the Black Kendah and their King Simba . The Black Kendah pray to Jana , a demon in the form of a giant elephant, while the White Kendah worship a goddess named Ivory Child who protects them from Jana. That same night, Harut and Marut try in vain to kidnap Miss Holmes, who they believe to be the reborn ivory child.

Years later, Lord Ragnall and Savage visit Quatermain at his house in Durban . Lord Ragnall and Miss Holmes got married and had a son. This son is killed by an angry elephant while attending a traveling animal show by throwing him high in the air with his trunk, leaving him dead on the ground.

Lord and Lady Ragnall travel to Egypt to come to terms with the death of their young son . There Lady Ragnall disappears during a cruise on the Nile . Quatermain now suspects that Lady Ragnall was kidnapped by Harut and Marut. Together with Lord Ragnall, Savage and his devoted servant Hans a “Hottentot” ( Khoikhoi ), Quatermain embarks on a journey into the interior of Africa.

On the way they meet Harut and Marut, who want to lead them to the land of the White Kendah, where Quatermain is supposed to kill Jana. In the land of the Black Kendah, which they must cross on their way, they are expected by King Simba and his soldiers. In the ensuing battle, Quatermain, Marut and some White Kendah are captured and brought to the city of the Black Kendah.

When she is captured, Marut Simba threatens that the Ivory Child's curses will come over the Black Kendah if something happens to them. A Black Kendah wizard dies playing around with Quatermain's pistol and accidentally fires a shot. Thereupon, despite Marut's warning, Simba leaves all White Kendah who were captured with Quatermain and Marut in captivity. A huge hail then destroyed the harvest of the Black Kendah.

Because he is afraid of his prisoners, Simba releases Marut and Quatermain. He escorts them to the bank of the river that forms the border between the land of the Black Kendah and that of the White Kendah. After nightfall, the freedmen had to walk the rest of the way to the city of the White Kendah. They are attacked in the forest by the elephant Jana, who kills Marut by throwing him up into the air with his trunk, leaving Marut dead on the ground. Quatermain is saved by his servant Hans, who suddenly appears. After Jana ate Hans Hut, Hans nailed Jana's trunk to a tree with a knife. Hans and Quatermain can escape.

Quatermain finds himself together with Hans, Lord Ragnall and Savage in a house that is in the city of White Kendah at the foot of a mountain. Lady Ragnall appears to Lord Ragnall and Savage in a dream and explains to them that she is on the mountain. Since Quatermain still has to recover from the past exertions, Lord Ragnall and Savage decide to climb the mountain alone and free the lady.

The only way to the top is through a cave. While crossing the cave, Savage is killed by a huge snake ; the lord must return to his companions. Hans poisons the snake by luring it with a young goat whose fur he has previously rubbed with arsenic . Now that the snake is dead, Quatermain and his companions can safely climb the mountain.

At the summit, Lady Ragnall lives as a priestess in a temple that is located in a kind of natural amphitheater . When Quatermain and his companions arrive there, an oracle is announcing through Harut's voice that Jana and the Black Kendah will invade the land of the White Kendah. Only Quatermain and his companions can save the White Kendah. The oracle's priests accept Quatermain's request to release Lady Ragnall and to grant them all safe conduct once Jana is dead.

The Companions wait with Harut and the other priests in the temple for the arrival of the Black Kendah. They stand by and watch as the city of the White Kendah is sacked and set on fire. The Black Kendah, in whose wake is actually Jana, are now approaching the temple. The men try in vain to shoot Jana. At the last moment, Hans sacrifices himself by confronting Jana and killing him by shooting him directly in his mouth with his old elephant rifle. With the last of her strength, Jana kills Hans by throwing him high into the air before the elephant collapses.

The Ivory Child is an unknown novel by Henry Rider Haggard with the hunter Allan Quatermain as the main character. The "Hottentot" Hans, who is more of Quatermain's friend than his servant, also plays a major role. Hans already served Allan Quatermain's father, who is referred to in the book as "the preacher". He has a weakness for alcohol, especially the Boer gin Square Face, and smokes a corn-on-the-cob pipe. Hans has accompanied Quatermain on several trips and is his faithful servant. They are both connected through the many adventures they shared.

Han's counterpart is Lord Ragnall's servant Savage, who does not honor his name (savage = wild). Even in the wilderness he keeps his form and looks out of place in Africa due to his elegant demeanor. In England, Harut and Marut conjure up snakes in Savage's pockets, later Savage has dreams in which snakes crawl around on the floor. Shortly before his death, Savage has a premonition that he will not have long to live and gives Quatermain a letter for his old mother. Even Hans mourns Savage after his death because he always treated him nicely.

Elephants play a crucial role in the story. In England Quatermain has a vision of an elephant cemetery and an escape from Jana through the nocturnal jungle, a vision that later becomes reality. Lord Ragnall's son is killed by an angry elephant. The elephant Jana is a terrible demon who spreads fear and terror over and over again. Even Quatermain fears him; the chapters in which he flees from Jana through the night forest are the best in the whole novel.

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  • First printing: The Ivory Child. In: The Blue Book Magazine . February to September 1915.
  • First edition: The Ivory Child. Cassell & Company, 1916.
  • English: The Ivory Child. Forgotten Books, 2012, ISBN 978-1-4510-1743-4 .
  • First German translation: The Ivory Child. Translated by Artur Heye. Safari-Verlag, Berlin 1925.
  • Paperback: The Ivory Child. Heyne SF&F # 4369, 1987, ISBN 3-453-00413-2 .
  • E-Book: Quatermain and the Ivory Child: An Adventure Novel from Africa. Translated by Jürgen Schulze and Arthur Heye. Neuss Null Papier Verlag, 2017, ISBN 978-3-95418-888-8 .

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