154. (February 2026) Nada the Lily by H. Rider Haggard — The Tabletop Roleplayers' Book Club

Nada The Lily Q7 - Gaming

clash_bowley — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 17:25:11 +0000

Would this book have any impact on your gaming, in any way? Could you use the setting or any of the characters in your games?

Nada The Lily Q6 - Race

clash_bowley — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 17:24:42 +0000

Nada The Lily is unusual in that all of the characters in the main story are Zulu or Swazi, and the book was written in the 1890s. How do you feel about Haggard's treatment of his characters race?

Nada The Lily Q5 - Writing

clash_bowley — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 17:24:07 +0000

The novel is written in the first person past for the most part, though sometimes action is related in present tense. What did you think about the writing? Would you read any more by Haggard? Haggard was very influential on both Kipling and Tolkien, among others. Does he deserve this?

Nada The Lily Q4 - Story

clash_bowley — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 17:23:26 +0000

The story is a classic tragedy, with the inescapable nature of tragedy emphasized by it's being related after the fact by Mopo. You know it's a tragedy going in, as Mopo foreshadows everything. Is the story the better or the worse for this handling?

Nada The Lily Q3 - Cruelty

clash_bowley — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 17:22:46 +0000

The casual cruelty displayed by Chaka and his brother Dingaan foremost, but all the characters really, reminded me of The Orenda, the historical novel about the Wyandot people. This was considered normal, and the cruelty of Chaka and Dingaan is notable only because of its excess. How did this affect your reading? Coming from a Judeo-Christian societal viewpoint, did it make you uncomfortable?

Nada The Lily Q1 - Frame

clash_bowley — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 17:18:41 +0000

Nada the Lily uses the device of a frame story - the actual story is told within the 'frame' of an elderly Mopo recounting the tale to an anonymous white man (assumably Haggard himself) - rather than directly as most books are written. The story comes in the voice of Mopo and from his viewpoint. Does this device work for you in this case? What is good about it? What is not so good?

Nada The Lily Q2 - Characters

clash_bowley — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 17:21:58 +0000

Mopo is the first of many characters who inhabit this story, some historical, and some not. Umslopagaas, the eponymous Nada the Lily, Galazi the Wolf Brother, Baleka, Chaka, Dingaan, and a host of others. Did any resonate with you?

About H Rider Haggard

RichardAbbott — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 22:06:41 +0000

Sir Henry Rider Haggard KBE (22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre.[1] He was also involved in land reform throughout the British Empire.[2] His stories, situated at the lighter end of Victorian literature and including the eighteen Allan Quatermain stories beginning with King Solomon's Mines, continue to be popular and influential.

Henry Rider Haggard, generally known as H. Rider Haggard or Rider Haggard, was born at Bradenham, Norfolk, the eighth of ten children, to William Meybohm Rider Haggard, a barrister, and Ella Doveton, an author and poet. His father was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1817 to British parents.

A member of the Haggard family, he was the great-nephew of the ecclesiastical lawyer John Haggard and an uncle of the naval officer Admiral Sir Vernon Haggard and the diplomat Sir Godfrey Haggard

Haggard was involved in reforming agriculture and was a member of many commissions on land use and related affairs, work that involved several trips to the Colonies and Dominions. It eventually led to the passage of the Development and Road Improvement Funds Act 1909.

He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Conservative candidate for the Eastern division of Norfolk in the 1895 summer election, losing by 197 votes. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in 1912 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1919 New Year Honours.

Sir Rider Haggard died on 14 May 1925 in Marylebone, London, aged 68. His ashes were buried at St Mary's Church, Ditchingham. His papers are held at the Norfolk Record Office. His relatives include the writer Stephen Haggard (great-nephew), the director Piers Haggard (great-great-nephew), and the actress Daisy Haggard (great-great-great-niece).

He wrote well over 50 novels plus sundry short story collections and vast quantities of material for newspapers and periodicals.

(From Wiki)

About Nada the Lily

RichardAbbott — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 22:00:37 +0000

Nada the Lily is a historical novel by English writer H. Rider Haggard, published in 1892. Inspired by Haggard's time in South Africa (1875–82). It was illustrated by Charles H. M. Kerr.

The novel tells the tale of the origin and early life of the hero Umslopogaas, the unacknowledged son of the great Zulu king and general Chaka, and his love for "the most beautiful of Zulu women", Nada the Lily. Chaka was a real king of the Zulus but Umslopogaas was invented by Haggard. He first appeared as an elderly but vigorous warrior in Allan Quatermain (1887). He also appears in the novel She and Allan (1921).

Nada the Lily is unusual for a Victorian novel in that its entire cast of characters is South African and black. Nada the Lily features magic and ghosts as part of its plot.

There is some anecdotal evidence[citation needed] that Umslopogaas might have been based on an actual person, although not as described in the book. He would have been a Swazi not a Zulu.

(from Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nada_the_Lily)