Mhudi (Sefika Series) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1868590135 ISBN 13: 9781868590131

Synopsis

Mhudi, the first full-length novel in English by a black South African, was written in the late 1910s. A romantic epic set in the first half of the nineteenth century, the main action is unleashed by King Mzilikazi’s extermination campaign against the Barolong in 1832 at Kunana (nowadays Setlagole), and covers the resultant alliance of defeated peoples with Boer frontiersmen in a resistance movement leading to Battlehill (Vegkop, 1836) and the showdown at the Battle of Mosega (17 January 1839). Plaatje’s eponymous heroine is an enduring symbol of the belief in a new day.

About this title

Synopsis:

This is arguably the most important work in early South African literature. The first novel in English by a black South African, it was written just before 1920 but is set in the 1830s - a period of decisive conflict between the Ndebele, the Barolong, the Griqua and the Boers. It is not just an historical novel, though, but is deeply political in its exploration of the origins of segregation and its implicit attack on the 1913 Land Act, the basis of territorial apartheid. Stylistically it is a pioneering work that combines the forms of the novel and the epic with African oral traditions. It is also a great love story, and its heroine, Mhudi - a woman of indomitable courage, endurance and humour - is one of the unforgettable characters in African literature. A remarkable work, Mhudi is the creation of an extraordinary man. Writer, journalist, editor, diarist, historian, linguist, translator, and social worker, Sol Plaatje helped to found the South African Native National Congress (later renamed the African National Congress) and served as its first secretary-organiser.; In preparing this edition Professor Tim Couzens, of the Institute for Advanced Social Research at the University of

About this edition

• ISBN 10: 1868590135
• ISBN 13: 9781868590131
• Binding: Paperback