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H. Rider Haggard Collection

An inventory of his collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: LDC
Date: 12 Nov 2008

Biographical History

Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856-1925) was an English novelist best known for his adventure stories such as King Solomon's Mines (1885) and She: A History of Adventure (1886).

Haggard was born June 22, 1856 in Norfolk, England, the son of Ella and William Haggard. He attended Ipswich Grammar School and upon graduating failed the army entrance exam. His father sent him to London to prepare for a job in the Foreign Office. Haggard did not sit for the British Foreign Office exam, but instead travelled to Africa as an unpaid member of the Lieutenant-Governor of South Africa, Sir Henry Bulwer's, staff. Although Haggard secured a position in Africa that afforded him the means to marry his love from home, Mary Elizabeth Jackson ("Lilly," as she was called by friends), she had already married a well-to-do banker. In August 1880, having returned to England, Haggard married Louisa Margitson with whom he had four children.

Haggard went on to have a career as a successful writer, becoming Britain's foremost adventure novelist. As a political figure, he was involved in agricultural reform and knighted for public service in 1912. In 1919, he was made Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Haggard died May 14, 1925 in London, England.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The H. Rider Haggard Collection contains correspondence, notes, and printed material.

Correspondence consists of letters from Haggard, as well as letters to and from others concerning Haggard's work. Notes consists of a binder containing pages documenting errata for some of the author's works, compiled by Crawford E. Cooke. Printed material contains clippings and reproductions of various images of Haggard, illustrations of his stories, and a book review.

Arrangement of the Collection

Alphabetical by name or topic. Within the subdivisions of "Haggard" and "Others," correspondence is arranged chronologically.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Donation also included two copies of King Solomon's Mines. These have been sent to Rare Books for cataloging. Please refer to Libraries Search to locate these items.

The Special Collections Research Center also has several of Haggard's works in the Rare Books collection. Please see Libraries Search for a complete listing.

Subject Headings

Persons

Cohen, Morton N. (Morton Norton), 1921-
Cooke, Crawford E.
Haggard, H. Rider (Henry Rider), 1856-1925.

Subjects

English literature.
Novelists, English.

Genres and Forms

Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Notes (documents)

Occupations

Authors.
Biographers.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

H. Rider Haggard Collection
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Crawford E. Cooke, 1978.

Table of Contents

Correspondence

Notes

Printed material

Inventory