Red Eve

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Red Eve is a historical novel with fantasy elements by British writer H. Rider Haggard. It was first published in 1911 in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton, with Grosset & Dunlap releasing the US edition. The story is set in the reign of Edward III and features real events like the Battle of Crécy and the Black Death, along with a supernatural personification of Death named Murgh.

Critical reception notes its brisk narrative and the use of Murgh as a symbolic element. E. F. Bleiler said the characters are somewhat stereotyped and the writing isn’t as preachy as usual, but the Murgh symbol works well. Pamela Cleaver called it a stirring tale that keeps readers turning the pages, though she critiqued the cast as stock characters. Darrell Schweitzer described Red Eve as a later Haggard work that starts as a costume romance and develops into weird fiction with Murgh. John Scarborough lists it among Haggard’s best novels.