The World's Desire

by Andrew Lang, H. Rider Haggard

Overview

The World's Desire is a classic fantasy novel first published in 1890 and written by H. Rider Haggard and Andrew Lang. The World's Desire is the story of the hero Odysseus, mainly referred to as "the Wanderer" for the bulk of the novel. Odysseus returns home to Ithaca after his second, unsung journey. He is hoping to find a "home at peace, wife dear and true and his son worthy of him". Unfortunately, he does not find any of the three, instead his home is ravaged by a plague and his wife Penelope has been slain. As he grieves, he is visited by an old flame, Helen of Troy, for whom the novel is named. Helen leads him to equip himself with the Bow of Eurytus and embark on his last journey. This is an exhausting journey in which he encounters a Pharaoh who is wed to a murderess beauty, a holy and helpful priest, and his own fate. This book is annotated with a rare extensive biographical sketch of the author, Andrew Lang, written by Sir Edmund Gosse, CB, a contemporary poet and writer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783849606787
Publisher:	Jazzybee Verlag
Publication date:	12/13/2012
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	278
File size:	552 KB

About the Author

Andrew Lang (1844-1912) was a Scottish editor, poet, author, literary critic, and historian. He is best known for his work regarding folklore, mythology, and religion, for which he had an extreme interest in. Lang was a skilled and respected historian, writing in great detail and exploring obscure topics. Lang often combined his studies of history and anthropology with literature, creating works rich with diverse culture. He married Leonora Blanche Alleyne in 1875. With her help, Lang published a prolific amount of work, including his popular series, Rainbow Fairy Books.

H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925), also known as Sir Henry Rider Haggard, was an English novelist and scholar. He was educated at Ipswich Grammar School and studied with a private tutor in London. Later, Haggard would travel to South Africa where he worked as a governor’s assistant. Upon his return to England, he began writing fiction and nonfiction about his experiences abroad. This led to a successful publishing career which included the novels, King Solomon’s Mines (1885) and Allan Quatermain (1887).