Mittee [Paperback]

Daphne Rooke (Author), J. M. Coetzee (Afterword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 2007

First published in 1952, Mittee was an international bestseller. Set in late nineteenth-century Transvaal, it dramatizes the intense, ambiguous love-hate relationship between Selina, a young colored servant girl, and her privileged white mistress, Mittee, and explores the roles forced upon the two women, fierce rivals for the attentions of the same man. Juxtaposing violence and sexuality the author crosses gender and racial boundaries in this powerful exposure of a patriarchal, puritanical and divided society.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

DAPHNE ROOKE (born 1914), was born in Boksburg, Transvaal, of an English father and Afrikaans mother, and grew up in Durban. She later moved to Zululand, where A Grove of Fever Trees, her first novel, was set. During, the 1930s she worked as a journalist in South Africa. She married an Australian and moved there with him. Mittee was published in 1951 and became an international bestseller. It was followed in subsequent years by a series of striking novels on turbulent South African themes. Rooke ultimately moved to England --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 273 pages
• Publisher: Toby Press (December 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592642063
• ISBN-13: 978-1592642069
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,348,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a fantastic tale of two young women, August 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mittee (Twentieth Century Classics) (Paperback)

This is a fantastic tale of two young women - thoroughly engaging. Anyone who wants to learn about what it was like to live in Apartheid South Africa should read this book, however it would appeal to any young woman who knows what it is to have friendship. Despite the author being my grandmother - I can honestly recommend this book to all ages. It is a wonderful piece of fiction that is not to be missed!