CHALLENGES IN A COLONIAL COUNTRY

329pp., illus., map, paperback, Sakura Book Publishing, Durban, 2024

ISBN: 9781037010637

Historical novel set in Alexandra on the Natal South Coast, 1860-1889.

Sequel to Liaisons - life in a colonial country.

"A gripping historical novel that brings to life a neglected part of our past. The seemingly silent cane fields of old Alexandra County of the South Coast of Natal have found a voice, telling of its past political rivalries, personal struggles and country romances." Rajend Mesthrie, Emeritus Professor, University of Cape Town

"Well-articulated, historically and fictionally Challenges descriptively highlights the socio-economic, political and cultural realities of life on the Natal South Coast in the late Victorian period. As such, it promotes critical fabulation as an aid in understanding our past. In that regard, it merits consideration as a high school set book." Kalpana Hirilal, Professor of History, University of KwaZulu Natal

Historian Duncan Du Bois is the author of Sugar and Settlers: A history of the Natal South Coast, 1850-1010 and Labourer or Settler? Colonial Natal’s Indian dilemma.