Alida Badenhorst: Name correction

Alida Badenhorst wrote a very interesting account of her experiences during the South African War and the periods before and just after it, published in English as Tant’ Alie of Transvaal. It was translated mainly by Emily Hobhouse, although perhaps Olive Schreiner had a hand in it as well (she read the original and thought Hobhouse had removed colloquialisms to make it ‘proper‘).

In an article about Hothouse’s comments on memory and its complexities related to the war, I made an unfortunate mistake in giving this author’s full name. Working from notes about a number of different Badenhorst women, Alida Badenhorst was mistakenly referred to as Aletta in the article (accessible here), which appeared some years ago. Recently I have been contacted by the great-great-great-granddaughter of Alida Badenhorst, who has kindly put me right.

Many apologies for the mistake made, and I am pleased to be able to convey the correct authorship of this document (which hovers on the edges of being a diary, a memoir, a testimony). It was originally published in 1923 under the name of Emily Hobhouse, as shown in the photograph of its title page, but it should more appropriately be:

Alida Badenhorst (1923) Tant’ Alie of Transvaal (trans. Emily Hobhouse) London: George Allen & Unwin.