"The Ghost Kings"
The Dove family - father John, mother Janey and daughter Rachel are missionaries in Pondoland, Africa. John is an enthusiastical clergyman, driven to save the souls of the heathen Kaffirs, though it might mean his martyrdom. His wife is patient but unwilling, feeling that we must "dree our own weird". After labouring among the Cape Kaffirs arguments with the Boer slave-owners and other whites have led the family yet further away from civilisation - something which the 15-year old Rachel scarcely regrets.
The Rev'd Mr Dove has just buried the body of their baby, and Rachel goes far in search of Cape gooseberries which her mother likes - partly to be alone. She finds herself alone in a dry riverbed just as a storm breaks. Seeking to return to the riverbank she is turned back by a white youth who arrives on the scene. It is as well that he does so, for the river is soon a raging torrent, swollen by the heavy rains in the highlands. Racehl and the youth, Richard Darrien, two years her elder, shelter in a cave on a small island in the river. During the night Rachel has a presentament that their destinies are intertwined - like her mother she is far-sighted. They part next morning, but are both strangely affected by each other.
Rachel's family head further inland, with the intention of reaching Zululand. Rachel becomes well known to the natives, and acquires the native name of Inkosazana-y-Zoola, or Zoola for short, "Lady of the Lightning", or more properly "Lady of the Heavens". This is of course the name of the legendary white goddess of the Zulu people. Rachel is fearless, afraid only of crocodiles and snakes, and as wise as she is beautiful.
The family meet a solitary white man, evidently of good family, in the wilderness. He introduces himself as Ishmael. He is taken by Rachel, and pays her attention - which she rejects, mistrusting him. One morning he arrived just as she was finishing dressing after bathing at the seaside, and warned her that a Zulu impi was coming. She refused to flee with him, since she didn't fear the Zulus. He rode off. Rachel saved a young woman whom the Zulus were pursuing - killing a soldier in the process. Noie, the young woman, was the daughter of Seyapi, a wizard of the Ghost Kings, and a Zulu mother. Noie joined the Dove family, who now settled at nearby Ramah ("place of weeping").
Ramah, on the Natal side of the Tugela river, became a large and prosperous mission station.
Dingaan, King of the Zulus, summons Inkosazana-y-Zoola to Zululand, that he might consult her on an important matter. The messengers give her the Bayete, or royal salute. One of their number is Mopo or Umbopo (see Nada the Lily), who alone of living Zulus had seen the spirit of the Inkosazana-y-Zoola. She gives them a non-committal answer.
Mr Dove discovers that Ishmael has been living as an African chief at his kraal of Mafooti, complete with multiple wives and children. He is insulted that Ishmael has been courting Rachel. They quarrel violently, for once the clergyman being driven to distraction.
A second Zulu embassy arrives. Rachel puts this one off like the first. But she meets a member of the embassy afterwards, who tells her Noie has been taken prisoner, and will be killed unless she, the Inkosazana-y-Zoola, comes to Zululand - alone. She does so, though parting with her parents is difficult (and her mother, for one, evidently fears that they will not meet again, in this world).
As the holder of the spirit of Nomkubulwana, or the Inkosazana-y-Zoola, Rachel is received by the Zulus with a display of evident enthusiasm. Though some had doubted that she was truly the Inkosazana-y-Zoola, they soon changed their minds after a bull which had charged her killed itself by running into a cliff, and a witchdoctress or Isanuzi was killed at her command - though she did not intend this consequencce.
At the King's House, or Intunkulu, in the royal kraal Umgugundhlovo, Rachel met the King and his council, including the aged Mopo. She is asked to advise them as to their response to the arrival of the Amaboona (Boers). She counsels peace, but this is not welcome in a warlike and ambitious country. It is not disregarded however, and wizards are called from afar to interpret her oracle - Noie's father's people. Noie is sent to summon them.
Meanwhile Rachel finds that the Zulus will not allow her to leave, though she is officially free to go. She occupies herself in trying civil cases, at which she has signal success. But she pines for her parents, and dreams of Richard Darrien.
Rachel sees a vision of Richard coming to Zululand, and warns the King to receive him well. This foreknowledge reinforces her reputation, since Richard arrives shortly afterwards. She announces her intention of leaving, and the Zulus do not stop her, since they know that she will soon be back.
Ishmael is sent to Ramah to bring Rachel's parents to Zululand. But he mishandles the situation, and his Zulus kill the Revd Mr Dove - who gains the martyrdom he always sought, and Mrs Dove dies.
Rachel and Richard arrive at Ramah to discover the deaths. They get the story from a dying member of Ishmael's party, who was shot by Mr Dove in the struggle. But they are captured by Ishmael and taken to Mafooti. Ishmael gives Rachel three days to agree to marry him, or he will kill Richard. He doesn't really want to kill Richard, so arranges for him to be given a native poison which minics death - as in Romeo and Juliet. Rachel sees the 'dead body' of Richard and becomes distracted. The Zulus arrive and learn that the Inkosazana's spirit is wandering. Mafooti is fired, and Ishmael dies in the fire. Rachel is escorted back to Zululand. But she warns the Zulus that she brings a curse, because of the blood between herself and them.
This curse is already at work. Locusts have destroyed the crops. The King's cattle are dying from eating the locusts.
The embassy of the Ghost Kings arrive with Noie. They seemingly already know of Rachel's illness. The three dwarves (Eddo, Pani and Hana, high priests of the Grey people), with an escort of huge soldiers, see visions in dew in large bowls. They bid Rachel read a bowl, and she does so, passing the vision on to Dingaan. He sees the destruction of his army and capital, and his own death.
Rachel is allowed to accompany the Ghost Kings, in payment for interpreting Rachel's prophecy - that they should not make war on the Boers. The Zulus hope she will take her curse with her. She is happy to go, as she is with Noie.
After a long trip through forests and over a large desert they reach the heavily forested home of the Ghost Kings. These people live in small huts at the base of huge trees. Nya, the Mother of the Trees, is the great aunt of Noie. But her tree falls in a hurricane which accompanies the embassy's return. With the fall of her tree Nya's reign ends, but she clings to power a little longer to keep it from Eddo. He hopes to rule through Rachel, at whose feet the tree fell. But Rachel recovers her wits, and is no longer biddable.
The priests became afraid of Rachel as her power grew. She, with Noie and Nya, took refuge in a cave below the huge tree of the tribe, growing inside a Zimbabwe-like walled enclosure.
Nya enabled Rachel, with Noie, to visit the land of ghosts to search for Richard, but find him not - for he still lived. She saw the ghosts of her parents, and that of Ishmael, which sought - and received - her forgiveness. But Noie has received a dark and terrible secret from the ghost of her father, a secret which is for herself alone, though Nya seems to guess its import.
Rachel saw a vision of Richard, and ventured into the forest to rescue him from the priests. Richard had wandered north following what appeared to be the spirit of Rachel, and the Zulus, after trying to bar his way, fell back in fear.
They overcome the priests and move into the sacred enclosure, and are surrounded by the Ghost Kings. Nya goes to the tree - inside the inner enclosure around the tree, which is fatal to all but the hereditary servants of the tree.
The servants of the tree flee as no food is forthcoming - the priests wish to starve Rachel out of the temple. But she will not come. Meanwhile the weather is dry and windy, and the forest becomes parched.
A hurricane returns, Noie, obeying the secret bidding of her father, set fire to the sacred tree. This shoots flame into the forest, and the Ghost people are burnt or flee. Eddo, badly burnt, climbs the temple walls and grapples with Noie. They both fall into the flames. Next morning Rachel and Richard leave the temple, and are met by the incredulous giant soldiers of the Ghost Kings, who had been summoned by Nya on a drum the day before. They leave the land of the Ghost Kings.
This is one of the more uncertain Haggard novels. It contains some strong characterisation and visualisation, but the plot is at times unsatisfactory. While the devotion of Noie to Rachel is complete - so much so that she will sacrifice herself for her foster sister - yet she is not a fully developed character. Richard is colourless, almost a cardboard cutout. But he is not really an important element in the story. The major character is of course Rachel herself - the Inkosazana-y-Zoola. Of the lesser characters it is the women, such as Nya, and Rachel's mother, who stand out. This is often the case with Haggard - he cannot be accused of having feeble and helpless women. What mere man could stand comparison with the Inkosazana-y-Zoola, not to mention She.
The story of young love, and a lonely life in the wilderness, are typical of Haggard. So too is the mysticism of the Zulus - and the deliberate choice to leave it uncertain whether or not Rachel really has supernatural powers. The story becomes a little contrived once it moves to the Ghost Kings' land, and would perhaps have benefitted from a longer excursion there and a fuller development of the character of this dwarf-like people.
Overall "The Ghost Kings" is not one of Haggard's strongest novels, but it deserves more attention that it customarily receives - it is not even mentioned in many bibliographies.