The Story of an African Farm is Olive Schreiner’s landmark novel, set in the rural Karoo towards the end of the last century.

The story was originally published in 1882 under the pseudonym Ralph Iron. When it was later revealed that the author was a woman, the news was received with horror by many Victorian readers, who were shocked by the forthright feminism and negative comment on the social structures that formed the basis of their colonial society.

Olive Schreiner proved to be a woman of vision and an author of skill. She evokes the bleakness and beauty of the farm in the Karoo, which she uses as the backdrop for the stories of Lyndall and Waldo – unlikely soul mates whose lives reflect their frustrated quest for a better reality and their dreams of self-fulfillment. Schreiner’s radical views on marriage, class distinction and religion remain relevant to this day and The Story of an African Farm maintains an important place in South African literature. This edition contains an informative introduction by Cherry Clayton.

Combining fact with fiction, Heyns recreates the society around the celebrated author Henry James, as seen through the cool gaze of his typist, Frieda Wroth.

Admiring of the great author, she nevertheless feels marginalised and under-valued, a mere typewriter. But when the dashing Morton Fullerton comes to visit, she finds herself at the centre of an intrigue every bit as engrossing as the novels she types every day, bringing her into conflict with the flamboyant Edith Wharton, and compromising her loyalty to her employer.

Frieda tries to obey James' dictum: 'Live all you can; it's a mistake not to.' But living, she finds, exacts a price: it takes place at the expense of other lives.

Jonathan Ball Publishers,
ISBN: 1868422291,
Trade Paperback,
240 pages,
R139.95

A Xhosa prince reluctantly leaves the University College of Fort Hare and goes back to the land of his ancestors to take his place as king of the Mpondomise. The clash of his modern ideas and the traditional beliefs of his people mirrors the clash of the western way of life with African custom and tradition – church-people versus traditionalists, school people versus ‘red-ochre people’, boarding school activities versus the inkundla or assembly at the royal palace.

The conclusion, that disaster can be averted only by the willingness of opposing forces to work together for mutual comprehension of the legitimate claims of tradition and modernity, gives a foretaste of the spirit that governed modern South Africa’s political transformation.

The Wrath of the Ancestors is a classic of Xhosa literature. A C Jordan has a keen eye for detail, a delightful sense of humour and a dramatic style. Literal translations of Xhosa images, idioms and proverbs transport readers to the Tsolo district and conjure up the memorable speeches of the Mpondomise counsellors.

Archibald Campbell Jordan was born 0n 30 October 1906 in Mbokotwana, Transkei. The son of a minister of the Anglican Church, he won a Transkei Bhunga scholarship and studied for a College Education Diploma and a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University College of Fort Hare. After teaching for ten years at the African High School in Kroonstad, he obtained his Masters in African Languages from the University of South Africa. He was appointed lecturer in African Languages at Fort Hare in 1945, and the following year he became lecturer in the department of African Languages at the University of Cape Town. In 1961 Jordan was refused a passport by the South African Government to travel abroad. He left without a passport to avail himself of a Carnegie grant to visit overseas universities and to investigate the latest developments in African languages and literatures. He went to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he remained for two years. In 1963 he went to the University of Wisconsin as a fellow at the Institute for Research in the Humanities, and in 1964 he was appointed professor of African Languages and Literature, a post he held until he died on 20 October 1968.

Following the popular success and critical acclaim of her first novel, Fiona Snyckers is back with the second book in the beguiling Trinity Luhabe series. The much-anticipated sequel to Trinity Rising picks up the story four years on, when Trinity is 23 and living in Johannesburg.

Trinity On Air is packed with all the charm and humour readers have come to expect from Fiona Snyckers - with just an added pinch of danger.

With her university days behind her, life couldn’t be better for Trinity Luhabe. She’s got everything a Sandton girl needs -

The Perfect Boyfriend: Ethan brings her (fat-free) breakfast in bed and takes her to craft markets on weekends.

The Perfect Job: Working at Jozi Talks radio is a dream come true for Trinity. She’s still only on the traffic desk, but one day she’ll be reading the news … just as soon as she can convince her boss that “15 Hot Hairstyles For Summer” is a serious news story.

The Neighbour: Ajala is six foot five inches of mysterious Nigerian. Trinity thinks he’s a pussycat. Her best friend Steph thinks he’s a man-eating tiger. Looking into his business dealings could be Trinity’s ticket off the traffic desk and onto hard news.

The Ex: An old flame from university days is back … and hotter than ever. He’s threatening to turn Trinity’s comfortable life upside down.

Join Trinity Luhabe for the ride of her life as all the elements in her perfect world collide.

R145.00 | 9781868423651 | March 2010 | B-format paperback | 250 pages | World rights | Category: Fiction

At last – South African chick-lit with all the wit and charm to hold its own against international bestsellers.
‘If I hear the word “Struggle” one more time, I swear I’m going to strangle someone.’
Trinity Luhabe is so OVER the whole Robben Island thing.

Sure, her dad was one of the last activists to be imprisoned there, but he’s now a billionaire mining magnate. We all have to move on, right?
And Trinity is moving on with a vengeance. She’s just passed Matric at an exclusive private school, and is all set to take Rhodes University by storm. She’s got the looks. She’s got the brains (sort of). She’s a girl with a plan. Okay, it’s not a plan she’s prepared to share with just anyone – especially not her feminist, do-gooder mother. Delightfully ditzy, but with an inner core of strength, Trinity parties her way through life.

That is, until she discovers that life bites back. And then there’s her arch-enemy – the deliciously wicked Sophie Agincourt, who definitely has something evil up her sleeve. Will Sandton’s favourite daughter ever find true love, straighten out her priorities, and make it to lectures on time? Or will her career be over before it’s begun? Find out as you follow her along the path of true love, self-discovery, and eBay handbags in the first book of the beguiling ‘Trinity Luhabe’ series.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Fiona Snyckers was born and raised in Johannesburg, and educated at Rhodes University and the University of the Witwatersrand. After graduating from Wits with a first-class Masters degree in English Literature, she married and accompanied her husband to England, returning in 1997. She spent the next two-and-ahalf years writing a variety of lifestyle pieces, humorous articles, interviews and reviews. In 2000, she stopped working altogether when the first of her three children was born. Since then she has embraced the always glamorous life of the stay-at-home mother. She has been writing fiction since childhood and has accumulated a teetering pile of rejected manuscripts, which come in handy for lighting fires during load-shedding. She is currently writing a sequel to Trinity Rising.

R130.00 ♦ 978-1-86842-317-0 ♦ April 2009 ♦ B-format Pb ♦ 232x150mm 276 pages ♦ World rights ♦ Category: Fiction