Witch

The story is a first-person narrative that follows the journey of Cambridge professor Horace Holly and his ward Leo Vincey to a lost kingdom in the African interior. The journey is triggered by a mysterious package left to Leo by his father, to be opened on his 25th birthday; the package contains an ancient shard of pottery and several documents, suggesting an ancient mystery about the Vincey family. Holly and Leo eventually arrive in eastern Africa where they encounter a primitive race of natives and a mysterious white queen, Ayesha, who reigns as the all-powerful "She" or "She-who-must-be-obeyed" and who has a mysterious connection to young Leo.
Ayesha is a 2,000 year old woman and still looks marvelous for her age , lives in the middle of Africa during the 1800's, rules a remote tribe of hungry cannibals, people have strange taste. When Englishmen arrive in her barbaric land, with hidden wealth , instead of being eaten, are saved by the impressive Queen. Leo is one of the tireless explorers and the fierce She, believes he is a reincarnation of a former great love.
In this work, Rider Haggard developed many of the conventions of the lost world subgenre, which many later authors emulated.