Fiction, Fiction & Literature Classics, World Literature, Fiction Subjects

The Story of an African Farm

Name: The Story of an African Farm
Author: Olive Schreiner
ISBN: 9780140431841

by Olive Schreiner, Dan Jacobson

Write a review

Overview

A searing indictment of the rigid Boer social conventions of the 19th century, the first great South African novel chronicles the adventures of three childhood friends who defy societal repression. The novel's unorthodox views on religion and marriage aroused widespread controversy upon its 1883 publication, and the work retains in power more than a century later.

Between its first publication in 1883 and the turn of the century, this highly praised novel sold more than 100,000 copies. Now it has become a hot topic for feminist critics in Women's Studies and English Literature courses. The novel describes the plight of its orphaned heroine in Africa and expresses Schreiner's radical views on religion, marriage, and the search for self.

Synopsis

The classic novel of Karoo life

About the Author, Olive Schreiner

Olive Schreiner was born in 1855 in Eastern Cape, South Africa. She had a long and productive career as an author and activist, both in South Africa and in England and Europe. She died in 1920.