A cura di Paola Della Valle 
 
 A historical overview of the largest empire of all time, from its origins to the decline and then the Commonwealth, through five stories from the five continents, told by: Joseph Conrad (An Outpost of Progress), keen observer of European colonialism in Africa; Rudyard Kipling (Lispeth, India); Henry Lawson (The Drover’s Wife, Australia); Henry Rider Haggard (Long Odds, South Africa); Gilbert Parker (A Man, A Famine and a Heathen Boy, Canada).
 Stimulating in-depth analyses enrich each story. 
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Transcripts - Summing-up Activities
 
 Uno sguardo storico al più grande impero di tutti i tempi, dalle origini al declino e al Commonwealth con cinque storie per i cinque continenti narrate da: J. Conrad (An Outpost of Progress, acuto osservatore del colonialismo britannico in Africa); R. Kipling (Lispeth, India); H. Lawson (The Drover’s Wife, Australia); H. R. Haggard (Long Odds, Sudafrica); G. Parker (A Man, a Famine and a Heathen Boy, Canada).

History of the British Empire: Birth and Decline

Joseph Conrad

Story 1 – An Outpost of Progress

Extension – From Heart of Darkness to Apocalypse Now

History of the British Empire: Colonial India

Rudyard Kipling

Story 2 – Lispeth

Extension – The voice of non-violence: Mahatma Gandhi

History of the British Empire: Colonial Australia

Henry Lawson

Story 3 – The Drover’s Wife

Extension – Australian identity: the bush and the Aborigines

History of the British Empire: Colonial South Africa

Henry Rider Haggard

Story 4 – Long Odds

Extension – From lost worlds to psychoanalysis

History of the British Empire: Colonial Canada

Gilbert Parker

Story 5 – A Man, a Famine and a Heathen Boy

Extension – Canada’s indigenous peoples

Summing-up activities

Glossary

The Author Henry Rider Haggard (1856-1925) Henry Rider Haggard was born at Bradenham, Norfolk, the eighth son of William Haggard, a barrister and country squire, and Ella Doventon, an amateur writer. In his childhood he was seen as the family dunce1, so he was not sent to expensive public schools like his brothers, but educated at Ipswich Grammar School. After failing the army entrance, he tried to join the British Foreign Office but never sat the entrance 2 exam. Henry left for Natal in 1875 to take up an unpaid position as a secretary to Sir Henry Bulwer, Governor of Natal colony. He was then transferred to the staff of Sir Theophilus Shepstone, Special Commissioner for the Transvaal3. It was in this role that he saw the British annexation of the Boer Republic of the Transvaal. After Haggard returned to England in 1880, he married a Norfolk heiress, Mariana Louisa Margitson. They moved to the Transvaal to Haggard s ostrich4 farm. When the Transvaal had to be ceded to the Dutch, they went back to England, where Haggard continued his law studies and was admitted to the bar5 in 1884. He showed little interest in practising his profession and devoted himself to writing. He had previously published a study of contemporary African history. His early books Dawn (1884) and The Witch s Tale (1884) were not successful. According to legend, when R.L. Stevenson s Treasure Island appeared in book form in 1883, Haggard did not think much of it and made a five-shilling bet with his brother that he could write a better novel. The result, apparently created in six weeks, was his masterpiece King Solomon s Mines (1885), the story of a group of treasure hunters searching for legendary diamond mines in a lost land. Haggard s work became a alternately under Boer and British rule. 4. ostrich: a large African bird which runs quickly but cannot fly. 5. bar: legal profession. 1. dunce: someone who is slow at learning. 2. Natal: British colony in south-eastern Africa, annexed in 1843. 3. Transvaal: north-eastern province of South Africa. During the 1800s it was 64 

sensation and has been in print ever since. Heavily influenced by the adventurers he met in colonial Africa, the great mineral wealth discovered there and the ruins of ancient lost civilisations, such as  Great Zimbabwe , Haggard can be considered the initiator of the  Lost World  literary genre, which inspired so many later books and films (for example, the Indiana Jones saga). The novel features three characters who will be used in many of his subsequent short and long fictions, including Long Odds: Sir Henry Curtis, Captain John Good and the veteran hunter Allan Quatermain. Haggard repeated his success with three novels set in Africa: She, Jess and Allan Quatermain, all published in 1887. In all, he published about forty novels set in various places, from Iceland to the South Seas, and experimented with several forms of fiction, from psychological novels to the historical and fantastic genre. In 1895, Haggard stood for Parliament6 as a Conservative, losing by only 198 votes. He was heavily involved in reforming agriculture and a member of many commissions on land use. Haggard was knighted in 1912 for his non-fiction, such as The Poor and the Land (1905), and for his government services. In 1919, he was also made Knight Commander of the British Empire. He died in London in 1925. Like his friend Rudyard Kipling, Haggard believed in the British Empire. While his works certainly portray some stereotypes associated with colonialism, they definitely show sympathy towards the native populations and less prejudice than many other novels of this period. Long Odds, first published in 1886 and included in the collection Allan s Wife (1889), belongs to the so-called  Allan Quatermain cycle , centred on the adventures of the same hero, in this case hunting lions in the African bush. Its structure recalls the typical colonial tale. It is an oral narrative, authentic word of mouth7; it is told from a domestic place and concerns something unfamiliar, exotic or frightening; and it uses realistic details which create a dramatic or comic effect. 6. stand for Parliament: try to be elected as a Member of Parliament. 7. word of mouth: a story told, not read in a book or newspaper. King Solomon s mines. 

Una prospettiva storica sull'Impero britannico con cinque storie rappresentative dai cinque continenti: Africa, India, Australia, Sudafrica e Canada.

The British Empire - Collana Rainbows

Level B2 • Intermediate - Collana RAINBOWS

The British Empire

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