She was first published in book form in 1887. The story is an enduring classic, more than a century old. It’s a fantasy adventure packed with action, mystery, wonder, supernatural marvels and beauty, along with violence and darkness. While it bears some of the now-discredited hallmarks of the era in which it was written, it remains an enthralling page-turner. Refreshingly, considering 19th century social attitudes, it features a strong woman with a complex personality as the central character. When he was growing up, JRR Tolkien greatly enjoyed reading all the works of H. Rider Haggard, the author of She . In particular, he stated in a 1966 interview, I suppose as a boy ‘She’ interested me as much as anything… Many interesting parallels can be drawn between The Lord of the Rings and She . Readers will find echoes of Galadriel and her mirror here, and even the literary progenitors of Frodo and The One Ring. Tolkien scholars have discussed how Ayesha - the regal, immortal protagonist - strongly influenced Tolkien’s portrayal of the elf-queen Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings . Like Galadriel, for example, Ayesha is beautiful and powerful. Like her, she gazes into a magical bowl of water to witness scenes from afar.This edition contains the original illustrations as enjoyed by JRR Tolkien.