Underlying book story — recording-specific coverage unverified
Coverage is limited to the scope described in this write-up. Recording changes, further installments or an unwritten ending may remain outside it.
This synopsis covers the underlying book linked to this recording: She. Recording-specific abridgements, added material or adaptation changes have not been verified.
Horace Holly, a young Cambridge University professor, is visited by Vincey, a colleague who is convinced that he will soon die. Vincey charges Holly with the task of raising his young son, Leo. He gives Holly a locked iron box, with instructions that it is not to be opened until Leo's 25th birthday. Holly agrees. Vincey is found dead the next day, and Holly raises the boy as his own. When the box is opened they discover the ancient "Sherd of Amenartas". The Sherd describes an ancient love triangle between Amenartas, She, and Kallikrates. She kills Kallikrates, and Amenartas charges her son with revenge. The son attempted the task without success, and passed the quest on to his son, who also failed. So did the quest pass through the generations, until Vincey passed it to Leo.
Although Holly disbelieves the story, Leo decides to investigate. The two, along with their servant, Job, follow instructions on the Sherd and travel to eastern Africa. After surviving a shipwreck, they and their Arab captain, Mahomed, journey into the African interior where they are captured by the savage Amahagger people. The adventurers learn that the natives are ruled by a fearsome white queen who is worshipped as Hiya or "She-who-must-be-obeyed". Billali, chief of one of the Amahagger tribes, takes charge of the three men, introducing them to the ways of his people. One of the Amahagger maidens, Ustane, takes a liking to Leo and, by kissing him and embracing him publicly, weds him according to Amahagger custom. Leo, likewise, grows very fond of her.
Billali leaves to report the white men's arrival to the queen. In his absence, some of the Amahagger become restless and attempt to eat Mahomed as part of a ritual "hot pot". Holly shoots and kills several of the Amahagger, accidentally killing Mahomed in the process. Leo is gravely wounded in the ensuing struggle, and Ustane saves his life by throwing herself onto his prostrate body. Billali returns and declares that the three men are under the queen's protection. Ustane faithfully attends to Leo, but his condition worsens, especially when the queen summons them and they are forced to traverse the swamps linking the kingdom.
The men are taken to the home of the queen near the ruins of the lost city of Kôr, a once-mighty civilisation that predated the Egyptians. In a series of catacombs originally built as tombs, Holly is presented to the queen, a white sorceress named Ayesha whose beauty is so great that it enchants any man who beholds it. Ayesha, veiled and behind a partition, warns Holly that the power of her splendour arouses both desire and fear. When she shows herself, Holly is enraptured and prostrates himself before her. Ayesha reveals that she has learned the secret of immortality and that she possesses other supernatural powers including the ability to read the minds of others, as well as healing wounds and curing illness, but she is unable to see into the future. She tells Holly that she has lived in Kôr for more than two millennia, awaiting the reincarnated return of her lover, Kallikrates (whom she had slain in a fit of jealous rage).
The next evening Ayesha visits Leo, intending to heal him. Upon seeing his face, she declares him to be the reincarnation of Kallikrates. Ayesha orders Ustane to leave and never set eyes on Leo again. When Ustane refuses, Ayesha strikes her dead with magic. Leo becomes bewitched, and despite the murder of Ustane, neither Holly nor Leo can free themselves from Ayesha's power. Ayesha shows Leo the perfectly preserved body of Kallikrates, which she has kept with her, and then dissolves the remains with a powerful acid, confident that Leo is indeed the reincarnation of her former lover.
Ayesha takes the men to see the Pillar of Fire, the source of her immortality and power. She is determined that Leo should bathe in the fire to become immortal and remain with her forever. Arriving at the great cavern, Leo doubts the safety of entering the fire, whereupon Ayesha herself steps into the flame. This second immersion nullifies her immortality, and she begins to wither and revert to her true age. The sight is so shocking that Job dies of fright. Before dying, Ayesha tells Leo, "Forget me not. I shall come again!" Holly and Leo then depart from Kôr and eventually return to their home in Cambridge.
Horace Holly, a young Cambridge University professor, is visited by Vincey, a colleague who is convinced that he will soon die. Vincey charges Holly with the task of raising his young son, Leo. He gives Holly a locked iron box, with instructions that it is not to be opened until Leo's 25th birthday. Holly agrees. Vincey is found dead the next day, and Holly raises the boy as his own. When the box is opened they discover the ancient "Sherd of Amenartas". The Sherd describes an ancient love triangle between Amenartas, She, and Kallikrates. She kills Kallikrates, and Amenartas charges her son with revenge. The son attempted the task without success, and passed the quest on to his son, who also failed. So did the quest pass through the generations, until Vincey passed it to Leo.
Although Holly disbelieves the story, Leo decides to investigate. The two, along with their servant, Job, follow instructions on the Sherd and travel to eastern Africa. After surviving a shipwreck, they and their Arab captain, Mahomed, journey into the African interior where they are captured by the savage Amahagger people. The adventurers learn that the natives are ruled by a fearsome white queen who is worshipped as Hiya or "She-who-must-be-obeyed". Billali, chief of one of the Amahagger tribes, takes charge of the three men, introducing them to the ways of his people. One of the Amahagger maidens, Ustane, takes a liking to Leo and, by kissing him and embracing him publicly, weds him according to Amahagger custom. Leo, likewise, grows very fond of her.
Billali leaves to report the white men's arrival to the queen. In his absence, some of the Amahagger become restless and attempt to eat Mahomed as part of a ritual "hot pot". Holly shoots and kills several of the Amahagger, accidentally killing Mahomed in the process. Leo is gravely wounded in the ensuing struggle, and Ustane saves his life by throwing herself onto his prostrate body. Billali returns and declares that the three men are under the queen's protection. Ustane faithfully attends to Leo, but his condition worsens, especially when the queen summons them and they are forced to traverse the swamps linking the kingdom.
The men are taken to the home of the queen near the ruins of the lost city of Kôr, a once-mighty civilisation that predated the Egyptians. In a series of catacombs originally built as tombs, Holly is presented to the queen, a white sorceress named Ayesha whose beauty is so great that it enchants any man who beholds it. Ayesha, veiled and behind a partition, warns Holly that the power of her splendour arouses both desire and fear. When she shows herself, Holly is enraptured and prostrates himself before her. Ayesha reveals that she has learned the secret of immortality and that she possesses other supernatural powers including the ability to read the minds of others, as well as healing wounds and curing illness, but she is unable to see into the future. She tells Holly that she has lived in Kôr for more than two millennia, awaiting the reincarnated return of her lover, Kallikrates (whom she had slain in a fit of jealous rage).
The next evening Ayesha visits Leo, intending to heal him. Upon seeing his face, she declares him to be the reincarnation of Kallikrates. Ayesha orders Ustane to leave and never set eyes on Leo again. When Ustane refuses, Ayesha strikes her dead with magic. Leo becomes bewitched, and despite the murder of Ustane, neither Holly nor Leo can free themselves from Ayesha's power. Ayesha shows Leo the perfectly preserved body of Kallikrates, which she has kept with her, and then dissolves the remains with a powerful acid, confident that Leo is indeed the reincarnation of her former lover.
Ayesha takes the men to see the Pillar of Fire, the source of her immortality and power. She is determined that Leo should bathe in the fire to become immortal and remain with her forever. Arriving at the great cavern, Leo doubts the safety of entering the fire, whereupon Ayesha herself steps into the flame. This second immersion nullifies her immortality, and she begins to wither and revert to her true age. The sight is so shocking that Job dies of fright. Before dying, Ayesha tells Leo, "Forget me not. I shall come again!" Holly and Leo then depart from Kôr and eventually return to their home in Cambridge.
Sources and content license
Source and revision history ↗ · Underlying book identified by the catalog’s explicit book_slug relation. Exact source annotation 1003. Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, She: A History of Adventure. Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license