Solomon and the Five-shilling Wager

One of the biggest problems with the film version of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is it does little to explain the literary origins of its characters.  Even the familiar ones, like Dr. Jeckle and Mister Hyde or the Invisible Man, are known more for their notoriety in contemporary culture then their actual source.  The biggest for me, however, was the nature of the Sean Connery character in the film, one Mr. Allan Qatermain.  I had never even heard the name before, let alone having any knowledge of the literal influences; a severe detriment to the story as for all intensive purposes HE WAS THE MAIN CHARACTER.

So just who is Allan Qatermain?  As it turns out the source of the character was from a certain popular adventure novel entitled King Solomon's Mines; an interesting work that upon its release in 1885 was hailed on posters and billboards as "the most amazing book ever written."  An interesting declaration in today's context as few in contemporary culture have ever heard of it, and made doubly interesting by just what had motivated the writing of the book.  It was written because of a wager between the author, Sir H. Rider Haggard, and his brother, who bet him five shillings he couldn't write a book half as good as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. 

So now the question must be asked; who really won the bet?  Certainly at the time Haggard would have seemed to, as the book had trouble printing enough copies to sell once published; it was a smash hit.  Yet in comparison today to the other book targetted in the wager it's rather obscure.  King Solomon's Mines has no major motion picture versions, unlike Treasure Island which has two disney versions (one in space and one with muppets) as well as other variations, and is the framework for most other popular pirate stories be they of the Caribbean or other knock offs.  All Haggard's novel leaves us with a legacy is one character in a popular graphic novel that was made into a flop film who's origins only english majors really know (aren't we awesome?)  Admittedly, the bet was to be half as good; anyone have a calculator?