The Story of an African Farm was first published in 1883, under the pseudonym Ralph Iron. Only later did it transpire that the author was actually a woman - Olive Schreiner.

Among the numerous plaudits bestowed on this pioneer novel is that of Es'kia Mphahlele in 1960, when he found the issues Schreiner raised in it 'too generous to fit into the South African pattern of values', while Doris Lessing in her 1968 afterword considered it to be 'one of those few rare books, on a frontier of the human mind'. As Dan Jacobson remarked in his 1971 introduction: 'Nothing can take from her the honour of being the first to make usable the country and the people within it as a subject for fiction.'

This is a trilogy of Olive Schreiner's farm novels, Undine, The Story of an African Farm and From Man to Man.

The author was pitch-forked into prominence by the publication in 1883 of The Story of an African Farm, originally published under the pseudonym 'Ralph Iron'. The other two novels were published posthumously. Undine was in fact completed before The Story of an African Farm, and many consider From Man to Man, the book she cherished most, to be her best novel.

Karoo Moon is classic Africana by South Africa's first internationally recognised author; and each of the novels has strongly autobiographical elements, helping the reader to understand a remarkable woman who went on to become an outspoken anti-colonial, pro-Boer campaigner during the Anglo-Boer War, South Africa's first feminist, and a prescient supporter of her disfranchised fellow citizens.

The Story of an African Farm (1883) is a novel by South African political activist and writer Olive Schreiner. Her first published novel, The Story of an African Farm was a bestseller upon its release despite being criticized for its portrayal of controversial social, religious, and political themes. Part Bildungsroman, part philosophical fiction, the novel is recognized as a groundbreaking work for its exploration of feminism, atheism, and the influence of British imperialism on the peoples of South Africa. Split into three sections, the novel begins with the childhood of its three main characters. Waldo, the son of the German farm-keeper Otto, is an intelligent and introspective boy who struggles with his religious faith and attempts to understand himself in relation to the order of the universe. Lyndall is a deeply philosophical thinker who strives toward independence and resists the gender norms imposed upon her by adults and others who would try to control her. Em, Lyndall's cousin, is a friendly girl who tends to believe others without questioning authority or intention. When an English businessman named Bonaparte Blenkins arrives at the farm looking for work, the children begin to suffer under his cruelly selective verbal and psychological abuse. As Blenkins attempts to position himself for control of Tant Sannie's farm, the children gain an informal education in treachery and the dynamics of power, disrupting their seemingly idyllic life in rural South Africa. The novel follows Waldo, Lyndall, and Em into adulthood, tracing their lives through their changing opinions towards romance, faith, and gender while illuminating the love that binds them despite their differences. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Olive Schreiner's The Story of an African Farm is a classic of South African literature reimagined for modern readers.

The Story of an African Farm (1883) is a novel by South African political activist and writer Olive Schreiner. Her first published novel, The Story of an African Farm was a bestseller upon its release despite being criticized for its portrayal of controversial social, religious, and political themes. Part Bildungsroman, part philosophical fiction, the novel is recognized as a groundbreaking work for its exploration of feminism, atheism, and the influence of British imperialism on the peoples of South Africa. Split into three sections, the novel begins with the childhood of its three main characters. Waldo, the son of the German farm-keeper Otto, is an intelligent and introspective boy who struggles with his religious faith and attempts to understand himself in relation to the order of the universe. Lyndall is a deeply philosophical thinker who strives toward independence and resists the gender norms imposed upon her by adults and others who would try to control her. Em, Lyndall's cousin, is a friendly girl who tends to believe others without questioning authority or intention. When an English businessman named Bonaparte Blenkins arrives at the farm looking for work, the children begin to suffer under his cruelly selective verbal and psychological abuse. As Blenkins attempts to position himself for control of Tant Sannie's farm, the children gain an informal education in treachery and the dynamics of power, disrupting their seemingly idyllic life in rural South Africa. The novel follows Waldo, Lyndall, and Em into adulthood, tracing their lives through their changing opinions towards romance, faith, and gender while illuminating the love that binds them despite their differences. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Olive Schreiner's The Story of an African Farm is a classic of South African literature reimagined for modern readers.

Lyndall, Schreiner's articulate young feminist, marks the entry of the controversial New Woman into nineteenth-century fiction. Raised as an orphan amid a makeshift family, she witnesses an intolerable world of colonial exploitation. Desiring a formal education, she leaves the isolated farm for boarding school in her early teens, only to return four years later from an unhappy relationship. Unable to meet the demands of her mysterious lover, Lyndall retires to a house in Bloemfontein, where, delirious with exhaustion, she is unknowingly tended by an English farmer disguised as her female nurse. This is the devoted Gregory Rose, Schreiner's daring embodiment of the sensitive New Man. A cause celebre when it appeared in London, The Story of an African Farm transformed the shape and course of the late-Victorian novel. From the haunting plains of South Africa's high Karoo, Schreiner boldly addresses her society's greatest fears - the loss of faith, the dissolution of marriage, and women's social and political independence. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.