Depictions of childhood in South African autobiography, with particular reference to the 1920s

Abstract

If we wish to gain a better understanding of a particular period in South Africa's history, it is not sufficient merely to study that period, and the people who lived through it, in isolation; we also need to know what that period has made of these people. In other words, we should not neglect to ascertain what these people have become. If we accept this, then autobiography presents itself as a fruitful area of study.