Thomas Mofolo; Sir Henry Newbolt; F. H. Dutton — Chaka: An Historical Romance

Oxford; London, International Institute of African Languages & Cultures; Oxford University Press; Humphrey Milford, 1931. First edition. Cloth. The first English language edition of this great Sesotho novel, a fictionalised account of the rise and fall of the Zulu Emperor Shaka. The first English language edition of this work, following the 1925 true first, which was written in Sesotho.In the very scarce unclipped dust wrapper.'Chaka' is the third and final novel written by Thomas Mofolo, a mythical retelling of the rise and fall of the Zulu Emperor king Shaka. The Zulu conqueror built a mighty empire during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Mofolo wrote the work in three years between 1907 to 1910, researching the work by travelling to the province of Natal. He is considered to be the greatest Basotho author, his other two novels being 'Moeti oa Bochabela', ('The Traveler of the East'), and 'Pitseng&apos.Translated into English by F. H. Dutton. In the original publisher's cloth binding, in the original unclipped dust wrapper. Externally, smart, with a few minor marks to the boards. Light bumping to the head and tail of the spine and to the extremities. Spots to the fore edge and endpapers. Dust wrapper is edge worn, with restoration by a prior owner, including to the subtitle to the front wrap. Some light handling marks and spots to the wraps, and a little sunning to the spine. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and generally clean with some scattered spots. Very Good . Ill.: None. Very Good/Good.