Sir Henry Curtis is a fictional character in a series of adventure novels by

H. Rider Haggard Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform t ...

. His Zulu name is Incubu, which means "Elephant". He is the constant companion and fellow traveller of

Allan Quatermain Allan Quatermain is the protagonist of H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel ''King Solomon's Mines'', its one sequel '' Allan Quatermain'' (1887), twelve prequel novels and four prequel short stories, totalling eighteen works. An English professio ...

.Franey, Laura E. ''Victorian Travel Writing and Imperial Violence: British Writing on Africa, 1855-1902''. Springer, 2003 (p. 72) Sir Henry first became acquainted with Quatermain when he left from England to

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

province,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

to request help in search of his brother, George. Although unwilling at first, Quatermain is eventually persuaded to help lead him along with

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

John Good of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

to the Heart of Kukuanaland, where George is expected to have disappeared looking for

King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' is an 1885 popular fiction, popular novel by the English Victorian literature, Victorian adventure writer and fable, fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. Published by Cassell and Company, it tells of an expedition through an ...

. Sir Henry is especially noted for his enormous size and stature, his muscular physique, and his long, blond locks, no doubt inherited from his Danish forebears. Sir Henry is, especially in Kukuanaland, noted for his bravery in battle, such as when he led the Greys, the elite regiment in the Kukuana army, against the king Twala in an unevenly matched battle. After a long day of fighting, he even slays the king himself in hand-to-hand combat. This feat so impressed the natives that any feat of strength afterward in Kukuanaland has been known as ''Incubu's Blow''.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Sir Henry H. Rider Haggard characters Literary characters introduced in 1885 Male characters in literature