Murderers, Miscreants and Mutineers: Early Colonial Cape Lives – Nigel Penn

Description

Murderers, Miscreants and Mutineers: Early Cape Characters by Nigel Penn is the highly anticipated sequel to his award-winning book Rogues, Rebels and Runaways. In this new volume, Penn continues to captivate readers with the fascinating lives of extraordinary characters from the 18th and early 19th centuries of Cape history.

The book brings to life a host of colourful personalities, such as Maria Mouton, the first white woman at the Cape to be executed for an adulterous affair and the murder of her husband. Another compelling figure is Johannes Seidenfaden, an LMS missionary whose shocking actions earned him the label “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” from Dr. John Philip, the LMS superintendent. Seidenfaden’s misconduct, including attempts to seduce his Khoikhoi housekeeper and turn his mission station into a personal fiefdom, offers a dark glimpse into the complexities of colonial life.

Other chapters reveal the dramatic tales of soldiers attempting to desert Cape Town for Mozambique, only to be apprehended in the Hottentots Holland Mountains, the Swiss Meuron Regiment’s escapades at the Cape, and an eerie “ear atrocity” in the Onder Bokkeveld near Ceres.

Penn’s storytelling, rich in humor, erudition, and vivid detail, shines a light on the social dynamics, struggles, and often turbulent human experience in the early Cape colony. This book offers a captivating exploration of our past and the larger-than-life figures that helped shape it.