BOOK REVIEW: B. J. Worsfold.South Africa Backdrop: An Historical Introduction for South African Literary and Cultural Studies. Lleida: Edicions de la Universitat de Lleida, 1999.

Abstract

B. J. Worsfold has produced an invaluable, panoramic overview of the major historical, socioeonomic, and political events in South Africa, which enables readers to place in an appropriate context the literature they are studying. South African history is a daunting field, both for the specialist and the nonspecialist. Worsfold has blended an impressive array of sources, ranging from oral historiography, "classical" European/settler historiography, archeology, and sociology in a very readable form, an impressive achievement given the contested nature of South African historiography.