A seven-year-old English girl, washed up on the Wild Coast in about 1736, is adopted by the amaMpondo, grows up to become a woman of surpassing beauty, marries the chief of the clan and becomes an ancestor of many of the Xhosa royal families in the nineteenth century. It sounds like the stuff of romance, but this is verified, documented fact. Although her surname is unknown, in spite of a persistent 19th-century story that she was the daughter of a General Campbell, we do know that her name was Bessie. The amaMpondo named her Gquma - 'The Roar of the Sea' - and she won their affection for her compassion and generosity, and became famous for her love of ornament, covering herself with necklaces, beadwork, seashells and bangles. But she was no mere fashion-plate, winning renown for her wisdom, becoming involved in the politics of her adopted people and wielding an influence virtually unprecedented among women of her time and place. Inspired by the story of Bessie, in Sunburnt Queen, Hazel Crampton has delved deep into the history of the castaways from the many ships wrecked on this beautiful but perilous shore.;In a highly entertaining way she tells their story, which became inextricably interwoven with those of the people of the Wild Coast: whole clans, such the abeLungu ('the White People') trace their ancestry to castaways. The book traces the lives of Bessie's descendants and those of some of the other castaways whose names are known. Their stories are intimately, often tragically intertwined in the sad history of contact between the Xhosa-speaking peoples and the white settlers. The author, although obviously a person of strong opinions, like all the best historiographers, she presents people and events in a non-judgmental way, allowing contemporary voices to pronounce on the actions, good and bad, of the actors in this drama. If there is a message to be gleaned from the story of Bessie it is this: South Africans are far more alike than we are different, and we all have so much more to gain by emphasizing our similarities rather than our differences, and by cherishing our common heritage.

This book is not intended as a comprehensive take on dagga, aka cannabis, marijuana, bhanga, ganga, pot, zol, weed, etc., but as a conversation piece. It is, as a pocket book, simply a brief overview. Its hope is to provide a background to dagga in South Africa and, by putting all the dope into one joint, so to speak, ignite debate on emerging issues such as licensing, legalisation and taxation.

The side of the sun at noon is a quest, a journey of discovery. In the mid-17th century when the Dutch first settled at the Cape of Good Hope, built their fortress and began trading with the indigenous Khoikhoi, they were told of a mysterious people called the Chobona, who lived in stone houses deep in the interior of the country, were rich in gold and cattle and had long hair and pale skins. Believing them to be the people of Monomotapa, the legendary southern African empire from whom the Portuguese obtained their gold, the Dutch made every effort to reach them. "Volunteers" were selected, plans drawn up, maps supplied and expedition after expedition dispatched. None succeeded in finding the elusive Chobona. In the centuries to come historians would dismiss the Chobona as fantasy, blaming the stories on what they believed to be the over-active imagination of Eva, a young Khoikhoi girl who was the Dutchmen's main interpreter. Yet the rumours never ceased. And, as our knowledge of the past has grown, so too has the possibility that the rumours were real. The side of the sun at noon explores the truth behind the rumours, following in the footsteps of the early explorers in what is an innovative and engaging interweaving of a rich array of sources, from ancient Arab writings and indigenous oral traditions, to contemporary historical documents and modern archaeological discovery. This book makes you challenge the accepted notions of our history making you look, and look again.