Apes and Ivory

by Joy Packer

Author's third book of memoirs, story of Packer's African travels through - Swaziland, Bechauanaland, and Rhodesia, the Congo, Nigeria etc while her husband was Commander-In-Chief of the South Atlantic Station.....Woven into author's pattern of Africa, with its "gold, and silver, ivory and apes, and peacocks." are the glowing threads of past history and history in the making, of comedy and drama, and here and there, pathos, and a great deal of plain common sense about the racial problems of her own country......From the flap: "Apes and Ivory is the story of her African travels which included extensive tours of the Union and the three British Protectorates — beautiful Basutoland and Swaziland, both swamped by a wave of diretlo murders, and lonely Bechuanaland, Seretse Khama’s country; the Rhodesias in the throes of growing-pains; the Congo "emerging into a tropical welfare state"; and the island of Madagascar, where she witnessed the Sacrifice to the Crocodiles. She went also to Northern Nigeria, "the mysterious ebony world of Black Africa"; Lagos with its juju; the Gold Coast; Sierra Leone, Gambia, French Senegal and the "fantastic and perilous" Ivory Coast."

Genres: Africa, Travel, Nonfiction, History, Biography

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Joy Petersen was born and educated in Cape Town, graduating as a journalist from the University of Cape Town. She worked initially as a free-lance journalist, in 1931 becoming a reporter for London's Daily Express. After this she spent time on radio in Hong Kong as well as a stint writing for British publications in the Balkans. World War II saw her as a broadcaster to South Africa for the BBC, then later working in the Ministry of Information in Egypt, as at Allied Headquarters in Italy. Her travelling was tied up with her marriage to a British admiral, Sir Herbert Packer. When her husband was knighted in the 1950 Honours list Mrs. Joy Packer automatically became known as "Lady Packer", a courtesy title.

Her first works of note were three volumes of memoirs published from 1945 to 1953 dealing with her travels throughout the world during the period before, during and just after World War II with her husband. Places visited included Britain, the Mediterranean, the Balkans and China. In the early 1950s she went on a substantial tour of Africa, which is included in her later published final three volumes of memoirs.

In the 1950s, she also began publishing novels, starting with Valley of the Vines in 1955, which sold more than 600 000 copies in English, and was translated into at least nine European languages. Although her novels principal themes were romantic, several sources state them as also important for their sociopolitical commentary of South Africa at the time. Her second novel, Nor the Moon by Night was made into a British film of the same name. In America, it was released as Elephant Gun.

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. A real insight into world affairs and African life in the 50's from the viewpoint of a privileged South African, wife of an Admiral. Excellent writer.

[Amanda Nunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has not aged well. It was published in 1952, and the author, Joy Packer, is the South African born wife of a British Admiral stationed to Africa for two years. During their stay they visited many regions of colonial Africa, from Madagascar to Nigeria, and this book records her impressions and experiences. Her super racist impressions, in many cases.
Laugh with Joy as she observes those adorable blacks attempt to run a parliament - but don't worry, all the important things are still in white hands! Frown with Joy as she condemns the new breed of English settlers who allow their black servants to eat at their table like equals. Nod along as she alternately likens the blacks to monkeys and to children. Even rhino spotting provides an opportunity to examine racial affairs - because rhinos come in both white and black, and guess which kind is objectively better?
Okay, so I guess I should explain why I gave this book 4 stars.
I learned a lot reading this book. Joy visits many African colonies, and for each one, she describes the current colonial policy and her thoughts on it (needs more apartheid! Native self-government is absurd!). I am embarrassingly ignorant about African history, but constantly found myself asking "And how'd that go for them?" And then I turned to Wikipedia to find out. Joy mentioned Ruth Khama, a white woman who had married an African chief, and how the colonial authorities were wringing their hands to figure out "how to deal with it" (Spoiler: they dealt with it poorly). I'd never heard anything about this before, and I'd like to find out more!
It also gave me a bit of an insight into racism itself - I always wonder how two groups of people can live in close contact and not eventually figure out they're each just different kinds of people, with equal emotional and intellectual capabilities. I now see that wilful ignorance must play a part, exemplified when Joy mentions that the blacks in a particular South African city rioted for "no apparent reason". Really, Joy? You're a trained journalist, but your curiosity suddenly dries up when it comes to this? You can't think of one single possible reason that might have happened? God forbid you ask anyone?
I also learned about the existence of ethnopsychology, a field which is unsurprisingly no longer popular.
Lastly, Joy is actually quite a talented writer - she has a knack for eliciting emotion with poetic descriptions of the scenes she encounters between bouts of racism.
So, I actually enjoyed this book, despite the content. I have a better understanding of African history, and of the roots of current events in Africa. I have some interesting "leads" I'd like to pursue with regard to further reading. Your experience may vary, but I found it worthwhile.