Schreiner (Olive)
346 pages. 1st Edition. Hardback. Book has been re-bound at some stage. Cloth on board. Contents are clean, binding is tight. Pages are darkening with age. Foxing throughout. No damage or staining. Good condition. Published under the pseudonym "Ralph Iron".
THE STORY OF AN AFRICAN FARM
Set in the arid Karoo region of South Africa, the novel is a semi-autobiographical Bildungsroman that explores themes of feminism, religious skepticism, and the constraints of Victorian colonial society.
The narrative centers on the lives of three children growing up on a remote ostrich and sheep farm in the mid-to-late 19th century:
- Lyndall: An intelligent and rebellious orphan girl who desires education and personal freedom, chafing against the rigid societal expectations placed on women.
- Waldo: The introspective and philosophical son of the German farm overseer, Otto, who experiences a crisis of faith and searches for truth and meaning in a harsh world.
- Em: Lyndall's more conventional cousin, who represents traditional womanhood and is content with a domestic life.
The children live under the care of the narrow-minded, apathetic Boer farm owner, Tant' Sannie. Their monotonous existence is disrupted by the arrival of the hypocritical English con artist, Bonaparte Blenkins, who manipulates Tant' Sannie for personal gain before being exposed and run off the farm.
As the characters mature, they confront the limitations of their environment. Lyndall leaves for finishing school but returns disillusioned, refusing to enter a conventional marriage. She has a child out of wedlock with an unnamed lover and dies shortly after childbirth, her aspirations unfulfilled. Waldo pursues his own intellectual and artistic development but also dies young, his search for meaning leading to a form of quiet despair. Em marries Gregory Rose, an Englishman who initially pursues Lyndall but whose character transforms to a sensitive, caring man who even nurses Lyndall in her final days in a female disguise.
The novel is widely recognized as one of the first feminist novels, challenging traditional gender roles and critiquing the limitations imposed on women in Victorian society. The characters, particularly Waldo and Lyndall, grapple with religious doubt and the search for a personal moral code outside of organized religion.
The stark, isolated setting of the South African Karoo serves as a powerful backdrop for the characters' emotional and Philosophical struggles, reflecting the harsh realities and cultural tensions of colonial existence.
The Story of an African Farm was a bestseller upon its release and is considered a classic of South African literature that profoundly influenced later writers, including Virginia Woolf and Doris Lessing.
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- Binding Condition: Very Good
- Overall Condition: Good
- Size: 180mm x 120mm
