King Solomon's Mines Lesson Plan

How does Quatermain present himself to the reader in the first chapter, and what expectations does this establish for the reader in terms of the narrative pacing and how the novel will contrast against typical stories of the time?

Allan Quatermain presents himself as a man of experience, “fifty-five last birthday,” who has only now begun an attempt at writing down his personal history. Haggard thereby establishes Quatermain as the first-person narrator, but one who is uncouth with the pen. In contrast to the prevalent novels of the time, Haggard’s narrator is unschooled: “At an age when other boys are at school, I was earning my living as a trader in the old Colony."