THROUGH A DRAGONFLY EYE, a memoir

257pp., paperback, Cape Town, 2024

Freelance journalist and novelist Jenny Hobbs on growing up and coming of age in mid-twentieth century South Africa.

"Of all the illuminating social insights there are in this book, and over and above its very obvious legacy value, is the sheer joy of capturing and crystalizing the mirage of memories at which Jenny Hobbs is a master. She writes the past with wisdom, affection, empathy and humour (many lessons for writers here) and her lifelong love of reading generally, but words in particular, both spoken and written, is totally infectious. Ag, I just LOVE it!" Nancy Richards, journalist and author of the memoir The Skipper’s Daughter

Jenny Hobbs is the author of seven adult novels, including Thoughts in a Makeshift Mortuary, a novel for teenagers, and five non-fiction books, including two collections of quotes about writers and writing. She was one of the founders of the Franschhoek Literary Festival in 2007, for which she worked for eight years, the last four as Director, before stepping down in 2014. She lives in Franschhoek. In 2019 she was awarded a gold Molteno Medal for Lifetime Services to South African Literature.