An
interesting read, particularly for those not familiar with this period of South
African history. (Review by Caroline Smart)
England Wants Your Gold is the first of a trilogy by
Neville Herrington dealing with the Anglo Boer War.
Herrington is the co-owner of Tekweni Television
Productions in Durban and was senior lecturer in the Department of Speech and
Drama at the University of Natal (now University of KwaZulu-Natal). He was educated
at Penzance Road Primary School in Durban and later at Arcadia Primary School
and Christian Brothers' College, Pretoria.
With his wife, Sandra Herrington, he has
created numerous environmental, eco-travel and social documentaries for
television.
While England Wants Your Gold is an act of
fiction, Herrington has drawn from his personal past where his predecessors
were much involved in issues of the times. He has mixed this information with
historical facts to make what is an interesting read, particularly for those
who are not familiar with this period of South African history.
England Wants Your Gold is set against the backdrop of
the infamous Jameson Raid that triggered the Anglo-Boer War. The story deals
with the experiences of a beautiful young musical hall performer called Brigid
O’Meara. When we first meet her, she is in a lonely and unhappy personal space
and has to face a difficult decision. A figure from her past comes back to
haunt her, determined to wreak revenge for something she has done.
Her Irish background means she has sympathy
for the Boers in their fight against British domination. However, fate – and
love – has a way of changing one’s life’s path and she finds herself falling
for an Uitlander activist. Her feelings for him are so strong that she cannot
refuse his request to help him smuggle weapons into the Transvaal. After all,
who would suspect a stunning young woman (whose acting skills are very useful
in this process) of travelling with a stash of weapons cunningly concealed in a
beautifully decorated trunk.
Then she
gets an opportunity to get back on stage in a musical production. Performing
gives her a sense of fulfilment but it’s not a permanent contract. So decisions need to be made about the future.
With his
extensive experience in television and the power of the camera to capture
nuances of images, Herrington describes situations and characters well. If England Wants Your Gold is anything
to go by, the forthcoming two novels should make the basis of a good three-part
television series.
The Herringtons
recently co-directed a major television documentary titled Jan Smuts – The Flawed Genius which is receiving high
accolades on the national markets.
This is currently available at Musgrave Adams and VIMEO
on Demand.
England
Wants Your Gold is published by Tekweni and is available
at Adams, Musgrave, for R200. It is also available on Amazon kindle and in hard
copy on Amazon from about the middle of November. Blue Weaver is distributing the book locally. ISBN
978-0-620-67304-4 Caroline Smart
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