When the World Shook · Chapters

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Chapter companions for When the World Shook by H. Rider Haggard.

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Chapter 1
Dedication
H. Rider Haggard dedicates the book to Earl Curzon of Kedleston, recalling Curzon's past kindness in defending him against a false accusation. Haggard offers the romance as a token of gratitude and invites Curzon to discern its deeper parable.
Chapter 2
When the World Shook
The chapter introduces the narrator, Humphrey Arbuthnot, and sets the stage for the great adventure involving Bastin, Bickley, and himself. It establishes the background and the impending journey that will lead them to the island of Orofena.
Chapter 3
I: Arbuthnot Describes Himself
Humphrey Arbuthnot introduces himself, his background, and his father, the Rev. Humphrey Arbuthnot, a learned but obscure vicar. He describes his own inheritance of abilities, his spiritual and mystical sense, and his eventual success in finance, which enabled him to buy Fulcombe Priory from the ruined Enfield family. He reflects on the nature of faith, the soul, and the pursuit of meaning.
Chapter 4
II: Bastin and Bickley
The narrator introduces his two closest friends, Bastin and Bickley, who are polar opposites in temperament and belief. Bastin is a simple, good-hearted clergyman with a literal faith, while Bickley is a skeptical surgeon who believes only in the material world. The narrator describes how he brought both to Fulcombe—Bastin as vicar and Bickley as a surgeon—and how their constant debates entertain him. He also touches on his own restlessness and search for purpose, rejecting their suggestions for his future.
Chapter 5
III: Natalie
The chapter details the death of Mrs. Bastin from heart disease after a jealous, frantic search for her husband, and Arbuthnot's first meeting with Natalie at a dinner in Rome, where he feels humiliated by his lack of modern languages but is struck by her beauty framed by lilies.

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Dedication

When the World Shook

I: Arbuthnot Describes Himself

II: Bastin and Bickley

III: Natalie