The Story of an African Farm
Emily borrows The Story of an African Farm (misquoted as The South African Farm) from Teddy’s mother.
She had been up to the Tansy Patch several times since that first evening and an odd sort of friendship had sprung up between her and Mrs. Kent. They lent each other books and talked of everything except the one thing that mattered most to them. The book Emily was returning was an old copy of The South African Farm. Emily had expressed a wish to read it and Mrs. Kent had gone upstairs and presently came down with it–her white face a little whiter and the scar burning redly across it as always when she was deeply moved.
-Emily’s Quest ch.24
Emily is fated to discover a life-changing letter from the past for Mrs. Kent, within the leaves of the unread book. The significance of Olive Shreiner’s novel is discussed in Epperly’s The Fragrance of Sweet Grass. The feminist novel features a heroine who ambitiously strives for education despite opposition and ignorant adults in the Boer farm community. She is broken by love.
The Story of an African Farm
By Olive Schreiner
This novel can be read online at Project Gutenberg
Source
Schreiner, Olive. The Story of an African Farm. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1441
