Maverick: Extraordinary Women from South Africa's Past
About this book
This is a book about raconteurs and renegades, writers, poets, provocateurs and pop stars, artists and activists and a cross-dressing doctor. From Africa's first black movie star and Drum covergirl, Dolly Rathebe, to Glenda Kemp, the snake-dancing stripper who shook up the verkrampte social mores of the 70s, these are the riveting true tales of women who broke with convention and damn the consequences.Spanning over 350 years of history, Maverick explores the compelling lives of some of South Africa's most famous - and notorious - women, including Brenda Fassie, Daisy de Melker, Sara Bartmann, Ingrid Jonker, Helen Joseph, Nongqawuse and Bessie Head. But it also delves into lesser-known stories of the likes of reluctant Boer commando Sarah Raal, the ill-fated khoekhoe interpreter Krotoa-Eva, Black Sophie, the brothel queen of Bree Street, and Elizabeth Klarer, who gave birth to an alien love child in 1958.