History Literature / KingSolomonsMines

* TraintopBattle: After noticing that Quatermain is on the same train with him, Dogati sends a GiantMook to beat him up with a [[DropTheHammer sledge hammer]]. Quatermain manages to elude the guy, and later [[TheBigGuy Umbopo]] deals with the mook proper.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Gagool was apparently already ancient when the grandfather of the Kukuana king's eldest advisor was a boy, and it's hinted she's well over 400. That said, she dryly suggests the Gagool Da Silvestri met was her grandmother with the same name, which would explain it...except she does have intimate knowledge of what happened with Da Silvestri, including the exact location of the bag of diamonds he drops centuries ago in a place that hasn't been visited since. She also claims she will curse anyone who kills her to a swift end soon after, and [[spoiler: fatally stabs poor Foulata after she indirectly kills Gagool by delaying her exit.]]

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Gagool was apparently already ancient when the grandfather of the Kukuana king's eldest advisor was a boy, and it's hinted she's well over 400. That said, she dryly suggests the Gagool Da Silvestri met was her grandmother with the same name. She also claims she will curse anyone who kills her to a swift end soon after, and [[spoiler: fatally stabs poor Foulata after she indirectly kills Gagool by delaying her exit.]]

* DeathByMaterialism: Bockner orders Quatermain and Jesse to give him all the diamonds they had taken from the mines (when he had already filled his pockets and hat with a fortune already. Quatermain leaves [[spoiler:(most of)]] them on a stone right next to a trapped step, which Bockner walks on when collecting them.

* ManOnFire: During their climactic duel, Quatermain sets Dogatin on fire before sending him flying headfirst to a pool of lava.

* DeathByMateriallism: Bockner orders Quatermain and Jesse to give him all the diamonds they had taken from the mines (when he had already filled his pockets and hat with a fortune already. Quatermain leaves [[spoiler:(most of)]] them on a stone right next to a trapped step, which Bockner walks on when collecting them.

* LostWorld: The novel's jungle civilization is one of the UrExamples of the trope.

* ButNotTooBlack: Umbopa/Ignosi is a noble leader who speaks to the white men as an equal, so of course he must be described as "very light-coloured for a Zulu".
** Of course, Ignosi is a Kukuana and not a Zulu, and is identified as looking like a Kukuana the second he sets foot in Kukuanaland. Then again, this raises the question why the more admirable Kukuana are lighter-skinned than the Zulu.

It was enormously successful, launching the JungleOpera genre, and was followed by over a dozen sequels and prequels featuring the protagonist Allan Quatermain, including a crossover with Haggard's other most famous novel, ''Literature/{{She}}''. It has been adapted for film and television many times, including a 1937 film that starred Cedric Hardwicke as Quatermain and Paul Robeson as Umbopa, a British film from 1950 that starred Creator/StewartGranger as Quatermain and Creator/DeborahKerr as Elizabeth Curtis, a 1985 film starring Creator/RichardChamberlain and Creator/SharonStone (with a simultaneously-filmed sequel, ''Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold''), and a TV movie in 2004 starring Creator/PatrickSwayze and Alison Doody.

* BadassBaritone: Ignosi, the brave warrior, tribal chieftain, and baritone.

* DarkestAfrica: The mountains are described as being in a remote place where, as the original 1590 letter by the Portugese explorer explains, "no white foot ever pressed before or since".

* ElderlyImmortal: Gagool the evil witch is apparently very, very old. She won't admit how old she is but she was apparently there when the Portugese fellow entered the mine 300 years ago.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Gagool herself. She was apparently already ancient when the grandfather of the Kukuana king's eldest advisor was a boy, and it's hinted she's well over 400. That said, she dryly suggests the Gagool Da Silvestri met was her grandmother with the same name. She also claims she will curse anyone who kills her to a swift end soon after, and [[spoiler: fatally stabs poor Foulata after she indirectly kills Gagool by delaying her exit.]]

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Gagool herself. She was apparently already ancient when the grandfather of the Kukuana king's eldest advisor was a boy, and it's hinted she's well over 400. That said, she dryly suggests the Gagool Da Silvestri met was her grandmother with the same name. She also claims she will curse anyone who kills her to a swift end soon after, and [[fatally stabs poor Foulata after she indirectly kills Gagool by delaying her exit.]]

* ElderlyImmortal: Gagool the evil witch is apparently very, very old. She won't admit how old she is but she was there when the Portugese fellow entered the mine 300 years ago.

* LighterAndSofter: The original tale wasn't exactly dark per se, but there was a definite serious tone to it and had very little (if ''any'') humor. This adaptation on the other hand? Not only does the movie crank up the jokes [[UpToEleven elevenfold]], it also takes itself far less seriously with a much campier tone overall. By contrast, ''Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold'' tries to be more of a straight adventure tale (unwisely, since they [[NoBudget lacked the budget]] for any sort of convincing special effects, leading to quite a bit of {{Narm}}).

'''Jesse:''' Oh sure, a joke! Well I don't need to die with dignity! I want to scream...''[[ScreamingWoman ARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!]]''\\

It was enormously successful, launching the JungleOpera genre, and was followed by over a dozen sequels and prequels featuring the protagonist Allan Quatermain, including a crossover with Haggard's other most famous novel, ''Literature/{{She}}''. It has been adapted for film and television many times, including a 1937 film that starred Cedric Hardwicke as Quatermain and Paul Robeson as Umbopa, a British film from 1950 that starred Stewart Granger as Quatermain and Creator/DeborahKerr as Elizabeth Curtis, a 1985 film starring Creator/RichardChamberlain and Creator/SharonStone (with a simultaneously-filmed sequel, ''Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold''), and a TV movie in 2004 starring Creator/PatrickSwayze and Alison Doody.

* {{Battlecry}} The Kukuana battlecry is the name of their leader and the word "Kili!", meaning "Smite!"