South African Literature Online

This collection is part of the research project “What is New about ‘New South Africa’? Literary and Cultural Developments of the 20th and 21st Centuries”, conducted by Dr Ellen Grünkemeier and Henning Marquardt

Annotated Texts

**Abrahams, Peter: Tell Freedom (1954)**

Abrahams’s autobiography, Tell Freedom, published in 1954, covers this first period of his life from his first childhood memories shortly before his father’s death to the time when he leaves South Africa in 1939. In a chronological sequence of episodes, the reader follows the protagonist on his journey through large parts of the country, from Johannesburg to Cape Town and, finally, to Durban where he boards a ship to England.

Full Text (external link)

Introduction (pdf)

Glossary (pdf)

Annotated Bibliography (pdf)

**Bosman, Herman Charles: Cold Stone Jug (1949)**

At the age of 21 Herman Charles Bosman was sentenced to death for the murder of his stepbrother. However, he was granted a reprieve and served a term of four years in Pretoria Central Prison. Twenty years later the South African writer and journalist came to terms with this dark period of his life and wrote an autobiographical account of his prison experience, Cold Stone Jug, which was published in 1949.

Full Text (external link)

Introduction (pdf)

Glossary (pdf)

Annotated Bibliography (pdf)

Alphabetical List of Links to Full Texts

(external links)