The Tyranny of Giants: The Novels of Mary Elizabeth Martens

The journalist Mary Elizabeth Martens (1870–1939), who had grown up in the Colony of Natal under Responsible Government, published two novels in 1911 and 1915: A Woman of Small Account and A Daughter of Sin. Like the writing of most women of her era, in the words of Valerie Letcher these novels ‘disappeared from the South African literary consciousness’. Agreeing with Letcher that recognition is overdue, the novels were rescued by two of Martens’ great granddaughters, Lynn McMaster and Nancy Bowring, and are republished in modern format together with biographical and historical background. They contain significant social commentary on their times, portraying suffocating patriarchy in which wives and children were regarded and treated as property. White men could behave as they pleased, while white women who transgressed were regarded as ‘fallen’ and sometimes punished as criminals. The penalties for black men who crossed racial boundaries were extreme.