Good short Allan Quatermain novella. I used it to keep myself sane while trying to get through The Old Curiosity Shop. ( )

Darwinian thought influences Allan's Wife and the other tales contained herein more forthrightly than anything else by Haggard I have so far read. In fact, in the story, "Long Odds," he directly employs the term, "survival of the fittest." This is as close to literary naturalism as you will find in any of his works. The hunting short stories, in particular, focus on a perceived realism, although the descriptions of animal behavior are exaggerated and, indeed, often incorrect, and they combine this realism with an emphasis on the rawness of nature and the combat necessary simply to get from one day to the next. It is harrowing stuff.

But it is in the title story/novel/novella, or however it may best be termed, that Haggard really gets around to dealing with notions of naturalism in literature. Taking up a trope common to European mythology, the feral White child, which can be seen even in the foundation stories applied to the creation of Rome, Haggard transplants the idea to Africa. Here, a White feral girl is raised by a troop of baboons, until she is rescued by a young woman who will become Allan Quatermain's wife.

Named Hendrika, the feral girl can not only communicate in "baboon talk" but also trains herself up in ways that manifest the strength, agility, and balance of those apes. Brought into the home of Stella Carson and her father, Hendrika is civilized and made a part of the family. All works well until Allan's arrival unleashes a streak of jealousy and hatred in Hendrika that leads to yet more adventure and tragedy.

Clearly, Haggard anticipates Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan by almost a quarter of a century. (Burroughs, by the way, along with Zane Grey, would bring literary naturalism to the forefront of the American bestseller in the years right before World War I.) But Haggard does so in his own unique way. And this is what makes his protagonist, Allan, so interesting. Far from the indomitable, perfect White hero, ruling over the plains and jungles of Africa, Quatermain is a flawed man, stubborn, easily put into moods, doubting, and, worst of all, someone who frequently makes the wrong decision, even as his instincts try to warn him off taking errant paths. In Allan's Wife, these flaws multiply, especially when the skeptical Allan refuses to listen to the warnings his African friend, a seer, constantly supplies. This thematic tension, between rational skepticism and mysticism runs throughout the Quatermain series of books. And, in this particular tale, Allan's refusal to listen to advice has consequences that forever sadden his life. ( )

Allan Quatermain recalls the wife he once had and lost. Another great adventure story but this one touches the heart as well. ( )