Marie: An Episode in the Life of the Late Allan Quatermain Part 1

Young Allan Quatermain grows up on the harsh South African frontier, learning French and mastering hunting and survival skills, while experiencing violence and conflict during the attack on Maraisfontein and the dramatic rescue that follows. He falls deeply in love with Marie Marais, a Boer farm girl, yet their romance is threatened by her father’s hatred of the English and by the sinister ambition of her cousin Hernando Pereira. Through shooting matches, partings, and reunions, love intensifies even as jealousy and hostility gather strength. Allan repeatedly risks his life to protect Marie, and amid camps of death and gunshots in the kloof he begins to discover his calling and moral courage. This first half portrays the birth of forbidden love and the gathering storm of destiny against a background of historical unrest.