Best known work

• The Story of an African Farm, 1883

Genres

• Fiction - Novels
• Fiction - Short Stories
• Politics / Philosophy / Essays

Nom de plume

Olive Emilie Albertina Schreiner, Ralph Iron

Social class

Working class

Parental background

Her parents were poor missionaries and she received no formal education.

At publication of best known work

• Age: 28
• Marital status: Unmarried
• Number of children: 0

Physical description

Frank Harris described her as "pretty, dark, slight, and eager" (The Academy and literature, Mar 25, 1911). In their biography of Schreiner, Ruth First and Ann Scott described her at aged fifteen "physically she was small and slight with smooth skin, good colour, thick brown hair and large, dark eyes that were remarked on throughout her life". Then, aged 65 in the year that she died, she is described how she had aged "her bright hair was gray. Her glorious eyes were almost closed" (Olive Schreiner, 1980).

Did you know?

When Schreiner married in 1894, her husband took her name. Though the couple spent much of the next twenty-five years apart, Schreiner was laid to rest in a tomb alongside her husband, baby and pet dog.

Additional information

The Yellow Nineties Online offers a great introduction to Schreiner's life and works at [click the PDF link to access]. Schreiner's letters (complete with spelling mistakes and errors as she made them) are available online.