Heu-Heu

by H. Rider Haggard Book 12 in the Allan Quatermain series.

First published 1924

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2.5(5)

Zikali sends Allan Quatermain and Hans to investigate a hidden land associated with Heu-Heu, a monstrous ape-like being worshipped and feared by the people around a volcanic lake. The quest for a visionary plant and rumours of ivory and diamonds draw them into a society ruled through terror, sacrifice and belief in the return of an ancient tyrant.

The novel combines frontier travel with horror and evolutionary speculation, presenting the Heuheua as a supposed survival from humanity’s remote past. Although its peoples and monster are imaginary, its Rhodesian setting and expedition framework belong to the colonial geography through which Haggard’s readers imagined central and southern Africa.