Twaalf Jaar As Banneling ("Twelve Years as an Exile") by Coenraad MacDonald. 1950.
This is Volume V in the popular five-part autobiographical/adventure series by Kalahari Mac (the pen name of Coenraad Frederik "Freddie" MacDonald). Published in 1950 by L. & S. Boek- en Kunssentrum in Johannesburg, Twaalf Jaar As Banneling ("Twelve Years as an Exile") captures a fascinating, turbulent slice of Southern African history.
Key Historical & Literary Context
The Man Behind the Pseudonym: Freddie MacDonald was a colorful figure who lived through several pivotal historical conflicts in Southern Africa. Writing as "Kalahari Mac," he published a series of autobiographical accounts in the late 1940s and early 1950s that blended personal memoir, frontier wilderness adventure, and historical eyewitness narrative.
The Narrative (Twelve Years as an Exile): As the title suggests, this volume recounts MacDonald's twelve-year exile following his involvement in anti-British and Boer resistance history. The text chronicles his escape across borders into Portuguese West Africa (Angola—noted in Chapter I as Loanda), his journeys through Spain and Germany, dealings with political figures like General Manie Maritz (Chapter VIII), and his eventual return via Cape Town.
The 1914 Boer Revolt Connection: MacDonald was deeply involved with the 1914 Maritz Rebellion (the Boer Revolt against the Union of South Africa's decision to invade German South West Africa during WWI). Many rebel leaders and sympathizers who refused to surrender fled into German West Africa or into Portuguese territories and Europe, leading to years of wandering in exile before returning home.
Part of a Iconic 5-Book Set: MacDonald's five Kalahari Mac titles—spanning his time in the Kalahari, fighting alongside Jakob Marengo in South West Africa, the 1914 Rebellion, and his years in exile—were widely read in mid-20th-century Afrikaans popular literature.
Previous Owner Signature: The flyleaf bears the neat ink inscription "Louis J. Axsel / 1951."
130 x 185mm x 20mm
Complete. Very rare to have dust jacket, albeit in poor condition. Spine faded and marked. Pages mellowed.
R800
