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THE LESSER SPOTTED AUTHOR
BRIDGET PITT
BOOKS & WRITING
A Zulu foundling and a white missionary’s child raised as brothers in a world intent on making them enemies. A sweeping tale of identity, kinship, and atonement in 1870s South Africa, from Commonwealth Book Prize shortlisted author Bridget Pitt.
“Unique and bold. This critique of the colonial enterprise is unlike any other you have read before. This is one of those wonderful stories that both break and mend the heart.” —Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu
March 29 17:30
Glenshiel Mansion
19 Woolston Road
Westcliff
Johannesburg
R150 - profits to go to Friends of the Wilds
About Me
I am a South African author of poetry, short fiction, non-fiction and four novels. I have a love of story-telling, of the natural world, and support all efforts to seek more just and joyous ways of living with each other and with other forms of life. I have co-authored the memoir of Sicelo Mbatha, a spiritual wilderness guide, and have written on community centered approaches to nature conservation. My latest novel, Eye Brother Horn, explores the social and ecological impacts of colonialism in South Africa. My work has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth book Prize and short story prize, the Wole Soyinka African Literature Award, the Tuscarora Award for Historical Fiction, and the Siskiyou Prize for Environmental Writing, among others.
Jonathan Ball Publishers 2021
Wilderness guide Sicelo Mbatha shares lessons learnt from a lifetime’s intimate association with Africa’s wildest nature.
He disrupts the conventional approach to nature with an immersive, respectful and transformative way of being in the wilderness.
This lyrical and heartfelt book helps to fill a yawning gap in African natural history prose.... Sicelo Mbatha is a Zulu man from a poor rural background, and he brings an important perspective to African conservation. This is an important book that brings a sorely needed framework to the discourse on African conservation. It is also a delightful read.' - Ed Stoddard, Daily Maverick
I think I was born again after reading this book... I will recommend it to everybody trying to find meaning in life - Life coach Gugu Mhlongo
Penguin 2015
Iris Langley is forced to take charge when her mother, Grace, has a stroke. But Iris herself still suffers from a brain injury after a near-fatal fall as a child. As her mother retreats into dementia, Iris realises that Grace is hiding a secret about that fateful day in the mountains. But with her own memory fragmented, and Grace’s mind in tatters, how can she find the truth? Set against the sombre beauty of the Drakensberg mountains, Bridget Pitt’s powerful new novel takes us into the labyrinthine world of brain injury, and reveals how the strands of guilt, secrecy and devotion that bind mother to daughter may devastate or redeem them.
A book that at times has a brutality lying cunningly below the beauty, it is a true treasure and proof that Pitt is indeed one of South Africa's best writers ..." Cape Times
Read more...
The unseen leopard
Human & Rousseau 2010
A story of betrayal, deception, genetic engineering, sisterhood…and a lonely and reluctant quest for salvation.
Pitt deftly weaves her strands together, and the climax is both gripping and moving…. a powerful novel about people, grief, the long, clutching fingers of the past and, ultimately, forgiveness. - Natal Witness
Unbroken Wing
Kwela 1998
Unbroken Wing captures the heady mix of excitement and uncertainty of South Africa in the final days of the struggle. Within this, is the story of one woman’s search for her identity amid the clamour and crush of history.
