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Biography of Olive SchreinerName: Olive SchreinerBirth Date: March 24, 1855 Death Date: December 11, 1920 Place of Birth: Wittenbergen Mission Station, Basutoland, South Africa Nationality: South African Gender: Female Occupations: writer Olive Schreiner Author of what most consider the first great novel--The Story of an African Farm--to come out of South Africa, Olive Schreiner (1855-1920) is perhaps equally well remembered as an eloquent spokesman for feminist and pacifist causes. Plagued by asthma and severe bouts of depression throughout her life, Schreiner campaigned vigorously against the more predatory aspects of Cecil Rhodes's imperialist philosophy and the British role in the Anglo-Boer War of 1892-1902. Schreiner also set herself apart with her brazen rejection of the prevailing code of Victorian decorum, particularly as it applied to the women of her time.Largely self-educated, Schreiner read voraciously and was particularly influenced by the writings of naturalist Charles Darwin and philosophers Herbert Spencer and John Stuart Mill. Adopting a progressive outlook on life, she rejected the generally accepted gender roles of her era and advocated "an equality of shared labor between men and women," according to Ruth …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…of Lyndall, the author's heroine in The Story of an African Farm, who argued that "the world will never come right, till . . . the female element of the race makes its influence felt." Further Reading Contemporary Authors, Gale Group, 2000.Encyclopaedia Britannica 2003, Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2002.Feminist Writers, St. James Press, 1996.First, Ruth, and Ann Scott, Olive Schreiner, Schoken Books, 1980.Merriam-Webster's Biographical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., 1995."Creative Quotations from Olive Schreiner," Creative Quotations for Creative Thinking, http://www.creativequotations.com/one/998.htm (February 11, 2003)."Olive Emilie Albertina Schreiner," InsaneTree Promotions, http://www.insanetree.com/olive.htm (February 11, 2003)."Olive Schreiner," Spartacus Educational, http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/TUschreiner.htm (February 11, 2003)."Olive Schreiner," Washington State University, http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/Schreiner.html (February 11, 2003)."Olive Schreiner (1855-1920)," Drew University, http://www.depts.drew.edu/wmst/corecourses/wmst111/timeline_bios/OSchreiner.htm (February 11, 2003). "Olive Schreiner: Biographical Overview," Emory University, http://www.emory.edu/ENGLISH/Bahri/Schreiner.html (February 11, 2003). |