CAPE SAGA 1703

371pp., paperback, Naledi, Gansbaai, 2026

ISBN: 9781997476368

Translated from the French by the author. 

A historical novel about a group of settlers and three French refugees fleeing Marseille who arrive at the Cape on a Dutch galleon, and settle in Franschhoek: Jean-Baptiste, an agnostic winemaker on the run after an affair with the mayor’s wife; Marguerite, his Catholic lover; and Mimi, a cabaret dancer. Another galleon, Die Klara II, carries Governor Adriaan van der Stel's furniture for Vergelegen. When the piano arrives damaged beyond repair, van der Stel cancels his deal with the VOC shipowner, Josep van der Mollen, and sets off a chain of events that will reshape the Cape settlement. 

Philippe Cantalou was born in Algeria, spent his teenage years in the south of France, and has lived in Barcelona and Senegal. He teaches conversational French at Curro High School in Hermanus.