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Mafeking Road: and Other Stories
These slyly simple stories of the unforgiving South African Transvaal reveal a little-described (and rarely romanticized) world of Afrikaner life in the late 19th Century. Like our own Mark Twain, Herman Charles Bosman wields a laughing intolerance of foolishness and prejudice, a dazzling use of wit and clear- sighted judgment. Spun by the plainclothes local visionary and storyteller Oom Shalk Lourens, these moving and satirical glimpses of lethargic herdsmen, ambitious concertina players, legendary leopards and mambas, and love-struck dreamers lay bare immense emotions, contradictions, and mysteries within the smallest movements and unadorned talk of the Groot Marico District. Leading oral tradition by the hand into a territory all his own, Bosman maps a world at once lucid and layered, distant yet powerfully familiar.
201 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1947
26 people are currently reading
378 people want to read
About the author
Herman Charles Bosman
52 books23 followersHerman Charles Bosman (1905 - October 14, 1951) was a South African writer and journalist who became famous for capturing the rhythms of backveld Afrikaans speech even though he wrote in English. He is widely regarded as the greatest short story writer to come out of South Africa. Many of his stories have a sting in the tail.
He was born at Kuilsrivier, near Cape Town. While still young, his family moved to Johannesburg where he went to school at Jeppe Boys High School in Kensington. He was a contributor to the school magazine. When he was 16, he started writing amusing short stories for the national Sunday newspaper (the Sunday Times). He attended the University of the Witwatersrand submitting various pieces to student’s literary competitions.
Upon graduating, he accepted a teaching position in the Groot Marico district. The area and the people inspired him and provided the background for his best stories; the ones about Oom Schalk Lourens and the Voorkamer sketches. (In Afrikaans, Oom is Uncle and a Voorkamer is literally the Front Room).
During the school holidays in 1926, he returned to visit his family in Johannesburg. During an argument, he fired a rifle at his stepbrother and killed him.
He was sentenced to death and moved to Death row at the Pretoria Central Prison. He was reprieved and sentenced to ten years with hard labour. In 1930, he was released on parole after serving half his sentence. His experiences formed the basis for one of his best known books, Cold Stone Jug.
He then started his own printing press company and was part of a literary set in Johannesburg, associating with poets, journalists and writers. Needing a break, he then toured overseas for nine years, spending most of his time in London. The short stories that he wrote during this period formed the basis for another of his best-known books, Mafeking Road.
At the start of the Second World War, he returned to South Africa and worked as a journalist. He found the time to translate the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam into Afrikaans.
He lamented the fact that Johannesburg never respected its heritage; writing in The Standard Theatre "They will pull down the Standard Theatre like they have pulled down all the old buildings, theatres, gin-palaces, dosshouses, temples, shops, arcades, cafes and joints that were intimately associated with the mining-camp days of Johannesburg. Because I know Johannesburg. And I am satisfied that there is no other city in the world that is so anxious to shake off the memories of its early origins."
He married Ella Manson, and the couple were renowned for their bohemian lifestyle and parties. His parties ended well after midnight with much witty conversation. After a housewarming party he was taken ill with severe chest pains and was taken to Edenvale Hospital. On admission he was asked, "Place of birth?" He replied, "Born Kuilsrivier - Died Edenvale Hospital." He was discharged and collapsed at home a few hours later. He died as he was being rushed to hospital. He is buried in Westpark Cemetery in Westdene.
Only three of his books were published during his lifetime; Mafeking Road published by Dassie, and Jacaranda in the Night and Cold Stone Jug published by APB.
His biography was written by Valerie Rosenberg and was called Sunflower to the sun ISBN 079811228X Human & Rousseau.
Because many of his stories were originally published in long-forgotten magazines and journals, there are a number of anthologies by different collators each containing a different selection. His original books have also been published many times by different publishers.
He was born at Kuilsrivier, near Cape Town. While still young, his family moved to Johannesburg where he went to school at Jeppe Boys High School in Kensington. He was a contributor to the school magazine. When he was 16, he started writing amusing short stories for the national Sunday newspaper (the Sunday Times). He attended the University of the Witwatersrand submitting various pieces to student’s literary competitions.
Upon graduating, he accepted a teaching position in the Groot Marico district. The area and the people inspired him and provided the background for his best stories; the ones about Oom Schalk Lourens and the Voorkamer sketches. (In Afrikaans, Oom is Uncle and a Voorkamer is literally the Front Room).
During the school holidays in 1926, he returned to visit his family in Johannesburg. During an argument, he fired a rifle at his stepbrother and killed him.
He was sentenced to death and moved to Death row at the Pretoria Central Prison. He was reprieved and sentenced to ten years with hard labour. In 1930, he was released on parole after serving half his sentence. His experiences formed the basis for one of his best known books, Cold Stone Jug.
He then started his own printing press company and was part of a literary set in Johannesburg, associating with poets, journalists and writers. Needing a break, he then toured overseas for nine years, spending most of his time in London. The short stories that he wrote during this period formed the basis for another of his best-known books, Mafeking Road.
At the start of the Second World War, he returned to South Africa and worked as a journalist. He found the time to translate the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam into Afrikaans.
He lamented the fact that Johannesburg never respected its heritage; writing in The Standard Theatre "They will pull down the Standard Theatre like they have pulled down all the old buildings, theatres, gin-palaces, dosshouses, temples, shops, arcades, cafes and joints that were intimately associated with the mining-camp days of Johannesburg. Because I know Johannesburg. And I am satisfied that there is no other city in the world that is so anxious to shake off the memories of its early origins."
He married Ella Manson, and the couple were renowned for their bohemian lifestyle and parties. His parties ended well after midnight with much witty conversation. After a housewarming party he was taken ill with severe chest pains and was taken to Edenvale Hospital. On admission he was asked, "Place of birth?" He replied, "Born Kuilsrivier - Died Edenvale Hospital." He was discharged and collapsed at home a few hours later. He died as he was being rushed to hospital. He is buried in Westpark Cemetery in Westdene.
Only three of his books were published during his lifetime; Mafeking Road published by Dassie, and Jacaranda in the Night and Cold Stone Jug published by APB.
His biography was written by Valerie Rosenberg and was called Sunflower to the sun ISBN 079811228X Human & Rousseau.
Because many of his stories were originally published in long-forgotten magazines and journals, there are a number of anthologies by different collators each containing a different selection. His original books have also been published many times by different publishers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
June 16, 2021
what do i have to do to sell this book? i put it on table, and nothing. i make a lovely endcap just for archipelego books, and nothing. why won't you believe me? isn't it pretty, with its van gogh painting planted atop rich purple textured paper? and read the back: blurbs!! from people i have never heard of, but they are blurbs!! well, i have heard of publishers weekly, but they compare these stories to robert frost or bob dylan, so i don't know if they can be trusted. but i know i can be. these are more like o henry or thomas hardy on a gentle day. they are mostly very short - under 10 pages - but they all have those snappy endings that cause laughter or empathy or both. they are cleverly written and also have shades of mark twain in them (does it help if i name-drop?) c'mon, is it the afrikaner thing? there's a little racial inequality here, but if i can gloss over it, so can you! is it cuz he killed his stepbrother? because - glass houses, guys. we've all had those days. just read the book. i want someone else to have read it. i said please.
come to my blog!
come to my blog!
February 9, 2013
Probably the best set of short stories to come out of Africa. Sentenced to death for shooting his rooinek (English) brother-in-law, Mr Bosman was a hard man with an eye for detail. Every one of his books is a classic in its own right. After the death sentence was commuted on appeal, he spent some years in prison, where he wrote Cold Stone Jug, a chronicle of his prison experiences. Please note that there are no politically correct views expressed in his literature.
May 4, 2012
Free firstreads giveaway book. A simple set of stories, written from a storyteller's perspective (or, rather, told from that angle). The mild ridicule that comes off the pages is hilarious if you get it, but if you read the stories without thinking, you'd never guess the actions (or discussions) are supposed to be laughed at. I keep going back to read the stories again.
April 25, 2012
My favourite South African writer. He makes you laugh and cry. The Rooineck is particularly heart-breaking. And the ending of Unto Dust, from the other Schalk Lourens book, is just beautiful.
June 4, 2014
So where to start. I first read this book at school. Growing up in Apartheid era white schools I guess this was as subversive as our English teacher could get.
The stories are tragic and hilarious. Oom Schalk is our narrator, a poor Afrikaans farmer living in the Groot Meriko, a place where Herman Charles Bosman spent time as a teacher.
Through Oom Schalk, Bosman was able to make social commentary on South African race issues, on Afrikaners and on South Africa's curious history. The stories are funny or heart wrenching. Some just give you a complete chill in the last line.
You eventually love every single one of these short stories. I'd say if you are visiting the country for the first time this would be one book you should read.
The stories are tragic and hilarious. Oom Schalk is our narrator, a poor Afrikaans farmer living in the Groot Meriko, a place where Herman Charles Bosman spent time as a teacher.
Through Oom Schalk, Bosman was able to make social commentary on South African race issues, on Afrikaners and on South Africa's curious history. The stories are funny or heart wrenching. Some just give you a complete chill in the last line.
You eventually love every single one of these short stories. I'd say if you are visiting the country for the first time this would be one book you should read.
January 3, 2014
A fantastic read, capturing the spirit of South Africa during the post Anglo-Boer War era. The short stories are captivating, less the offensive vernacular of the time and the fact that it is written from a singular cultural perspective. Additionally, the only negative of Bosman's literary style is that non-South African readers may get lost in the stories depth. His writing makes the assumption that the reader is familiar with South African idioms and symbols of his time. Yet, his work remains a prodigious collection of short stories in my eyes. As stated in the introduction, a great example of the spirit of early twentieth century man/woman.
July 12, 2023
This is surely the best set of short stories ever. What a fantastically enjoyable collection. The characters are so deliciously caricatured yet in a loving way. The narrator, Oom Schalk is himself a liar and an exaggerator. You have to love him.
These are witty tales and have magnificent punch lines - usually in the very last sentence - that nail you in the gut. They make you laugh and almost cry. They are just too brilliant.
These are witty tales and have magnificent punch lines - usually in the very last sentence - that nail you in the gut. They make you laugh and almost cry. They are just too brilliant.
December 4, 2023
What a lovely collection of short stories. These are so funny, sad, serious, whimsical, and part of the South African soil. The author has a way of luring one in with humour and beautiful characters, and then turning the knife in the very last sentence of the story. I absolutely relished these stories, and they are laden with atmosphere and populated by delicious characters.
March 27, 2011
I'm loving this. A little bit Twain, a little bit Uncle Remus-- I know there must be better comparisons out there for this book too-- it's a series of half-funny, half-sad tales about a small town, told by one presiding, a little bit boastful character.
July 1, 2017
A wonderful collection of humorous yet often poignant short stories. If you are interested in the history of South Africa and the character of the Afrikaner you will love this book.
December 26, 2021
As politically incorrect as you can imagine, racist, masochist, xenophobist (is that even a word?)
But taken in context of it's time and reading the stories for what they are it's fantastic. I love how each story starts with "said Oom Schalk Lourens" what a storyteller :)
These are a few of the stories that have stuck with/haunted me:
The attempted trek through the Kalahari from the Groot Marico with "a little bundle" thrown over the side of the wagon and the saddest thing about war being that the women become like men, unable to cry.
The big docile farmer with the gramophone machine who kept fighting with his wife then the final scene of a neighboring farmer coming to borrow a sail but finding the house strangely quiet and seeing no sign of the wife…
But taken in context of it's time and reading the stories for what they are it's fantastic. I love how each story starts with "said Oom Schalk Lourens" what a storyteller :)
These are a few of the stories that have stuck with/haunted me:
The attempted trek through the Kalahari from the Groot Marico with "a little bundle" thrown over the side of the wagon and the saddest thing about war being that the women become like men, unable to cry.
The big docile farmer with the gramophone machine who kept fighting with his wife then the final scene of a neighboring farmer coming to borrow a sail but finding the house strangely quiet and seeing no sign of the wife…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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March 11, 2024DNF pg 57 (~27%)
I hope that this is meant as a satirical depiction of South Africas racial relations (Oom Schalk Lourens as the somewhat gullible, idiotic racist) of the 1940s.
I don't like satire and detest jokes about kicking 'kaffirs' and demeaning a guy that was rumored to be coloured.
If the jokes were the other way around as well (Blacks and Coloureds making fun or mistreating Whites), it could have been fair.
I didn't feel that I learnt anything. And the read was not enjoyable because of said topic.
I hope that this is meant as a satirical depiction of South Africas racial relations (Oom Schalk Lourens as the somewhat gullible, idiotic racist) of the 1940s.
I don't like satire and detest jokes about kicking 'kaffirs' and demeaning a guy that was rumored to be coloured.
If the jokes were the other way around as well (Blacks and Coloureds making fun or mistreating Whites), it could have been fair.
I didn't feel that I learnt anything. And the read was not enjoyable because of said topic.
December 1, 2020
Another highly underrated author to come from the South African platteland. My other favourite being P.G. du Plessis. Like most South African men that I know, they hide their depth behind carefully selected humour. However, spend some time getting lost in their books and you will féél and understand things you never fathomed.
December 21, 2018
I really enjoyed reading the stories taking place in the early days of the 20th Century. Bosman died in 1951 but he has really captured the dialog and life of Afrikaner pioneer farmers that are still entertaining today.
May 22, 2020
Classic SA literature
Timeless Herman Charles Bosman brings back memories of the cold Grahamstown nights of my youth and of the dramatization of the National Arts Festival. Read this stuff!
Timeless Herman Charles Bosman brings back memories of the cold Grahamstown nights of my youth and of the dramatization of the National Arts Festival. Read this stuff!
July 24, 2024
Clever short stories about human nature
December 16, 2024
great story telling
March 7, 2025
Loved it. Best South African author read to date.
August 10, 2025
Mafeking Road
2 stars at most. pathetic
2 stars at most. pathetic
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2016
This is a great little collection of stories - most of them less than a dozen pages - from a wonderful writer. Anyone wanting to crawl into the heart (I nearly said brain) of a Boer-War-era rural Afrikaner white farmer in South Africa, could do no better than read these and other wonderful short stories by Bosman. Don't be put off by the biographical fact that he was sentenced to death at age 22 for shooting his step-brother, his death sentence being commuted on appeal, followed by ten years hard labour in a South African prison in the 1920s and 1930s, during which he wrote his wonderful prison memoir Cold Stone Jug. Bosman was a complicated man, but as shown in that memoir, in other writings, and especially in the wonderful stories in this particular collection, he was an extremely perceptive man and highly articulate, even behind the apparently simple facade of his glorious creation, the curmudgeonly Oom Schalk Lourens.
Oom Schalk spends much of his time on his stoep, looking out over the dry veld as he spoons far too much sugar into his mugs of coffee. Bosman subverts the impact of his profound insights into human nature by constructing stories and characters as sweet as any cup of coffee Oom Schalk consumes, and as idiosyncratic as any character that one can find in the writings of Mark Twain.
As a young man Bosman started writing - at first, short stories for his local newspapers. He then qualified as a teacher and took up a teaching post in the Groot Marico district in South Africa. This barren, dry land with its quirky characters became the source for much of the writing in this volume.
Through the perceptive and mischievous eyes of Oom Schalk, Bosman comments on taboo issues in South Africa, from race relations to the never-ending tension between English and Afrikaners, to the contested terrain of politics and history. Each of the stories is hilarious, disturbing, or deeply moving, depending how open the reader is to letting the superb language drift into his or her consciousness. In many cases the very last line of the story wrenches a tear from the eyes or turns a dagger in the stomach.
Anyone embarking on a voyage of discovery in the rich tradition of South African literature needs to forage early on in that voyage in these and other stories by arguably the country's leading exponent of the short story.
Oom Schalk spends much of his time on his stoep, looking out over the dry veld as he spoons far too much sugar into his mugs of coffee. Bosman subverts the impact of his profound insights into human nature by constructing stories and characters as sweet as any cup of coffee Oom Schalk consumes, and as idiosyncratic as any character that one can find in the writings of Mark Twain.
As a young man Bosman started writing - at first, short stories for his local newspapers. He then qualified as a teacher and took up a teaching post in the Groot Marico district in South Africa. This barren, dry land with its quirky characters became the source for much of the writing in this volume.
Through the perceptive and mischievous eyes of Oom Schalk, Bosman comments on taboo issues in South Africa, from race relations to the never-ending tension between English and Afrikaners, to the contested terrain of politics and history. Each of the stories is hilarious, disturbing, or deeply moving, depending how open the reader is to letting the superb language drift into his or her consciousness. In many cases the very last line of the story wrenches a tear from the eyes or turns a dagger in the stomach.
Anyone embarking on a voyage of discovery in the rich tradition of South African literature needs to forage early on in that voyage in these and other stories by arguably the country's leading exponent of the short story.
August 30, 2015
A set of simple yet hilarious short stories about Boer farmers in the bushveld of South Africa.
On the effects of peach brandy:
'It seemed a long way, now, from the kitchen to the voorhuis, and I had to lean against the wall several times to think. I passed a number of other men who were also leaning against the wall like that, thinking. One man even found that he could think best by sitting on the floor with his head in his arms.'
On looking for cattle before coming across a leopard unexpectedly:
It happened about mid-day, when I was out on the far end of my farm, behind a koppie, looking for some strayed cattle. I thought the cattle might be there because it is shady under those withaak trees, and there is soft grass that is very pleasant to sit on. After I had looked for the cattle for about an hour in this manner, sitting up against a tree-trunk, it occurred to me that I could look for them just as well, or perhaps even better, if I lay down flat. For even a child knows that cattle aren't so small that you have got to get on stilts and things to see them properly...I could go on lying there under the withaak and looking for the cattle like that all day, if necessary.
On getting over 'ploughing sickness':
Hans Coetzee, who was a Boer War prisoner at St. Helena, told me how he got sick at sea from watching the ship going up and down, up and down, all the time. And it's the same with ploughing. The only real cure for this ploughing sickness is to sit quietly on a riempies bench on the stoep, with one's legs raised slightly, drinking coffee until the ploughing season is over. Most of the farmers in the Marico Bushveld have adopted this remedy, as you have no doubt observed by this time.'
On the effects of peach brandy:
'It seemed a long way, now, from the kitchen to the voorhuis, and I had to lean against the wall several times to think. I passed a number of other men who were also leaning against the wall like that, thinking. One man even found that he could think best by sitting on the floor with his head in his arms.'
On looking for cattle before coming across a leopard unexpectedly:
It happened about mid-day, when I was out on the far end of my farm, behind a koppie, looking for some strayed cattle. I thought the cattle might be there because it is shady under those withaak trees, and there is soft grass that is very pleasant to sit on. After I had looked for the cattle for about an hour in this manner, sitting up against a tree-trunk, it occurred to me that I could look for them just as well, or perhaps even better, if I lay down flat. For even a child knows that cattle aren't so small that you have got to get on stilts and things to see them properly...I could go on lying there under the withaak and looking for the cattle like that all day, if necessary.
On getting over 'ploughing sickness':
Hans Coetzee, who was a Boer War prisoner at St. Helena, told me how he got sick at sea from watching the ship going up and down, up and down, all the time. And it's the same with ploughing. The only real cure for this ploughing sickness is to sit quietly on a riempies bench on the stoep, with one's legs raised slightly, drinking coffee until the ploughing season is over. Most of the farmers in the Marico Bushveld have adopted this remedy, as you have no doubt observed by this time.'
October 25, 2014
At first I thought these stories were much of a muchness, and always struck the same note, but either the ones in the second half of the collection are better, or the cumulative effect works in their favor. Be that as it may, I found the volume ultimately satisfying, if in a limited sort of way. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it even more if this edition included an introduction with a summary of South Africa's early history and the Boer Wars, which feature prominently in several of the tales. Also a glossary would have been useful, since there are words in afrikaans all over the text. Of course it is possible to enjoy the storytelling for its own sake, but some of the humor and pathos of the stories also hinges on allusions to characters and events I'd never heard of before. Since Archipelago specializes in unusual books coming from far-flung corners of the earth, I can't understand why they don't bother to help their readers get more out of these special choices. Next time I meet somebody from South Africa, I'll be sure to ask them if Bosman really is their Mark Twain.
December 8, 2013
I'm still trying to decide if this book lives up to its accolades. Feels like a stretch to me. If you compare the writing and story lines with other English authors attempting similar tales I'm left feeling they just might not meet the test. Loved getting a sense of the whites in Africa though, that is valuable.
October 16, 2022
A friend from Africa gave me this as a present last month and I really, really loved it. What beautiful short stories. The punch comes in the final line and it is usually very moving. What lovely - and very humorous - writing. Such a brilliant evocation of the rural simplicity of Africa, and such lovely characters. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
November 18, 2011
Strong collection of short stories from South Africa. Set mostly in the Afrikaans environment, the tales are good examples of storytelling at its best. Interesting mix of English and Afrikaans words gives the work an authentic feel. Worth re-reading.
September 10, 2010
Fascinating, hilarious collection of stories about life in South Africa's Transvaal.
Want to read
June 11, 2011I'm going to put this one aside for a while. I really like the stories but want to have some other 'night' reading.
July 30, 2011
I love these stories, I really want my own copy!
October 6, 2011
Ich fand dieses Buch toll, weil es ein Bild von Südafrika malt in all seinen schönen und weniger schönen Farben.
Es sind Geschichten zum schmunzeln, lachen, weinen und nachdenken.
Es sind Geschichten zum schmunzeln, lachen, weinen und nachdenken.
July 18, 2012
This book was really hard for me to get through. The stories bored me and I just wasn't into it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews