Dramatis Personae

The ‘Dramatis Personae’ provides biographical and other information about all the people to whom Olive Schreiner wrote letters, and also concerning a large number of the people her letters mention as well. Where appropriate and possible, references to the South African and the Oxford dictionaries of national biography and also other relevant publications have been provided.

Just click on the letters of the alphabet below to see the information. In addition, clicking on the live links on people’s names in Olive Schreiner’s letters will also take you straight to this information.

Key:  signifies the person is a recipient (and mentioned) |  signifies the person is only mentioned

Name	Description
De La Rey, General Jacobus	Jacobus Hercules (Koos) De La Rey (1847 - 1914) was an important Boer general during the 1899-1902 S...
De Villiers, Mrs C C (Charles Christiaan)	Mrs CC De Villiers (her personal name cannot be established) was the wife of Charles Christiaan de V...
De Villiers, Minnie	Minnie Edith De Villiers nee Drummond was the wife of South African judge Opie or Oefie De Villiers....
De Villiers, Opie	Sir Jean Etienne Reenen (Oefie or Opie) De Villiers (1875 - 1947) was a well-known South African jud...
De Villiers, Winifred	From Schreiner’s single extant letter to Winifred de Villiers, it is clear that she was involv...
De Wet, Christiaan	Christiaan Rudolph De Wet (1854 - 1922) was a key Boer general during the 1899-1902 South African Wa...
De Wet, Marie	Marie Koopmans De Wet (1834 - 1906) was a well-known figure in Cape cultural and political circles, ...
Dick, Molly	Molly Dick was a daughter of Rachel (‘Ray’) Dick nee Brown, who was herself the daughter...
Dilke, Charles	Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke (1843 - 1911) was a British politician and writer. Dilke was educated at...
Dilke, Emilia Frances	Emilia Francis Dilke nee Strong (1840 - 1904) was a British art historian, feminist and involved in ...
Dinuzulu	Dinuzulu (1868 - 1913) was the eldest son of the last king of an independent Zululand, Cetshwayo. Ce...
Dirks, William H.	William H. Dirks was a writer and also a colleague of Ernest Rhys’ at Walter Scott publishing ...
Donkin, Bryan	Horatio Bryan Donkin (1842 - 1927) was a British medical doctor who Schreiner came to know through h...
Drew, Mary	Mary Drew nee Gladstone (1847 - 1927), was a political secretary and a writer, and also an active fe...
Du Bois, W E B	William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868 - 1963) was a black American writer and activist. Du Bois was...
Dube, John	John Langalibalele Dube (1871 - 1946) was a South African educationalist and Zulu political leader. ...
Duncan, Patrick	Patrick Duncan (1870 - 1943) was born in Scotland, but after joining the British civil service was r...