Daphne Marie Rooke (née Pizzey) (6 March 1914 – 21 January 2009 ) was a South African author of works such as "Mittee", "Ratoons" and "Wizards' Country". She also wrote travel articles and books for children set in India, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Biography
Daphne Rooke was born in Boksburg,
Transvaal
Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''.
* South African Republic (1856–1902; ...
; the youngest of six children born to an
Afrikaaner mother. Daphne's grandfather was Dietlof Siegfried Maré, founder of
, who had 23 children by two wives. One of Daphne's uncles was writer Leon Maré.
Daphne's mother was Maria Magdalena Maré, born in 1878, who was known as "Mittee".
She married an Englishman, Edward Knevitte or Knevitt in 1899.
During the Anglo-Boer war, tensions between Afrikaans and English ran high, and the couple and their four children (Daphne's three half-brothers and a half-sister) were forced to leave Pietersburg because of Knevitt's English citizenship. The Marés and Knevitts apparently had little contact after this time.
After the death of Edward Knevitt, Daphne's mother remarried to another Englishman, Robert Pizzey, in 1911,
and had two further daughters: Rosemary born in 1912 and Daphne born in 1914. Robert Pizzey fought and died in the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
As a child, Daphne had recurring heart and growth problems.
Primarily for the sake of Daphne's health,
the family left the Highveld and moved near to Durban
Natal
NATAL or Natal may refer to:
Places
* Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil
* Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa
** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843)
** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...
. Daphne's mother was a teacher and a journalist, and also a short-story writer.
She published a collection of short stories ''The Children of the Veld'', under the pseudonym "Mare Knevitt".
This inspired Daphne to try her hand at writing. She became a journalist and author. In 1946, she was co-winner of the ''Afrikaanse Pers'' literary prize, for a work that was eventually published as her first novel, under the title ''"A Grove of Fever Trees"''. In the meantime (1937) she had married an Australian named Irvin ("Bertie") Rooke, whom she had met while doing organizational work for the Transport Workers Union. To reconnect with Bertie's Australian family, they left for Australia in 1946.
They returned to Natal in 1953, but disturbed by the
police state
A police state describes a state whose government institutions exercise an extreme level of control over civil society and liberties. There is typically little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the exec ...
mentality in South Africa, moved back to Australia in 1965. In the 1980s her work was "rediscovered" by the
University of Natal
The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...
, which awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1997. She remained in Australia until Bertie's death in 1989 when she moved to Cambridge, England, where she lived for the rest of her life.
Obituary
''The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', 25 February 2009
Bibliography
Based on the publication list from "Contemporary Novelists", vol.15, article by Lynne Bryer
Autobiography
* ''Three Rivers – A Memoir''. Daffodil Press (2003)
Novels
* ''The Sea Hath Bounds''. A.P.B. Bookstore (1946) later published as ''A Grove of Fever Trees'', Houghton Mifflin (1950), Jonathan Cape (1951).
* ''Mittee''. Victor Gollancz (1951), Houghton Mifflin (1952), Chameleon Press (1987), Penguin Books (1991), Toby Press (2007)[The Toby Press: Daphne Rooke](_blank)
* ''Ratoons''. Victor Gollancz and Houghton Mifflin (1953) Chameleon Press (1987), Toby Press (2007)
* ''Wizards' Country''. Victor Gollancz and Houghton Mifflin (1957), Chameleon Press (1987) Toby Press (2007)[Available on Amazon Kindle in the UK](_blank)
/ref>
* ''Beti''. Victor Gollancz and Houghton Mifflin (1959).
* ''A Lover for Estelle''. Victor Gollancz and Houghton Mifflin (1961).
* ''The Greyling''. Victor Gollancz (1962), Reynal (1963).
* ''Diamond Jo''. Victor Gollancz and Reynal (1965).
* ''Boy on the Mountain''. Victor Gollancz (1969).
* ''Margaretha de la Porte''. Victor Gollancz (1974).
Short stories
* "The Friends," in ''South African Stories'', edited by David Wright. Faber & Faber and Duell (1960).
* "Fikizolo," in ''Over the Horizon''. Victor Gollancz (1960).
Children's books
* ''The South African Twins''. Jonathan Cape (1953); as ''Twins in South Africa'', Houghton Mifflin (1955).
* ''The Australian Twins''. Jonathan Cape (1954); as ''Twins in Australia'', Houghton Mifflin (1956).
* ''New Zealand Twins''. Jonathan Cape (1957).
* ''Double Ex!''. Victor Gollancz (1971).
* ''A Horse of His Own''. Victor Gollancz (1976).
Critical studies
* Orville Prescott, in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', 1 March 1950
* Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Dorothy Canfield Fisher (February 17, 1879 – November 9, 1958) was an educational reformer, social activist, and best-selling American author in the early 20th century. She strongly supported women's rights, racial equality, and lifelong educat ...
, in the Book-of-the-Month News (New York), January 1952
* Sylvia Stallings, in the ''New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...
'', 20 December 1953
* Paul Scott, in '' Country Life'' (London), 24 May 1962
* R.W Johnson, in the ''Times Literary Supplement
''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp.
History
The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
'' (London), 5 July 2006[Times Literary Supplement, R. W. Johnson, ''The Old Fires of Daphne Rook]
', 5 July 2006
Manuscript collections
*Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center
The Mugar Memorial Library is the primary library for study, teaching, and research in the humanities and social sciences for Boston University. It was opened in 1966. Stephen P. Mugar, an Armenian immigrant who was successful in the grocery b ...
, Mugar Memorial Library
The Mugar Memorial Library is the primary library for study, teaching, and research in the humanities and social sciences for Boston University. It was opened in 1966. Stephen P. Mugar, an Armenian immigrant who was successful in the grocery b ...
, Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
, USA;
*National English Literary Museum
The Amazwi South African Museum of Literature, previously the National English Literary Museum (NELM), is a museum that houses archival material relating to South Africa's literary heritage. It is located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in t ...
, Grahamstown
Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...
, South Africa.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooke, Daphne
South African women novelists
South African travel writers
1914 births
2009 deaths
Women travel writers
20th-century South African novelists
20th-century South African women writers
20th-century South African journalists