Olive Schreiner: Portrait of a South African Woman Author: Johannes Meintjes

Olive Schreiner: Portrait of a South African Woman (Collectible First Edition)

The Definitive Mid-Century Biography of South Africa’s Pioneering Literary Matriarch

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Olive Schreiner: Portrait of a South African Woman
• Author: Johannes Meintjes
• Publisher: Hugh Keartland Publishers, Johannesburg
• Publication Date: 1965
• ISBN: None Issued (Pre-ISBN era)
• Edition Details: First Edition. Highly valued collectible biography bridging two prominent South African artistic icons.
• Binding: Original publisher's premium linen cloth boards with gilt spine lettering, featuring the original illustrated dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), 195 pages. Enhanced with biographical photographic plates and archival references.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Boards: The original linen binding remains flat, clean, and rigid with sharp corners. The cloth shows minimal shelf friction at the spine head and tail.
• Interior: The text block is robustly bound and tight. The internal pages are remarkably crisp, white, and clean, free of annotations, highlighting, or dog-ears.
• The Dust Jacket: Poor (P)
• Condition: The jacket is present but exhibits substantial age-related wear, surface markings, edge tears, and chipping along the spine folds. Now professionally housed and stabilized inside a new archival plastic protective sleeve to arrest further deterioration and preserve its vintage appeal.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published in 1965, Olive Schreiner: Portrait of a South African Woman is an intimate, brilliant, and psychologically acute assessment of one of South Africa's most complex literary and political figures. Written after nineteen years of meticulous research by celebrated artist and author Johannes Meintjes, the biography tracks Schreiner's tumultuous journey from the remote Karoo to international acclaim following The Story of an African Farm. Meintjes explores her pioneering feminism, anti-imperialist convictions during the Anglo-Boer War, and the profound personal isolation that fueled her creative genius.

Author Profile: Johannes Meintjes

Johannes Meintjes (1923–1980) was a celebrated South African polymath, universally recognized as an expressionist master painter and a highly prolific historian. Producing over 1,300 oil paintings alongside 35 published books, Meintjes brought a deeply creative, empathetic perspective to biographical non-fiction. His landmark historical biographies—including works on Schreiner, General De la Rey, and President Steyn—are highly praised for their narrative eloquence and reliance on direct private archives.

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