Non Fiction

Lavishly illustrated Farmhouses of Old Natal. A perfect gift to celebrate the beauty and heritage of Natal.

Read our book review here:

https://capitalnewspapers.co.za/117991/homes-that-house-history/

Our 2022 Roses Calendar is now out. An amazing gift in time for Christmas.

A proud child of Cape Town’s infamous District Six, Alex La Guma (1925 - 1985) is one of South Africa’s unsung literary heroes. As a novelist and a freedom fighter, he followed in the footsteps of his politically active father, Jimmy La Guma to combat the injustices of apartheid, then went into exile in London with his family after harrowing periods of solitary detention and severe harassment at the hands of South Africa’s Special Branch police. 

With an eye for the minutiae of  life - depicted in all its harsh reality, tempered with profound compassion, gentle humour and a beautifully ornate prose style, he produced five superb novels and over a dozen short stories between 1962 and 1979. In addition to his writing, his political work continued in exile and he subsequently left London for Havana, Cuba to become chief representative of the African National Congress in the Caribbean.  

Yet today, tragically, in the country of his birth - where his books were once banned - he is virtually unknown, a forgotten colossus. However, his potent genius for creating vivid characters amidst the brutality of apartheid, his masterful storytelling technique, his ardent humanity and unwavering support of the poor, the oppressed and the ostracized, will in time all ensure his lasting fame, both in South Africa and abroad. 

Be in no doubt: the name of Alex La Guma - as a novelist, an activist in the liberation struggle - and as a remarkable human being - should be on all our lips.

Note - This is the E-book Version. You will be emailed a copy upon purchase.

At last, Henry Brown tells his story. And what a story it Is. His early law experience in Cape Town cast him into the eye of the Struggle when he represented key anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, Winnie Mandela, Zach de Beer, Albie Sachs, Robert Sobukwe and many others. Working with SWAPO and the International University Exchange Fund brought him into contact with notorious government spy, Craig Williamson. Then, on moving to Britain, Henry rose to become a senior level partner in a City of London law firm, gaining national and international recognition through his pioneering of mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution, with his objective to bring humanity and Ubuntu into the practice of law and the resolution of disputes. In his foreword, distinguished former Constitutional Court judge, Albie Sachs, writes: “he tells an astonishingly rich and powerful story in a calm, low-key and well organised way...unusually unpretentious in a highly competitive and self-projecting profession...”

 

Read a review of Henry Brown’s A Lawyer’s Odyssey: Apartheid, Mandela and Beyond
by Verne Harris of the Nelson Mandela Foundation

Not surprisingly, given the book’s title, Henry Brown has written a memoir about his legal career and the work he has done – drawing on his considerable legal and life experience - in the field of mediation. For the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the text offers multiple intersections with the life and times of its Founder, and provides fascinating insight into the provenance of three of its archival collections – Mandela’s prison letters, a collection of legal records donated by Hymie Bernadt, and a collection of papers donated by Judge Thumba Pillay. For myself, I would have wished for many more layers of the personal than what Brown actually gives us – he keeps his focus unrelentingly on the professional, even the technical, seldom providing readers with a sense of his views on life, love and everything else. In some ways his approach provides a unique perspective in a publishing space dominated by the male titans of South African human rights lawyering, from Mandela to Bizos, Sachs to Moseneke. Both his view and his voice are humble – he confines his line of enquiry to technical detail rather than big political questions, and his human rights work is always just one thread in a tapestry of general legal practice. He self-identified as a generalist with a range of special interests – including what he calls ‘political’ work, intellectual property, immigration law, family and divorce law. The latter part of his career he devoted to
a passion for mediation work, becoming a renowned (and widely published) authority in the field (this, of course, is not something Brown makes plain in the book, I had to rely on Google for that …)

For many years Henry Brown was just a name to the Foundation, appearing often in the records which Hymie Bernadt donated to us in 2005. Bernadt had been a partner in the Cape Town-based firm Frank, Bernadt and Joffe, which had acted for Mandela through the years of  his incarceration. Brown’s narrative brings the firm to life – its structure, the people who worked there, its work processes and cultures. And it provides a rich array of technical detail  on the legal support the firm gave to Mandela and his family in the period 1965 to 1971. Brown handled a range of matters, consulted with Mandela on Robben Island more than once, and supported legal and related interventions. There was support for Mandela on multiple charges of breaching prison regulations, for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on a  charge of having breached a banning order, for family members needing financial and other assistance, and for Mandela in defending himself against an attempt by the apartheid state (in
1967) to have him removed from the roll of attorneys on the grounds of his alleged
membership of the Communist Party. In terms of the latter, Brown, predictably, provides no  analysis on what is the vexed question of whether Mandela ever was a card-carrying member  of the Party. As always, he confines himself to the technical dimensions of the legal support he provided to Mandela in the matter.

In 1971 Brown left South Africa to make a new life in London with his family. They moved into the Muswell Hill area, living literally just down the street from Adelaide and OR Tambo and having as close neighbours other South African exiles, like the Dadoos, the La Gumas and the Septembers. Brown immediately joined the British Anti-Apartheid Movement, and remained a member for many years. But A Lawyer’s Odyssey is a legal memoir, so Brown frustratingly offers no reflection, no exploration, of life, love and everything else in the movement and in Muswell Hill. In 1975 he and Arnold Simanowitz set up their own law firm, and it wasn’t long before Brown found himself again acting on behalf of Nelson Mandela. In 1978 he was briefed by Mac Maharaj on a detailed expose of conditions on Robben Island written by Mandela and smuggled out to Durban-based lawyer Thumba Pillay.

Over the next two years Brown supported Pillay and his old boss Hymie Bernadt in the action designed to defend the rights of political prisoners on the Island.
A listing of Brown’s human rights work through nearly four decades reads like a South
African struggle who’s who. He represented many Robben Island prisoners other than
Mandela. He was Albie Sach’s attorney during the latter’s first period in detention. He
worked on the inquest into the death in detention of Imam Abdullah Haron, the libel case of  Robert Smangaliso Sobukwe, the apartheid state’s criminalisation of homosexuality, and apartheid spy Craig Williamson’s infiltration of the IUEF in Europe. At different times he represented Chris Hani’s uncle Milton Hani, Chief Sabata Dalindyebo (a matter in which he worked closely with Griffiths Mxenge), SWAPO and IDAF. The experience of reading Brown’s modest, very matter-of-fact, accounts of his role at these moments and with these historical figures reminded me of nothing so much as my first reading of John Irving’s The World According to Garp. I loved that book. And I love Brown’s.

Please note this version is available for purchase and delivery in South Africa only. For purchases outside South Africa please visit https://lawyersodyssey.mystrikingly.com/ 

At last, Henry Brown tells his story. And what a story it Is. His early law experience in Cape Town cast him into the eye of the Struggle when he represented key anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, Winnie Mandela, Zach de Beer, Albie Sachs, Robert Sobukwe and many others. Working with SWAPO and the International University Exchange Fund brought him into contact with notorious government spy, Craig Williamson. Then, on moving to Britain, Henry rose to become a senior level partner in a City of London law firm, gaining national and international recognition through his pioneering of mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution, with his objective to bring humanity and Ubuntu into the practice of law and the resolution of disputes. In his foreword, distinguished former Constitutional Court judge, Albie Sachs, writes: “he tells an astonishingly rich and powerful story in a calm, low-key and well organised way...unusually unpretentious in a highly competitive and self-projecting profession...”

 

Read a review of Henry Brown’s A Lawyer’s Odyssey: Apartheid, Mandela and Beyond
by Verne Harris of the Nelson Mandela Foundation

Not surprisingly, given the book’s title, Henry Brown has written a memoir about his legal career and the work he has done – drawing on his considerable legal and life experience - in the field of mediation. For the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the text offers multiple intersections with the life and times of its Founder, and provides fascinating insight into the provenance of three of its archival collections – Mandela’s prison letters, a collection of legal records donated by Hymie Bernadt, and a collection of papers donated by Judge Thumba Pillay. For myself, I would have wished for many more layers of the personal than what Brown actually gives us – he keeps his focus unrelentingly on the professional, even the technical, seldom providing readers with a sense of his views on life, love and everything else. In some ways his approach provides a unique perspective in a publishing space dominated by the male titans of South African human rights lawyering, from Mandela to Bizos, Sachs to Moseneke. Both his view and his voice are humble – he confines his line of enquiry to technical detail rather than big political questions, and his human rights work is always just one thread in a tapestry of general legal practice. He self-identified as a generalist with a range of special interests – including what he calls ‘political’ work, intellectual property, immigration law, family and divorce law. The latter part of his career he devoted to
a passion for mediation work, becoming a renowned (and widely published) authority in the field (this, of course, is not something Brown makes plain in the book, I had to rely on Google for that …)

 

For many years Henry Brown was just a name to the Foundation, appearing often in the records which Hymie Bernadt donated to us in 2005. Bernadt had been a partner in the Cape Town-based firm Frank, Bernadt and Joffe, which had acted for Mandela through the years of  his incarceration. Brown’s narrative brings the firm to life – its structure, the people who worked there, its work processes and cultures. And it provides a rich array of technical detail  on the legal support the firm gave to Mandela and his family in the period 1965 to 1971. Brown handled a range of matters, consulted with Mandela on Robben Island more than once, and supported legal and related interventions. There was support for Mandela on multiple charges of breaching prison regulations, for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on a  charge of having breached a banning order, for family members needing financial and other assistance, and for Mandela in defending himself against an attempt by the apartheid state (in
1967) to have him removed from the roll of attorneys on the grounds of his alleged
membership of the Communist Party. In terms of the latter, Brown, predictably, provides no  analysis on what is the vexed question of whether Mandela ever was a card-carrying member  of the Party. As always, he confines himself to the technical dimensions of the legal support he provided to Mandela in the matter.

In 1971 Brown left South Africa to make a new life in London with his family. They moved into the Muswell Hill area, living literally just down the street from Adelaide and OR Tambo and having as close neighbours other South African exiles, like the Dadoos, the La Gumas and the Septembers. Brown immediately joined the British Anti-Apartheid Movement, and remained a member for many years. But A Lawyer’s Odyssey is a legal memoir, so Brown frustratingly offers no reflection, no exploration, of life, love and everything else in the movement and in Muswell Hill. In 1975 he and Arnold Simanowitz set up their own law firm, and it wasn’t long before Brown found himself again acting on behalf of Nelson Mandela. In 1978 he was briefed by Mac Maharaj on a detailed expose of conditions on Robben Island written by Mandela and smuggled out to Durban-based lawyer Thumba Pillay.

Over the next two years Brown supported Pillay and his old boss Hymie Bernadt in the action designed to defend the rights of political prisoners on the Island.
A listing of Brown’s human rights work through nearly four decades reads like a South
African struggle who’s who. He represented many Robben Island prisoners other than
Mandela. He was Albie Sach’s attorney during the latter’s first period in detention. He
worked on the inquest into the death in detention of Imam Abdullah Haron, the libel case of  Robert Smangaliso Sobukwe, the apartheid state’s criminalisation of homosexuality, and apartheid spy Craig Williamson’s infiltration of the IUEF in Europe. At different times he represented Chris Hani’s uncle Milton Hani, Chief Sabata Dalindyebo (a matter in which he worked closely with Griffiths Mxenge), SWAPO and IDAF. The experience of reading Brown’s modest, very matter-of-fact, accounts of his role at these moments and with these historical figures reminded me of nothing so much as my first reading of John Irving’s The World According to Garp. I loved that book. And I love Brown’s.

My interest in Addington Children’s Hospital and the Nurses’ Home arose whilst I was assembling my heritage website (www.kznpr.co.za). I was photographing the buildings along the beachfront and my attention was immediately drawn to these two derelict buildings, on our prime beachfront. My work requires me to be inquisitive and an open door of the children’s hospital could not be ignored. Little did I know that this open door would introduce me to a long- forgotten world, a time capsule, with a treasure trove of art, decay, dripping walls, stained glass and ceramics.

The building had been closed for many years with little interference. It was a profound experience to enter this hallowed space where so many children had been treated with compassion by their devoted carers. This feeling would have been shared by the many mothers, fathers, siblings and family who might have experienced the pain of children’s suffering or the joys of birth and healing. It was, however, the relics of this much-loved institution, that reinforced how special this haven was. I spent hours photographing the ceramics, cartoon murals, stained-glass windows, statues and walls with swathes of peeling paint. These images demonstrated the love and care of the professional people who had established the hospital and continued to care for children for many decades. Much of the artwork was done by Natal’s ‘Picasso’, Mary Stainbank and her life- long friend Florence Wilgeford Van-Hall, as well as other artists.

Alongside the Children’s Hospital was a similarly decaying structure, whose history had included being a hospital, nurses’ home, WW II hospital and latterly housing Addington Centenary Museum. Alas, the Nursing Home has shared the same fate of its neighbour. It did, however, share a similar mystery and aura, with its rotten windows, floorboards and yards of peeling paint. I consider this photo shoot as one of the most meaningful of all my assignments in KwaZulu-Natal and for this reason, I have published my images of this special place. It is not a comprehensive record of all the artworks or intended to be a history but to display the decaying memory of this, once fine, hospital.

Act now to get your hands on this 184 page, glossy hard cover gem with bound and stitched sections.

Foreword

The history and development of gardens is fascinating, but long and complex. It is beyond the scope of this book except where it affects the different styles of gardening that have evolved over the ages. From vital subsistence vegetable gardening on the fertile banks of great rivers such as the Nile to the monasteries of old, gardening has developed into a multi-faceted skill, utilising the expertise and lessons of the past, pushing the boundariesinto the exciting unknown.

Certain styles still govern the arrangements of space, for example the gardens designed by the brilliant Spanish garden designer of the 20th century, Fernando Caruncho. The basis of his work relies on the grid system influenced by Persian gardens. He says, inspired by Petrarch, ‘In order to travel into the future, it is necessary to walk towards the pure clarity of the past.’ Although he may use wheat, olive trees and cypresses as plant material in his design as he did in the Mas de les Voltes, the basic principles of formal design prevail.

In the creative planting of grasses and perennials by designers such as Piet Oudolf
 and Noel Kingsbury in the 21st century, the outcome may look natural, but the planning of contrast, repetition, and the interweaving of plants requires a deep knowledge of both plant behavior and design.

Gardens are governed by ‘the spirit of place’ and some beg for a particular style, while others are open to various interpretations or even a mixture of style. This book will help the gardener decide.

Retail Price: R 25 each plus postage (R 20)
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Discount for bulk purchases

For a century cartoonists have been commenting on South Africa’s international relations. Indeed, they were doing so long before the academic discipline of International Relations was born. Before think-tanks and international relations experts made their voices heard, a more subversive, and certainly more spicy, variety of understanding and criticism of international relations was at work. This was, of course, the ‘sharp eye’ on foreign policy and international relations, drawn in jest – and sometimes in anger – by cartoonists.

This book is about how these ‘other’ observers have looked at and commented on South Africa’s relations with the world for the past hundred years. It examines their interpretations of the unfolding events in international affairs, and also considers how these commentators and their work have interacted with the more formal understandings of foreign policy and international relations that came long after the cartoons appeared.

Read a review of the book at the Daily Maverick.

About the Author

Peter Vale is professor of Humanities at the University of Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Chair of Politics Emeritus at Rhodes University, Grahamstown. He is a fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, where he chairs the Academic Advisory Committee.

Vale has published extensively in a number of fields, including International Relations (and its theory), Politics, Social Theory and higher education in South Africa, especially in the Humanities. He is a recipient of the International Medal of the University of Utrecht and the Senior Research Award from Rhodes University.

Vale is an energetic contributor to the media and currently writes a monthly column for the Daily Dispatch and Business Day. He also writes a monthly diary column, “Black Arts”, on higher education for the national weekly, The Mail & Guardian.

Bibliography compiled by an award-winning bibliographer, Abdul Beth. This is the latest in his series of bibliographies on Mazrui, one of Africa’s most renowned scholars.

Read our review of Ali A Mazrui by Iqbal Jassat

In keeping with his deep love and interest in the gigantic scholarship of one of Africa's literary giants, Lenasia's highly acclaimed academic Abdul Samed Bemath, has compiled a new bibliography as a sequel to his earlier "Mazruiana Collection".

Covering a period of fifteen years, 2003 - 2018, the current publication is a continuation of the author's labour of love. And as much as it is a tribute to the intellectual genius Ali A Mazrui, Bemath's bibliography must be viewed as a monumental affirmation of his own valuable art.

Mazrui's passing at the age of 81 on October 12, 2014, may have ended the life of Africa's foremost thinker widely renowned for his profound insights, yet as Bemath's compilation proves, his prolific writings and corpus of literary works known as Mazruiana, will live on as testament of his immense scholarship.

Ali A Mazrui was born in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa in 1933. His early years significantly defined by his father who was both the Chief Justice and Qadi (Muslim Jurist) in Kenya.

While he obtained academic excellence in Manchester, New York and Oxford, he returned to Uganda as a professor at Makerere University.

According to Eve Ferguson, the decade he spent at Makerere, from 1963 to 1973, were fertile years producing many works.

"Protest and Power in Black Africa" (1970); "Africa in World Affairs: The Next Thirty Years" (1973); and "World Culture and the Black Experience" (1973), were all produced when Mazrui served as Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences. He was also appointed Interim Dean of Law and was regarded as the Founder of the School of Law at Makerere.

But it was the television series "The Africans: A Triple Heritage", broadcast on BBC, which gave rise to Ali Mazrui becoming a familiar household name.

His forthright political views clashed with Idi Amin resulting in self-exile until he settled in the United States.

Mazrui's intellectual contributions kept growing at a rapid pace. Whether via his writings, seminars, talks, media interviews or debates, the gentle giant of Africa rose to unmatched heights as he articulated views on diverse subjects and themes.

Undoubtedly, as Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, former Prime Minister of Tanzania stated, the very name - Ali Al'amin Mazrui - triggers an intellectual enthusiasm and an intense desire for a deeper insight of the world.

The corpus of his published writings, documentaries and advisories is so profoundly rich and captivating, that not to collate it as meticulously as Bemath has done, would be a grave omission.

The recent annotated and select thematic bibliography 2003-2008, consists of 180 entries and is divided into ten sections. These range from memorial seminars and symposiums to publications, academic articles, discourses, media, tributes, awards and major works on Mazrui.

The annotated entries are arranged chronologically from 2018 to 2003, providing a summary of content allowing readers a keen understanding of the information covered. As James Karioki pertinently observes: "It was one thing for Bemath to source all the publications worldwide, and quite another to read and annotate them."

It is thus not surprising that Bemath's mammoth task has been acknowledged with gratitude and profound appreciation by many leading scholars, academics, historians and political heavyweights alike.

"Few figures in political science have produced a lifetime of work that would warrant cataloguing into a reference book. Ali A Mazrui is one of those few. He (Bemath) has produced a valuable resource for those interested in the ideas of a man who helped shape African scholarship in the twentieth century", are the welcome views of Professor Robert L. Ostergard Jr. in his review of "The Mazruiana Collection" (1998).

These complimentary views are echoed by many across the world who value and cherish Bemath's painstaking monumental work of diligence resulting in showcasing the ideas of a man who without doubt guided and shaped African scholarship.

An exciting stimulus included in the publication is an essay by Seifudien Adem, which records Mazrui's extraordinary achievements as a trailblazer in pursuit of excellence.

Bemath's devotion and passion is evident throughout the detailed and highly professional compilation. It is an essential resource and required reading.

Iqbal Jassat
Exec Member: Media Review Network
Johannesburg
South Africa

Infant  Natal  was  a tough and perilous  place.  Dense bush surrounded the Bay and wild animals roamed the countryside: elephant and lion were common; crocodiles and hippo were a constant danger. The  terrain called for strong characters who could fend for themselves and survive the many  pitfalls. Dick King was one such person. His adventures and escapades were legion and legendary.  It twas he, who set off from the Fort in Durban, to seek assistance from the British Garrison in far-off Grahamstown for the British soldiers  besieged by the Boers.   For the first part of his 600-mile ride, he was accompanied by his stalwart companion, Ndongeni ka Xoki,  whose role in this exploit has often been underestimated.   Dick King’s modest nature precluded him from talking about his life and it was left to others to chronicle his story. The author has attempted to piece together the strands from various secondary sources, newspaper cuttings, family history and archival research, and to place them in the context of the Natal of Dick King’s time. One of her primary aims has been to let those involved speak for themselves.  Dick King’s extraordinary achievements are complemented by the life and pioneering spirit of his eldest son, Richard Philip Henry, who lived a fascinating life, mainly in the Transvaal.  Men of this calibre form part of  both South Africa’s  history and mythology.

Jacqueline Kalley has a special interest in their lives as Dick King was her  maternal great-great-grandfather, and his son lived the last two years of his 94-year-old life in her family home in Pietermaritzburg. Jacqueline Kalley has her PhD in Information Studies and for many years was Librarian at the South African Institute of International Affairs. Librarianship has given way to writing and publishing and she is the CEO of Otterley Press.

This beautifully illustrated book on Old Roses is sure to inspire many a love affair with these splendid survivors from ancient times. Often sumptuous clusters of buds, open flowers and withered blooms give one the sense of the cycle of life. Renowned for their beauty, fragrance, disease free traits and an ability to survive years of neglect, Old roses are defined as those bred or introduced before 1900. This book has a specific South African bias, concentrating on Old Roses available in this country.

Beautiful photos of stunning Roses. This set of 8 notelets comes with envelopes. Perfect for Christmas cards and any other special occasion

A lively, humorous and riveting account of the history of schools for English-speaking South Africans. Mark Henning gives insight into a remarkably rich part of the education vineyard with storied histories and prognoses into thier future course. The schools need closer appreciation for their greatcontribution to South Africa culture, economy and democracy, but also for thier troubled origins. There will be a new appreciation for the hardiness of these institutions over centuries. Outstanding.

Professor Jonathan Jansen

The Eloquent Bead presents a unique perspective on the traditional beadwork  crafted by women in Zululand, South Africa. This craft was used as a medium for the communication of social standing, values and relationships.

A series of beautiful photographs and accompanying notes present a selection of artefacts from a private collection, gathered in the 1960s. The Introduction is based upon research conducted in Zululand between 1964 and 1968. A concluding section investigates the role of beadwork in contemporary South Africa, and aims to show how craftswomen in KwaZulu Natal have adapted traditional designs.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stan Schoeman, author of numerous books and articles, was born in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. He completed  a D.Litt et Phil at the University of South Africa. In the 1960s, he taught at the then University College of Zululand, where he became interested in traditional Zulu beadwork and its role in society. He served on the teaching staff of various universities before he joined the Africa Institute of South Africa as a full-time researcher on African affairs. Stan retired in 1993, and recently published a memoir of semi-autobiographical short stories, Soetwater: Life in the Klein Karoo

Gardeners dream in the poetry of colour, design and fragrance. They think in words such as romantic, lavish, or scented. Gardening in reality, is very hard work, requiring forethought and planning, the all-important budget and, sometimes an aching back.

 

This Gardening Notebook is the essential extension to your garden tools – a mini reference book that cleverly interweaves Phyl Palframan’s gardening thoughts together with practical tips on how to achieve the desired results. It also provides space for your personal observations and so becomes a record of your gardening aspirations. The illustrations are beautiful, whimsical and remind one of all the joys that gardening can bring.

ABOUT THE BOOK

An Imperial Prince died in the South African veld. The Great Queen of England wept and his distraught mother, Empress Eugenie of France  toiled in sad pilgrimage to where he fell. The proud Bonaparte dynasty died with him. This book is not a military history of the war between the British and the Zulu  - many other books  cover the subject - but rather an attempt to present the Prince as  a real person;  a young soldier determined not to trade on his  foreign royal status  but  as one indomitably  committed to seeing for himself  the ramifications of this war. Twelve letters written to his mother the Empress Eugenie,  translated into English  for the first time as a collection, chronicle the Prince’s impressions of his arrival in Durban and the long ride  with his regiment to  Northern Zululand. These letters bring a new dimension into  an oft-told story. Despite all precautions  however,  he lost his life facing a regiment of Zulu warriors.

But his death had unexpected consequences. The community who live near the monument  built to  commemorate his death,  are amongst the  most abject poor  and over the years since the Prince Imperial’s untimely death in 1879, that community and others closer to Pietermaritzburg have become involved in the tragedy but in the most positive of ways. Benefits have been raised to  assist in their upliftment – where assegais reigned, now classrooms, a library, rain tanks,  vegetable gardens, and schools bear testimony to a Prince who did not die in vain  but as the catalyst to  the transformation of many lives.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Glenn Flanagan is a South African Francophile, retired French teacher and lecturer, whose interest in the Prince was inspired by one of her lecturers, Françoise Chupin, in the French Department of the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg Campus. She has travelled widely in Africa, climbing the great peaks, crossing the Sahara, exploring the French West-African countries and completing Honours courses in both English and French African Literature. It was an obvious choice to further her Masters research on the "French Presence in Kwazulu-Natal"  with its fascinating component, amongst others, of the Franco-Zulu saga of the Prince Imperial's tragic story. Glenn continues to research and apply her research networking to community outreach.

Glenn Flannagan received the Legion d’Honneur for her role in furthering France’s relationship with KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

 

‘The real challenge to apartheid’s racist sport laws was instigated by Pietermaritzburg’s mixed race Aurora Cricket Club in 1973. The regime’s Sports Minister, Dr Piet Koornhof did everything in his power  to persuade them to abandon this project. However the members persevered and triumphed. In this process the hypocrisy of white sports administrators and its sportsmen was totally exposed. The book on the Aurora Cricket Club is a most interesting read in many ways. Besides exposing the machinations of the apartheid government and excuses of its apologised, it explores the evolution of cricket with many interesting and inspiring anecdotes. Aurora confronted government stupidity and challenged the mindless orthodoxies and political correctnesss of the age. There are further compelling reasons why all South Africans, young and old, black and white, should read this book.’
Sam Ramsammy
Member – International Olympic Committee
Former Chairman – South African Non-Racial Olympic Committee

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
 
CHRISTOPHER NICHOLSON has practised as a human rights lawyer, assisting victims of apartheid before majority rule was won in 1994. His efforts were recognised with two awards and was appointed a High Court judge in 1995. He has written five books.
 
MIKE HICKSON lectured for many years at the now University of KwaZulu-Natal. He served as  an administrator in SACOS-affiliated bodies throughout the 1980s, and was elected President of the Maritzburg & Districts Cricket Union in 1989. He was a member of delegations negotiating unity with white-controlled cricket and was President of the unified Maritzburg Cricket Association for 12 years. He was a member of the KZN Cricket Union Executive throughout the 1990s.

 

Explore Kwazulu-Natals forgotten treasure in this book by Hugh Bland

Explore Kwazulu-Natals forgotten treasure in this book by Hugh Bland. This is the Hard Cover version of the book.

Contact us for our Collectors Edition Version - R1 000

We are on the island of Ithaca, near the west coast of Greece, around 1100 BC. All the Greek chieftains, including Odysseus, have sailed off to make war on Troy. To pass the time, Penelope, his wife and a bunch of girlfriends form a story-telling club to amuse themselves with tales of his imaginary adventures.

This witty and delightful novel will also make an ideal gift book for the discerning reader. The tongue-in-cheek re-telling of a famous story has been enhanced by exquisite black and white drawings which echo the whimsical tone of the text.

About the Author:

Jane Fox grew up in England and moved to South Africa when she was a 25-year-old. She is the author of two novels: The Killing Bottle(David Philip 1999) and Flying to Disneyland (Jacana 2005); three biographies: Nkosi’s Story: Nkosi Johnson (Life Story Project 2002), Love and the Apache Syndrome -Lella Cullingworth (Life Story Project 2003), Mind if I sit? – Neville Cohen (QuadPara Acciation of S.A. 2007); she has written and directed six plays: Orpheus & Eurydice (2006), Cain (2007), The Testimony of Judas Iscariot (2008), The Flood (2009), Prince Henry’s Dream – a play for teenagers (2012), The Grand Theatre of the Second Chance (2015 – with Renos Nicos Spanoudes). Her short stories have appeared in The English Academy Review, the Vita Anthology of New SA Fiction, Hippogriff New Writing and Firetalk. She has also published two collections of poetry: The Dancer (Snailpress 1992) and Ghost Writer and Other Poems (Snailpress 2008).

She facilitates a weekly ongoing writers’ workshop for those wishing to hone their skills.. She has worked in the theatre as a stage manager, in various office jobs, and latterly as a bookseller and publisher’s representative. She was married to the late Lionel Abrahams, and lives in Rivonia, near Johannesburg.

About the Illustrator:

Ronel Wheeler

Ronel Wheeler is an artist, art therapist, set builder, land-artist, and gallery and creative curator for numerous exhibitions, creative projects and international art representations.  She constantly endeavouring to create through imagination, the wonder and beauty of art works in all forms that pay homage to the creative muses, inspiring and connecting individuals, groups and communities to their own innate creativity, childlike wonder and beauty -  constantly reminded by the words of Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World.

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Why another book on roses? A quick look at the literature on South African roses and rose gardens reveals that the last book on this subject was published in 2006. The aim of Veld, Vlei and Rose Gardens is to celebrate developments in South Africa and to show that South African rose growers can hold their own worldwide.

One way of keeping South Africa’s rose gardens to the fore is the production of a book on the subject providing descriptions of the country’s most spectacular rose gardens. It serves to popularise South Africa’s gardens worldwide and will join the long tradition of garden books that do so much to spread knowledge and pleasure to all.

The book covers 41 of South Africa’s most magnificent gardens; lavishly illustrated, and with text by each owner providing an intimate portrait of the garden.

Awarded the World Federation of Rose Societies Literary Award, at ROSAFRICA, the 10th Annual World Rose Convention, 2012.

Read a review.

HILARY ABRAHAM has been involved in Para-Rowing since 2007. She spent many years teaching blind and visually impaired children to row and developed a coaching methodology which has proved to be highly effective.

Since 2010 she has been coaching people with other disabilities and using her lateral thinking skills to provide suitable equipment ‘on a shoestring’. Undeterred by the lack of proper facilities, equipment or financial backing, she has managed to teach a number of people with various disabilities to row, and at one time, three of South Africa’s National team had been taught by her.

In this booklet, Hilary shares her tips for providing a successful Para-programme with little more than energy and passion. It is a ‘must read’ for anybody interested in the subject.

Zest is a lovely read.

Mark Henning uses the voices of outstanding teachers to show how the best schools in the country, public and private, continue to inspire young people.
The style is conversational and a smile is never far from the reader’s lips.

In good schools there is a sense that growing up is something to be enjoyed, not endured. There is laughter and fun; there is also a great deal of seriousness, honesty and fairness. Here, young people learn not so much what to do, but what to be.

It shows why the best schools have status while others leave their teachers intellectually exhausted and emotionally drained. The positive forces in these stories change populist perceptions of schools.

What other people have said about Zest

A book to be read ‘again and again for cues on how to inspire in a profession which increasingly alienates authorities from educators, teachers from learners, parents from schools, and whole communities from lifelong learning.’ – Professor Jonathan Jansen

For Marguerite Poland, poet and author, the need to belong, to have a community, to seek excellence and have a share in something fine that transcends the mediocre is deep within us all.

Mark Henning has been prominent in South African schooling and is a former vice-president of the World Confederation of Private Education.