The Africander: A Plain Tale of Colonial Life (Classic Reprint)

E. Clairmonte

ISBN 10: 1330943880 / ISBN 13: 9781330943885

Published by Forgotten Books, 2017

About this Item

Print on Demand. This book transports readers to a fascinating time and place: South Africa in the late 1800s, during the British colonial era. The author, a young man of fourteen, recounts his experiences as he journeys into the heart of the vast and varied landscapes of the Cape Colony, working on ostrich farms and encountering the diverse people and wildlife of the region. The reader gains a unique perspective on the burgeoning ostrich farming industry, from the birdsââ â ¢ breeding habits to the challenging process of feather extraction. Through vivid descriptions, the author provides a detailed look at the daily lives of settlers and the Indigenous populations, offering an intimate glimpse into the complex interactions between different cultures. We experience the dangers of wild animals like baboons and leopards, and the harsh realities of drought, alongside the beauty of the natural world. Ultimately, the author's journey reveals the rugged beauty of South Africa and the diverse, often contradictory experiences of a young man on the cusp of adulthood in a world brimming with both opportunities and challenges. This book offers a captivating and often humorous snapshot of a pivotal period in South African history. This book is a reproduction of an important historical work, digitally reconstructed using state-of-the-art technology to preserve the original format. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in the book.

Seller Inventory # 9781330943885_0

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Africander: A Plain Tale of Colonial Life (Classic Reprint)
• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1330943880
• ISBN 13: 9781330943885
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Book Type: print-on-demand item
• Seller catalogs:
  • Childrens Fiction

About this title

Synopsis

Explore life on the edge of empire through a vivid journey across South Africa’s farms, towns, and diamond fields.

This tale blends travelogue and frontier drama, sketches of daily work, and moments of high adventure as the narrator meets colonists, miners, and native peoples along winding roads and open plains. A window into a colonial world of bold characters, dusty camps, and striking landscapes, it offers both warm humor and stark danger.

The book follows long drives through mimosa-scented air, farm homesteads with their stoep and kraals, and the rhythms of tobacco cultivation, horse life, and field labor. It also dives into the drama of mining towns, the challenges of desert rivers and karroo scrub, and episodes of frontier combat that test courage and loyalty. Across these pages, readers glimpse a society built on hard work, resilience, and the shifting promises of a young continent.

• Vivid scenes of travel, farming life, and colonial towns in South Africa
• Detailed glimpses of farming practices, tobacco production, and labor routines
• Military episodes, frontier skirmishes, and the realities of life on the veld
• Descriptions of landscapes—from grassy plains to dry Karroo and riverbanks

Ideal for readers of historical memoirs and adventure stories set in the colonial era.