Sir Henry Rider Haggard was an English writer of adventure novels set mostly in Africa, and a founder of the Lost World literary genre. The Brethren is set in the climactic months before the opening of the Third Crusade, called the Kings' Crusade. The Brethren is a classic tale of love and chivalry, unfolding the touching story of two English knights who are in love with the same maiden. The devotion of these men is tested when their beloved is carried away against her will to Palestine and eventually to the court of the famous Muslim leader, Saladin.