Na Die Geliefde Land, Portrait of a Slave Society: T, Cape Lives of the Eighteent, Die Uur Van Die Engel, Armosyn van die Kaap
Karel Schoeman ( [ˈkɑːrəl ˈskuman], 26 October 1939 in Trompsburg, South Africa – 1 May 2017 in Bloemfontein, South Africa) was a South African novelist, historian, translator and man of letters. He was the author of 19 novels and numerous works of history. He was one of South Africa's most honoured authors. Schoeman wrote primarily in Afrikaans, although several of his non-fiction books were originally written in English. His novels are increasingly being translated into other languages, notably, English, French and Dutch.
Born in 1939 in Trompsburg, South Africa, Karel Schoeman matriculated in 1956 from Paarl Boys' High School. In 1959, he obtained a BA degree in languages from the University of the Free State. In 1961, he joined the Franciscan Order in Ireland as a novice for the priesthood, but then returned to Bloemfontein to obtain a Higher Diploma in Library Studies. During the 1970s, he went into voluntary exile, working first as a librarian in Amsterdam and then as a nurse in Glasgow, Scotland. He returned to South Africa in 1983 and worked until his retirement in 1998 as an archivist at the South African National Library in Cape Town. He then returned to his town of birth, Trompsburg, where he lived for more than a decade before moving to Bloemfontein. In September 2008, he moved to the Noorderbloem retirement community, where he died on 1 May 2017.
Schoeman is known not only as a novelist, but is equally renowned as an historian and biographer. He has also published translations (especially of drama), several travel books and an autobiography. He won the most prestigious Afrikaans literary award, the Hertzog Prize, three times: in 1971 (for By Fakkellig, ’n Lug vol helder wolke and Spiraal), 1986 (’n Ander land) and in 1995 (Hierdie lewe). The Recht Malan Prize for "excellence in the field of non-fiction books" was awarded to him four times. On the retirement of President Nelson Mandela in 1999, Schoeman was one of only two writers to be awarded the State President Award: Order for Excellent Service. In more recent years, his fiction garnered much praise in France, winning inter alia the prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger in 2009.
His 1972 novel, Na die Geliefde Land (literally: To the Beloved Country), was made into an award-winning feature film, Promised Land in 2002, with a screenplay by Jason Xenopoulos. Schoeman has produced and published several screenplays, including an adaptation of his first novel, Veldslag, some of which were broadcast on South African national television during the 1980s.
Schoeman committed suicide at a retirement center in South Africa at the age of 77, writing about dying with dignity in his suicide statement. A previous attempt failed when he was 75.
Novels
Veldslag (1965) (consisting of two novellas: Veldslag and In Ballingskap)
By Fakkellig (1966)
’n Lug vol Helder Wolke (1967)
Spiraal (1968)
Op ’n Eiland (1971)
Na die Geliefde Land (1972)
Die Noorderlig (1975)
Om te Sterwe (1976)
Afrika: 'n Roman (1977)
Die Hemeltuin (1979)
Die Reisiger (1980)
Waar Ons Gelukkig Was (1981)
’n Ander Land (1984)
Afskeid en Vertrek (1990)
Hierdie Lewe (1993)
Die Uur van die Engel (1995)
Verkenning (1996)
Verliesfontein (1998)
Titaan: ’n Roman oor die Lewe van Michelangelo Buonarroti (2009)
Autobiographical works, travel writing and belles lettres
Berig uit die Vreemde: ’n Ierse Dagboek (1966)
Van ’n Verre Eiland: ’n Tweede Ierse Dagboek (1968)
Koninkryk in die Noorde: 'n Boek oor Skotland (1977)
Onderweg: Reisherinnerings (1978)
Stamland: 'n Reis deur Nederland (1999)
Die Laaste Afrikaanse Boek: Outobiografiese Aantekeninge (2002)
Riviereland: Twee Besoeke aan Nederland (2011)
Deelstad: ’n Boek oor Berlyn (2013)
Translations into Afrikaans by Schoeman
Anton Chekhov, Oom Wanja: Tonele uit die Plattelandse Lewe in Vier Bedrywe (1968)
Uit die Iers: Middeleeuse Gedigte (1970)
Helde van die Rooi Tak: Die Saga van Cucullin en die Veeroof van Culne (1973)
Des Voix Parmi les Ombres (Verliesfontein) tr. Pierre-Marie Finkelstein (2014)
Dutch
Een Ander Land (’n Ander Land) tr. Riet de Jong-Goossens (1992)
Two excerpts from Verliesfontein in Ena Jansen & Wilfred Jonckheere (eds), Boer en Brit: Ooggetuigen en Schrijvers over de Anglo-Boerenoorlog in Zuid-Afrika (2001)
Merksteen: Een Dubbelbiografie (Merksteen: ’n Dubbelbiografie) tr. Riet de Jong-Goossens (2004)
Dit Leven (Hierdie Lewe) tr. Rob van der Veer (2014)
Het Uur van de Engel (Die Uur van die Engel) tr. Rob van der Veer (2015)
German
In Einem Fremden Land (Na die Geliefde Land) tr. Gisela Stege (1993)
Russian
V rodnuju stranu (В родную страну) (Na die Geliefde Land) tr. A.K. Slavinska (1978)
Monographs
Bloemfontein: Die Ontstaan van 'n Stad, 1846–1946 (1980)
Vrystaatse Erfenis: Bouwerk en Geboue in die 19de Eeu (1982)
Die Dood van 'n Engelsman: Die Cox-Moorde van 1856 en die Vroeë Jare van die Oranje-Vrystaat (1982)
Boukkunsskatte van die Vrystaat / Free State Heritage (1985)
Die Wêreld van die Digter: ’n Boek oor Sutherland en die Roggeveld ter ere van N.P. van Wyk Louw (1986)
Die Moord op Hesje van der Merwe, 19 Oktober 1837 (1995)
J.J. Kicherer en die Vroeë Sending, 1799–1806 (1996)
Armosyn van die Kaap: Voorspel tot Vestiging, 1415–1651 (1999)
Armosyn van die Kaap: Die Wêreld van 'n Slavin, 1652–1733 (2001)
