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

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z|All

Name	Description
Abdurahman, Abdullah	Abdullah Abdurahman (1872 - 1940) was a South African political leader who championed the rights of ...
Adams, George	George Adams was an important figure in the life of Schreiner’s close friend Edward Carpenter....
Addams, Jane	Jane Addams (1860 - 1935) was an American social campaigner, suffragette and peace worker, and in 19...
Alexander, Morris	Morris Alexander (1877 - 1946) was a lawyer and Cape parliamentarian. Alexander came from a German-J...
Alexander, Ruth	Ruth Alexander nee Schechter (1888 - 1942) was the daughter of a well-known Hebrew scholar, Solomon ...
Alexanders (The)	Refers to Ruth Alexander nee Schechter and
Angell, Norman	Norman Angell (1872 - 1967), formerly Ralph Norman Angell Lane, was a British peace campaigner and w...
Arnold, Matthew	Matthew Arnold (1822 - 1888) was an influential British poet, literary and social critic and inspect...
Asquith, Herbert Henry	Herbert Asquith (1852 - 1928) was British Prime Minister between 1908 and 1916. A Liberal, Asquith w...
Aveling, Edward	Edward Bibbens Aveling (1849 - 1898) was a socialist campaigner and the long-term lover of Karl Marx...
Avelings (The)	Refers to Eleanor Marx and

Name	Description
Barnato, Barney	Barnett Isaacs (‘Barney’) Barnato (1852 - 1897) was a key figure in the early developmen...
Barrett, Wilson	William Henry Barrett (1846 - 1904), known as Wilson Barrett, was a British playwright and actor. He...
Basson, Pierre	Pierre Corneille Faculys Basson, “in all probability, South Africa’s first mass murderer...
Batthyany, Lily	Lilly Batthyany was the wife of the Hungarian aristocrat Count Ervin Batthyany, a friend of Edward C...
Batthyanys (The)	See Lilly Batthyany
Battie, Miss	Miss Battie was a typist who Schreiner approached to type some of her manuscripts. No further inform...
Beit, Alfred	Alfred Beit (1853-1906) was a mining magnate, close associate of Cecil Rhodes, and played a key role...
Benet, Ian	No further information about this person is available.
Bertram, Willie	John William Bertram (1845 - 1879) was the son of Rev J.P. Bertram, Gottlob Schreiner’s predec...
Besant, Annie	Annie Besant nee Wood (1847-1933) was a British social activist, theosophist and campaigner. In 1867...
Beyers, General Christiaan Frederik	Christiaan Frederik Beyers (1869 - 1914) was an important Boer general during the 1899-1902 South Af...
Bland, Edith	Edith Bland nee Nesbit (1858 - 1924) was a well-known British writer. She married Hubert Bland in 18...
Bolus, Lily	Lily Bolus (1877 - 1970) was a botanist and former teacher at the Port Elizabeth Collegiate School f...
Boonzaier, Daniel Cornelis	Daniel Cornelis Boonzaier (1865 - 1950) was a South African caricaturist and political cartoonist, a...
Botha, Louis	Louis Botha (1862 - 1919) was a Boer general, South African politician, and then first Prime Ministe...
Brackenbury, Georgiana	Georgiana Brackenbury (1865 - 1949) was an important figure in the British women’s suffrage mo...
Brackenbury, Mrs Hilda	Hilda Brackenbury (1832 - 1918) was the mother of Georgiana Brackenbury and an important figure in t...
Brackenburys (The)	Refers to Georgiana Brackenbury and
Broadbent, Sir William	Sir William Henry Broadbent (1835-1907) was a British physician. He became a renowned expert on both...
Brown, Arthur	Arthur Brown married Schreiner’s niece Effie Hemming in 1903. There are three extant letters f...
Brown, John	Dr John Brown (1842 - 1929) was a medical doctor, originally from Scotland, but who with his wife Ma...
Brown, Julie	Julia Mary Brown was a daughter of Schreiner’s friends John and Mary Brown. She occasionally n...
Brown, Mary	Mary Brown nee Solomon (1847 - 1935) was the third daughter of Henry Solomon and niece of the Cape p...
Brown, Rachel	Rachel ‘Ray’ Brown was a daughter of Schreiner’s friends John and Mary Brown. She ...
Browns (The)	Refers to John Brown and
Butler, Josephine	Josephine Elizabeth Butler nee Grey (1828-1906) was a British social reformer and campaigner for wom...
Butler, General/Sir William Frances	William Francis Butler (1838 - 1910) was a British army officer and author. Of Irish birth he joined...

Name	Description
Caird, Mona	(Alice) Mona Caird nee Alison (1854 - 1932) was a ‘New Woman’ writer who, in addition to...
Carpenter, Edward	Edward Carpenter (1844 - 1929), was a writer, socialist philosopher and a pioneering gay, womens an...
Cartwright, Albert	Journalist Albert Cartwright (1868 - 1956) took up the editorship of the South African News i
Catt, Carrie Chapman	Carrie Chapman Catt (nee Clinton Lane) (1859 - 1947) was an American suffrage activist. She became c...
Cawood, Clifford	Annie Clifford Cawood (1864 - 1949) was the eldest child of Erilda and Richard Cawood on whose farm ...
Cawood, Dora	Dora Cawood was a daughter of Richard and Erilda Cawood, on whose farm Ganna Hoek Schreiner frequent...
Cawood, Erilda	Erilda Louisa Elizabeth Cawood nee Buckley (1842 - 1903) was born near Fort Beaufort and married Ric...
Cawood, Gladys	Sarah Gladys Cawood, who was born in 1872 and died in about 1949, was a daughter of Richard and Eril...
Cawood, Willie	William Kidger Cawood (1866 - 1906), known as Willie, was a son of Richard and Erilda Cawood, on who...
Chamberlain, Joseph	Joseph Chamberlain (1836 - 1914) was a British politician who by the beginning of the twentieth cent...
Chapin, Adele	Adele Chapin was the wife of the US Consul at Johannesburg, Robert Chapin, in the period leading up ...
Chapman, Frederic	Frederic Chapman (1823 - 1895) was a British publisher and it was his firm which first published Sch...
Chapman and Hall	See Frederic Chapman
Chubb, Percival	Percival Ashley Chubb (1860 - 1960) was a prominent British Fabian. He was a member of the Progressi...
Churchill, Winston	Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965) was a British politician and twice prime minister....
Clark, Alice	Alice Clark (1874 - 1934) was a British women's rights campaigner, pioneering historian, and a membe...
Clemes, Isabella	Isabella J. Clemes was a Mathematics teacher and a graduate of Newnham College, Cambridge. A member ...
Cobb, Elisabeth	Elisabeth Cobb (nee Sharpe), wife of the nonconformist banker, solicitor and Liberal MP, Henry Cobb,...
Colenso, Frank	Francis Ernest (Frank) Colenso (1852 - 1910) was a Zulu rights campaigner, son of the famous Bishop ...
Colenso, Harriet	Harriet (or Harriette) Emily Colenso (1847 - 1932) was the eldest daughter of John William Colenso a...
Colenso, Sophie	Sophie Colenso nee Frankland (born 1855) was the daughter of Sir Edward Frankland, Professor of Chem...
Conybeare, Emily	Emily Conybeare was a British feminist who visited South Africa in 1891. She was closely associated ...
Cornwall, Moses	Moses Cornwall (1841-1906) was the electoral returning officer in Kimberley who in 1897 had Cronwrig...
Corthorn, Alice	Alice Corthorn was a British medical doctor whose studies were in part funded by Olive Schreiner. Sc...
Costelloe, Mrs Mary	Mary Costelloe nee Pearsall Smith was an aunt of Schreiner’s friend Alys Pearsall Smith. She w...
Costelloe, Ray	Rachel Pearsall Conn (Ray) Strachey nee Costelloe (1887 - 1940) was a British feminist activist and ...
Costelloes (The)	See Mary Costelloe
Creswell, Frederick	Frederic Hugh Page Creswell (1866 - 1948) was born in Gibraltar but went on to become an important S...
Cronwright, Alfred	Alfred Cronwright (born 1874) was one of Samuel Cronwright’s brothers.
Cronwright, Beatrice	Ella Beatrice Featherstone Cronwright (born 1877) was Samuel ‘Cron’ Cronwright’s s...
Cronwright, Louie	No further information about this person is currently available
Cronwright, Louisa Zipporah	Louisa Zipporah Cronwright (1861 - 1929) was Samuel ‘Cron’ Cronwright’s eldest sis...
Cronwright, Morthland	Joseph Morthland Cotterill Cronwright (born 1872) was one of Samuel Cronwright’s brothers. He ...
Cronwright, Willie	No further information about this person is currently available
Cronwright, Zipporah	Zipporah Cronwright nee Featherstone (1835 - 1912) was Samuel ‘Cron’ Cronwright’s ...
Cronwright-Schreiner, Cron (Samuel)	Cron Cronwright (later Cronwright-Schreiner, later still Cronwright again) (1863 - 1936) was Olive S...
Cross, G. W.	George William Cross (1851 - 1920) travelled to South Africa from Britain in 1877 to take up the min...

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...

Name	Description
Earle, Mrs	(Maria) Theresa Earle nee Villiers (1836 - 1925) was a British horticulturist and the sister of Eliz...
Earp, Charley	Charles Earp (1863 - 1935) was the husband of Emma Earp nee Findlay.
Earp, Emma	Emma Leonora Earp nee Findlay (1868 - 1954) was a daughter of Katie Schreiner (Schreiner’s old...
Earp, Errol	Errol Earp was a son of Emma and Charles Earp. Emma Earp nee Findlay was Schreiner’s niece, an...
Eastty, Annie	Annie Eastty was a member of the Men and Women’s Club, and it was in this context that Schrein...
Ehrlich, Rose	Rose Ehrlich was a daughter of Wolf Ehrlich and his wife Helene Baumann. Rose’s father was of ...
Ellis, Edith	Edith Mary Oldham Ellis nee Lees (1861-1916) was a British feminist and writer who married Havelock ...
Ellis, Havelock	(Henry) Havelock Ellis (1859 - 1939) was a British writer and pioneering sexologist. Elliss father ...
Ellis, Louie	Louie Ellis was a sister of Havelock Ellis. Schreiner came to know Louie in the context of her frien...

Name	Description
Fawcett, Millicent Garrett	Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (1847-1929) was a British social and political activist and a leader ...
Fincham, Edna	Edna Fincham married Oliver Schreiner, Will and Fan Schreiner’s son and Olive Schreiner’...
Findlay, Alsie	Alice Henrietta Elizabeth (Alsie) Findlay was one of the daughters of Schreiner’s sister Katie...
Findlay, Bessie	Elizabeth Aletta (Bessie) Findlay nee Niemeyer was the wife of Schreiner’s nephew (John) Hudso...
Findlay, Eliza	Eliza or Ely Findlay was one of the daughters of Schreiner’s sister Katie Findlay and her husb...
Findlay, Fred	Fred Findlay was one of the sons of Schreiner’s sister Katie Findlay and her husband John Find...
Findlay, George	George Findlay was one of the sons of Schreiner’s sister Katie Findlay and her husband John Fi...
Findlay, Hudson	John Hudson Lamb Findlay (1867 - 1942), always referred to as Hudson, was the son of Schreiner’...
Findlay, John	John Findlay, husband of Katie
Findlay, John	John Findlay (1839 - 1902) married Schreiner’s eldest sister Katie in 1860. He was the son of ...
Findlay, Katie (Catherine)	Katie (Catherine) Whitby Schreiner (1838 - 1898) was the eldest of Gottlob and Rebecca Schreiner’s c...
Ford, Isabella	Isabella Ormston Ford (1855-1924) was a British social and political activist, close friend of Olive...
Forman, Henry Buxton	Henry (Harry) Buxton Forman (1842 - 1917) was a British publisher, bibliographer and forger. Forman ...
Fort, Seymour	(George) Seymour Fort (1858 - 1951) was born in Britain and educated at Oxford. He worked for a time...
Fourie, Joey	Joey Fourie was a sister of Anna Purcell nee Fourie and she married a member of the Smuts family. Fr...
Friendlander, Ethel	Ethel Friedlander was the daughter of one of Cronwright-Schreiner’s business clients in De Aar...

Name	Description
Gandhi, Mohandas	Mohandas Karamchand (later given the title of Mahatma) Gandhi (1869 - 1948), Indian political leader...
Gandhis (The)	See Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi
Garnett, Richard	Richard Garnett (1835 - 1906) was a British librarian and writer. In 1851 he became an assistant in ...
Gau, Julius	Julius Gau (1845 - 1927) was briefly engaged to Olive Schreiner in 1872. She met Gau at the home of ...
George, David Lloyd	David Lloyd George (1863-1945) was a British Liberal politician and Prime Minister between 1916 and ...
Gie, Harry	Harry Gie was a friend of Olive Schreiner’s and a family connection of her sister-in-law Fan S...
Gillett, Margaret	Margaret Gillett (nee Clark) (1878 - 1962) was member of the prominent Quaker and shoe-manufacturing...
Gladstone, Herbert	Herbert John Gladstone (1854 - 1930) was the youngest son of William Gladstone and a prominent Briti...
Gladstone, William Ewart	William Ewart Gladstone (1809 - 1898) was a British Liberal politician and four times British Prime ...
Glasier, John Bruce	John Bruce Glasier (1859 - 1920) was a British politician highly prominent in the Labour movement. B...
Glasier, Katherine Bruce	Katharine St John Bruce Glasier (nee Conway) (1867-1950) was a British socialist politician. From a ...
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von	Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) was a German writer and polymath, widely regarded as the gr...
Gokhale, Gopal Krishna	Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866 - 1915) was an important figure in the Indian independence movement agai...
Goosen, Mrs	From Schreiner’s single extant letter to Mrs Goosen of 1909, it is evident that she was involv...
Graham, Aimye	Aimye Ismena Graham (nee Gavin) was the wife of Thomas Graham (1860 - 1940), an advocate and later t...
Greathead, Mrs	From Schreiner’s letters to Lucy Molteno written in London during the First World War, it is a...
Greene, Alice	Alice Matilda Greene (1858 - 1920) was the third child of William and Charlotte Greene (nee Smith). ...
Greene, Eva	Eva Greene nee Stutzer (1883 - 1979) was married to Edward Greene, a younger brother of Olive Schrei...
Greene, Florence	Florence Greene (1855 - 1939) was the eldest sister of Schreiner’s close friend Alice Greene. ...
Greene, Helen	Helen Greene (1870 - 1960) was the youngest sister of Schreiner’s close friend Alice Greene. H...
Greene, Polly	Mary Charlotte (Polly) Greene (1860 - 1951) was a younger sister of Schreiner’s close friend A...
Gregg, Colonel Thomas	Tommy Gregg (Lieut.-Colonel W.T.H. Gregg) married Lyndall (‘Dot’) Schreiner, Will and Fa...
Grey, Sir George	George Grey (1812 - 1898) was a British colonial governor and statesman. Grey had a military backgro...

Name	Description
Hadden, Mrs	Mrs Hadden appears to have been a neighbour of Schreiner’s, but whether in Kimberley, Johannes...
Haddon, Caroline	Caroline Haddon was the sister of Margaret Haddon, who married James Hinton. Caroline Haddon ran a g...
Haggard, H Rider	Sir (Henry) Rider Haggard (1856 - 1925) was a British novelist and is often now most closely associa...
Haldane Murrays (The)	Refers to Minnie Murray and
Hall, H Fielding	Harold Fielding Hall was the author of The Soul of a People (1898), a book which had a profou
Hardie, Keir	(James) Keir Hardie (1856 - 1915) was the founder of the British Labour Party and also of the newspa...
Harkness, Margaret	Margaret (‘Maggie’) Elise Harkness (1854 - 1923) was a British writer and journalist, an...
Harris, Frank	James Thomas (Frank) Harris (1856 - 1931) was a British journalist and from 1886 he edited the influ...
Harte, Bret	Bret Harte (1836 - 1902) was an American novelist. Schreiner makes repeated reference in her letters...
Hay, William	William Hay (1845 - 1932) with his brother George was founder of the Cape Mercury, a n
Hemming, Alice	Alice Elizabeth Hemming nee Schreiner (1845 - 1884) was Olive Schreiner’s second eldest sister...
Hemming, Effie	Ethelwyn (‘Effie’) Brown nee Hemming was one of the daughters of Alice Hemming nee Schre...
Hemming, Elbert	Elbert Hemming was one of the children of Schreiner’s sister Alice Hemming and her husband Rob...
Hemming, Guy	Guy Hemming was one of the children of Schreiner’s sister Alice Hemming and her husband Robert...
Hemming, Robert	Robert Campbell Hemming, son a prominent Cape Town civil servant, married Olive Schreiner’s si...
Hemming, Wynnie	Winifred or Wynnie Hemming was a daughter of Alice Hemming nee Schreiner and her husband Robert, and...
Henderson, James	James Henderson (1867 - 1930) was a Presbyterian missionary in South Africa and the third principal ...
Hertzog, Barry	James Barry Munnik Hertzog (1866 - 1942) was a Boer general and South African politician. He studied...
Hinton, Daisy	Daisy Hinton was the younger of Margaret and James Hinton’s two daughters. She appears to have...
Hinton, Howard	Howard Hinton was the son of James Hinton. He seems to have shared some of his father’s sexual...
Hinton, James	James Hinton (1822 - 1875) was a British aural surgeon and writer on political, social, sexual and r...
Hinton, Margaret	Margaret Haddon (born 1825/6) was the daughter of John Haddon, a printer. She married James Hinton i...
Hobhouse, Emily	Emily Hobhouse (1860 - 1926) was a British social reformer and charity worker. Hobhouse’s moth...
Hobson, John Atkinson	John Atkinson Hobson (1858 - 1940) was a British economist, sociologist and social theorist who wrot...
Hodgson, Joan	Joan Wickham married Schreiner’s friend John Hodgson in August 1918. Her brief ‘reminisc...
Hodgson, John Lawrence	John Hodgson was an engineer and would be literary figure who became a friend of Olive Schreiner?s d...
Hofmeyr, Jan Hendrick	Jan Hendrik (Onze Jan) Hofmeyr (1845 - 1909) was a prominent Cape politician and newspaper editor....
Holub, Emil	Emil Holub (1847 - 1902) was a doctor and explorer, and of Czech birth. After studying medicine he w...
Hope, Hamilton	Hamilton Hope was the husband of Schreiner’s cousin Emmie Hope nee Rolland. Olive Schreiner st...
Hopkins, Ellice	Ellice Hopkins (1836 - 1904) was a British social activist who campaigned against sexual double stan...
Hunt, Albert	Albert Hunt was an employee of the Castle Mail Packets Company owned by Donald Currie. SchreinerR...
Hyett, Ida	Ida Hyett was Edward Carpenter's niece, the daughter of his sister Ellen and her husband Francis Ada...

Name	Description
Innes, Dorothy Rose	Dorothy Rose Innes (1884 - 1942) was the only child of Schreiner's friend Jessie (formerly Dods Prin...
Innes, James Rose	James Rose Innes (1855 - 1942) was a South African judge, politician and cabinet minister. Rose Inne...
Innes, Jessie Rose	Jessie (or Jesse) Rose Innes nee Dods Pringle (1860 - 1943) was the wife of Sir James Rose Innes and...
Inneses (The)	Refers to James Rose Innes and
Iron, Ralph	Ralph Iron was the pseudonym under which Schreiner first published The Story of An African Far

Name	Description
Jabavu, Tengo	John Tengo Jabavu (1859 - 1921) was a prominent black leader and newspaper editor in South Africa. H...
Jacobs, Aletta	Aletta Henriette Jacobs (1854 - 1929) was a Dutch feminist and suffragette. She was the first woman ...
Jaffe, Lady	Lady Jaffe nee Paula Hertz was the wife of German-born British Jewish businessman Sir Otto Jaffe. Si...
Jagger, John William	John William Jagger (1859 - 1930) was a businessman and politician. Born in Britain, he migrated to ...
Jameson, Leander Starr	Dr (later Sir) Leander Starr Jameson (1853-1917) was born in Edinburgh, and after training as a medi...
Jones, Agnes	Agnes Jones was a member of the 1880s London circles in which Schreiner moved. Jones had been “...

Name	Description
Kallenbach, Hermann	Hermann Kallenbach (1871 - 1945) was a Jewish German-born South African architect and close friend a...
Kent, Philip	Philip Kent wrote one of the first reviews of Schreiner’s The Story of an African Farm in Feb
Kipling, Rudyard	(Joseph) Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936) was a British writer, famous in particular for his poems and ...
Kiplings (The)	See Rudyard Kipling
Kitchener, Horatio	Horatio Herbert Kitchener (1850 - 1916) was a British army officer who gained fame for his role in c...
Kriel, Mrs	Mrs Kriel ran a boarding house at Beaufort West where Schreiner stayed for a time in 1900 during the...
Kruger, Paul Stephanus Johannes	Stephanus Johannes Paulus (Paul) Kruger (1825 - 1904) was the last president of the independent Tran...

Name	Description
L'Overture, Toussaint	François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (1743 - 1803) was the leader of the Haitian Revolution whic...
Lankester, E. Ray	Sir (Edwin) Ray Lankester (1847-1929) was a British zoologist who also took an interest in social ma...
Lawrence, Emmeline Pethick	Emmeline Pethick Lawrence (1867-1954) was a prominent British suffragette and married to Frederick P...
Lawrence, Frederick Pethick	Frederick William (Fred) Pethick-Lawrence (1871 - 1961) was a British Labour politician and leading ...
Lee, Vernon	Violet Paget (Vernon Lee) (1856 - 1935) was a professional writer and art historian. Lee was predomi...
Levy, Amy	Amy Levy (1862 - 89), poet and novelist, was a member of the New Woman circle in 1880s London. She...
Lewis, F. S.	F.S. Lewis was the librarian of the Cape Town public library, the present National Library of South ...
Lewis, Plum	Plum (Percy) Lewis was a young South African man Schreiner knew in London during the First World War...
Liebnecht, Karl	Karl Liebnecht (1871 - 1919) was a German socialist and co-founder of the German Communist Party. Li...
Little, Brown & Co	Little, Brown and Company is the US publishing firm established in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and...
Lloyd, E. Bertram	E. Bertram Lloyd was a friend of Edward Carpenter’s and also of Henry and Kate salt, as well a...
Lloyd, John T.	John T. Lloyd was a church minister in South Africa. He was ordained in London in 1876 and worked as...
Lloyds (The)	See John T. Lloyd
Loch, Elizabeth	Elizabeth Loch nee Villiers was the wife of Sir Henry Loch, High Commissioner for South Africa and G...
Loch, Sir Henry	Henry Broughham Loch (1827 - 1900) was a British colonial governor of military background. He marrie...
Lochs (The)	Refers to Elizabeth Loch and
Logan, James Douglas	John Douglas Logan (1857 - 1920) was a businessman and long-term proprietor of the hotel at Matjesfo...
Logans (The)	See John Douglas Logan
Lord, Frances	(Henrietta) Frances Lord (1848 - 1923) was a British translator and feminist. She rose to particular...
Low, Lady	Lady Low’s biographical details have not been traced but from references to her in Schreiner&#...
Lytton, Constance	Lady Constance Lytton (1869 - 1923) was the daughter of Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, first Earl of L...
Lytton, Edith	Edith Bulwer-Lytton nee Villiers (1841 - 1936) was a daughter of Edward Ernest Villiers, the younger...

Name	Description
MacDonald, George	George MacDonald (1824 - 1905) was a Scottish writer and poet and also a Christian minister. In a le...
Macfayden, Irene	Irene Macfadyen was a member of the Cape Women’s Enfranchisement League (WEL) and for a time s...
Mackenzie, John	John MacKenzie (1835 - 1899) was a London Mission Society missionary in South Africa and also an adv...
Malan, Commandant	Wynand Charl Malan (1872 - 1953) was a Boer soldier and farmer. He made a name for himself during th...
Malan, Francois Stephanus	Francois Stephanus (F.S.) Malan (1871 - 1941) was a South African newspaper editor, politician and c...
Marriot, Aileen	Aileen Marriott was the wife of Edward Marriott. Schreiner met the couple when she was staying at Ma...
Marriot, Major Edward	Edward Frere Marriott (1854 - 1903) was a member of the Indian Staff Corps and worked in the Militar...
Marriots (The)	Refers to Aileen Marriott and
Marshall, Catherine	Catherine Elizabeth Marshall (1880 - 1960) was a prominent British feminist and internationalist, an...
Martin, Mr	Reverend G.A. Martin (in some letters he is referred to as Martain) had formerly been a member of th...
Marx, Eleanor	Eleanor Marx (1855 - 1898), the youngest daughter of Karl Marx, became a close friend of Olive Schre...
Masabalala, Samuel	Samuel Masabalala - referred to as Masabela by Schreiner - was a black political and labour leader ...
Mattison, Alfred	Alfred Mattison, usually referred to as Alf or Mat by Schreiner and other friends, was a prominent f...
McNaughton, Margaret	Margaret McNaughton was someone Schreiner met while she was living in Colesburg in 1874 working as g...
Merriman, Agnes	Agnes Merriman nee Vintcent (1854 - 1923) was the wife of John X. Merriman and the daughter of Josep...
Merriman, John X.	John Xavier Merriman (1841-1926) was a prominent South African politician and the last Prime Ministe...
Mill, John Stuart	John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873) was a British writer and philosopher whose work had a powerful and la...
Milner, Alfred	Alfred Milner (1854 - 1925) was Governor of the Cape Colony and High Commissioner for South Africa f...
Moffat, John	John Moffat (1835 - 1918) was a London Missionary Society missionary variously stationed in Bechuana...
Molteno, Betty	Elizabeth (Betty) Molteno (1852 - 1927) was one of Olive Schreiner’s closest and most loved fr...
Molteno, Charles	John Charles Molteno was a brother of Betty Molteno and Caroline Murray nee Molteno. He was the husb...
Molteno, Lucy	Lucy Molteno was the wife of John Charles Molteno, a brother of Betty Molteno and Caroline Murray ne...
Molteno, Margaret	Margaret Molteno was a daughter of Percy Molteno and lived in Britain; she married her cousin George...
Molteno, Percy	Percy Alport Molteno (1861 - 1937) was a brother of Schreiner’s close friends Betty Molteno an...
Molteno, Charles	Charles Molteno was the husband of Olive Schreiner's younger friend Lucy Molteno, and a brother of B...
Montefiore, Dora	Dorothy (Dora) Frances Montefiore (nee Fuller) (1851 - 1933) was a British socialist and feminist ac...
Moore, George	George Augustus Moore (1852 - 1933) was an Irish writer and novelist. Schreiner’s letters duri...
Muirhead, Lene	Lene or Lena Muirhead was the wife of Schreiner’s friend Bob Muirhead. In her letters to Muirh...
Muirhead, Robert Franklin	Robert Muirhead was a mathematics teacher who also worked for the Glasgow Socialist League and Edwar...
Müller, Henrietta	(Frances) Henrietta Müller (1851 - 1906) was a member of the Men and Women’s Club and a friend...
Murray, A. Haldane	(Andrew) Haldane Murray (1866 - 1916) was married to Schreiner's friend Mimmie Murray. He was a son ...
Murray, Andre	Andre Murray was a daughter of Schreiner’s friends A. Haldane and Mimmie or Minnie Murray who ...
Murray, Bobbie	Bobbie Murray was a son of Schreiner’s friends A. Haldane and Mimmie Murray who lived on the f...
Murray, Caroline	Caroline Murray nee Molteno (1853 - 1937) was a daughter of Sir John Molteno, who had been the first...
Murray, Charles	Dr Charles Frederick Kennan Murray (1847 - 1930) was married to Schreiners friend Caroline Murray a...
Murray, George	George Murray (1893 - 1918) was a son of Schreiner’s friend Caroline Murray and her husband Ch...
Murray, Kathleen	Kathleen Murray (1891 - 1984) was a daughter of Schreiner’s friend Caroline Murray and her hus...
Murray, Lennox	Lennox Murray was a son of Schreiner’s friend Caroline Murray and her husband Charles. When Le...
Murray, Mimmie or Minnie	Mimmie or Minnie Murray nee Parkes (1865-1929) was a friend of Schreiner's who lived and worked on t...
Mushet(t), Mr	James Wellwood Mushet (1881 - 1954) was a businessman and Cape parliamentarian. He grew up in Scotla...

Name	Description
Naude, Hugo	Pieter (Peter) Hugo Naude (1869 - 1941) was a South African artist whose studies Schreiner helped to...
Noel, Roden	Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel (1834 - 1894) was a British writer and poet. He had intended to ente...
Norman, Henry	Sir Henry Wylie Norman (1858-1939) was a British journalist and politician. Norman came from a Unita...

Name	Description
Orpen, Joseph	Joseph Millerd Orpen (1828 - 1923) was the husband of Schreiner's cousin Lily Orpen, Elise Pauline (...
Orpen, Lily	Elise-Pauline (Lilly, Lily) Orpen nee Rolland (1839 - 1915) was Olive Schreiners cousin and the dau...
Orpen, Maddy	Madeleine (Maddie or Maddy) Orpen was the daughter of Schreiner’s cousin Lily Orpen and her hu...

Name	Description
Pankhurst, Christabel	Christabel Harriette Pankhurst (1880 - 1958) was with Sylvia and Adela one of the daughters of Richa...
Pankhurst, Emmeline	Emmeline Pankhurst (nee Goulden) (1858 - 1928) was a prominent British suffragette leader. Married t...
Pankhurst, Sylvia	(Estelle) Sylvia Pankhurst (1882 - 1960) was with Christabel and Adela one of the daughters of Richa...
Parker, Freddie	Dr Frederick Parker (1877 - 1922) was the husband of May Murray Parker, daughter of Schreiners frie...
Parker, May Murray	May Murray (1881 - 1972) was a daughter of Caroline and Charles Murray. She married a British medica...
Parker, Robert	Robert John Parker (1857-1918) was President of the Men and Women’s Club established by his fr...
Parkers (The)	Refers to May Murray and
Pearsall Smiths (The)	See Alys Whitall Pearsall Smith
Pearson, Karl	Karl Pearson (1857 - 1936) was a British mathematician and one of the founders of modern statistics,...
Pethick-Lawrences (The)	Refers to Emmeline Pethick Lawrence and
Philpot, Isaline	Isaline Philpot was the wife of Dr J.H. Philpot. Schreiner came to know the couple while she was liv...
Philpot, Dr J Henry	Dr J.H. Philpot was a prominent London physician and married to Isaline Philpot. Schreiner came to k...
Plaatje, Solomon	Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje (1875 - 1932) was a South African author, translator, journalist and polit...
Podmore, Frank	Frank Podmore (1856 - 1910) was a British writer and founding member of the Fabian Society. Podmore ...
Powrie, Catherine	Catherine Powrie (nee Rolland), and otherwise known as ‘Tattie’, was Schreiner’s c...
Pruse, Nelly	Nelly Pruse (later Riley when she married fellow artist Fred Riley) was an artist friend of Schreine...
Purcell, Anna	Anna Purcell (nee Cambier Faure) was a close South African friend of Olive Schreiner’s. She ma...
Purcell, Fred	Dr William Frederick Purcell (1866 - 1919) was married to Schreiner’s close friend Anna Purcel...
Purcell, Margaretha	Margaretha Purcell was the daughter of Fred and Anna Purcell. She later married R. D. Palmer.
Purcells (The)	Refers to Anna Purcell and
Pursglove, John	John Pursglove was an Englishman who had been employed on a farm in the Cradock district from the la...

Name	Description
Radford, Dolly	Caroline (known as Dollie or Dolly) Maitland (1858 - 1920) was a British writer and poet. In 1883 sh...
Reitz, Bessie	Bessie Reitz was the daughter of Frank Reitz and thus a niece of Fan Schreiner’s, and she late...
Reitz, Frank (Francis) William	Francis William Reitz (1844 - 1934) was a South African politician and for a time President of the O...
Rhodes, Cecil John	Cecil John Rhodes (1853 - 1902) was a mining magnate, Cape politician and arch-imperialist in southe...
Rhys, Ernest	Ernest Percival Rhys (1859 - 1946) was an English writer and editor, now best known for his role as ...
Rhys Davids, Caroline Augusta Foley	Caroline Rhy Davids nee Foley (1857 - 1942) was a British Pali scholar and translator, the daughter ...
Rhys Davids, Thomas	Thomas William Rhys Davids (1843 - 1922) was an Orientalist scholar who had studied Greek and Sanskr...
Riley, Fred	Fred Riley was the artist husband of Schreiner’s friend Nelly Riley nee Pruse, also an artist....
Ritchie, Professor and Mrs D G	David George Ritchie (1853 - 1903) and his second wife Ellen Sara Haycraft, who he married in 1889, ...
Roberts, Mary King	Mary Roberts nee King was a friend of Schreiner’s who married Cambridge academic Dr Robert Dav...
Roberts, Dr Robert Davies	Robert Davies Roberts (1851 - 1911) was a geologist, Cambridge academic and pioneer in the Universit...
Roberts Brothers	Roberts Brothers (1857-1898) was a bookbinding and publishing firm based in Boston, USA. Roberts Bro...
Robinson, Reverend Zadok	Schreiner stayed at the home of the Rev. Zadok Robinson and his wife Susanna in the small South Afri...
Rolland, Elizabeth	Elizabeth Rolland (nee Lyndall) was the half-sister of Rebecca Schreiner. She had travelled to the C...
Rolland, Emile	Emile Rolland, Schreiner’s cousin and a son of Elizabeth and Samuel Rolland, was married to Ma...
Rolland, Emma	Emmie Rolland, Schreiner’s cousin and a daughter of Elizabeth and Samuel Rolland, was married ...
Rolland, Maggie	Maggie Rolland was the wife of Schreiner’s cousin Emile Rolland. Schoeman speculates that Lill...
Roos, Tielman	Tielman Johannes De Villiers Roos (1879 - 1935) was a South African politician, advocate and eventua...
Rosenberg, Issac	Isaac Rosenberg (1890 - 1918) was a working class British artist and poet. He grew up mainly in the ...
Rubusana, Walter	Walter Benson Rubusana (1858 - 1936) was a South African church minister and political leader. He wa...
Russell, Bertrand	Bertrand Arthur William Russell (1872 - 1970) was a British philosopher, journalist, social commenta...

Name	Description
S, Eduard	No further information about this person is currently available
Salt, Kate	Kate Salt nee Joynes and Henry Salt, an erstwhile teacher at Eton, were friends of Edward Carpenter ...
Sauer, Johannes Wilhemus	Johannes Sauer (1850 - 1913) was a Cape politician and Union cabinet minister and husband of Schrein...
Sauer, Mary	Mary Sauer nee Cloete (1863 - 1937) was a close friend of Olive Schreiner’s and wife of the Ca...
Sauer, Paul Oliver	Paul Sauer was the son of Schreiner’s close friend Mary Sauer and her husband Johannes. He lat...
Sauerlander, Ellen	Ellen Sauerlander was for a time the manager of the Grand Hotel at Muizenberg near Cape Town, owned ...
Sauers (The)	Refers to Johannes Sauer and
Schreiner, Bill	William Francis Reitz (Bill) Schreiner (born 1886) was the elder of Will and Fan Schreiners two son...
Schreiner, Ellie	Helen (Ellie) Schreiner (1864-1865) was the twelfth and last child of Gottlob and Rebecca Schreiner....
Schreiner, Emma	Emma Schreiner nee Chapman was married to Schreiner’s eldest brother Fred. Together they had a...
Schreiner, Fan	Fan (Frances Hester) Schreiner (nee Reitz) (1852 - 1931) was Will Schreiner's wife and Olive Schrein...
Schreiner, Fred	Frederick Samuel (Fred) Schreiner (1840 - 1901) was Olive Schreiner’s eldest brother. He was educate...
Schreiner, Gottlob	Gottlob Schreiner (1814-1876) was born in fairly humble circumstances in Germany; he received theolo...
Schreiner, Lyndall	Frances Lyndall (‘Dot’) Schreiner (born between 1887 and 1889) was the eldest daughter o...
Schreiner, Oliver	Oliver Deneys Schreiner (1890 - 1980) was the younger son of Will and Fan Schreiner. Like his father...
Schreiner, Rebecca	Rebecca Lyndall (18hh-1903), from Hoxton in London, came from an evangelical Non-Conformist (origina...
Schreiner, Theophilus	Theophilus Lyndall (Theo) Schreiner (1844 - 1920) was an elder brother of Olive Schreiner's, a teach...
Schreiner, Ursula	Ursula Hester Schreiner (born 1892) was the younger of the two daughters of Will and Fan Schreiner. ...
Schreiner, Wilfred	Wilfred Schreiner was the son of Fred Schreiner and his wife Emma. Olive Schreiner spent some consid...
Schreiner, William Philip	William Philip Schreiner (1857 - 1919) was a Cape politician and Olive Schreiner's younger brother. ...
Scott, Dr Percy	Variously referred to in Schreiner’s letters as Ralph, Sidney and Percy, he married Ursula Sch...
Settle, General	No further information about this person is currently available
Sharpe, Maria	Maria Sharpe (1853-1928) was the younger sister of Elisabeth Cobb, and she too was a member of the M...
Shaw, George Bernard	A polymath, George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950) was a major playwright, critic and polemicist. Irish b...
Shippard, Ella	Ella Shippard was a daughter of the British colonial administrator and ally of Rhodes, Sir Sidney Sh...
Shippards (The)	See Ella Shippard
Silke, Hannie	Hannie Silke may have been a sister of Fan Schreiner (nee Reitz), who married one of the Silkes, wit...
Silke, Keetje	Keetje Silke was a cousin at remove of Fan Schreiner (nee Reitz); however, she was a member of the S...
Simon, Sir John	Sir John Simon (1873 - 1954) was a British lawyer and politician. In 1913, he was Attorney-General a...
Sivewright, James	James Sivewright (1848 - 1916) was a prominent South African politician and statesman of Scottish bi...
Smith, Adela Villiers	Adela Constance Smith nee Villiers (born 1872) was the daughter of Colonel Ernest Villiers and Adela...
Smith, Alys Pearsall	Alys Whitall Pearsall Smith (1867 - 1951) was born in Philadelphia, USA. Her parents were Rob
Smuts, Isie	Sybella Margaretha (‘Isie’) Smuts (nee Krige) (1870 - 1954) was the wife of Jan Smuts an...
Smuts, Jan	Jan Christiaan Smuts (1870 - 1950) is one of the most prominent figures in South African history. In...
Smuts (The)	Refers to Sybella Margaretha ('Isie') Smuts and
Soga, A K	Allan Kirkland (A.K.) Soga was the son of the famous Tiyo Soga (1829 - 1871), a Xhosa missionary and...
Solly, Julia	Julia Solly nee Muspratt (1862 - 1953) was a feminist and temperance worker. Born in England, she wa...
Solomon, Daisy	Daisy Dorothea Solomon was the daughter of Georgiana and Saul Solomon. She became keenly involved in...
Solomon, Georgiana	Georgiana Margaret Solomon (nee Thomson) (1844 - 1933) was the wife and then widow of the prominent ...
Solomon, Richard	Richard Prince Solomon (1850 - 1913) was a South African barrister and politician. He was a nephew o...
Solomon, Saul	Saul Solomon (1817 - 1892) was a printer, newspaper proprietor and Cape parliamentarian. He was born...
Sormus, Eduard	Eduard Sormus (1878 - 1940) was an Estonian-Russian violinist. After taking part in the 1905 Russian...
Spencer, Herbert	Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) was a British sociologist, writer and social theorist whose work had a p...
Spiller, Gustav	Gustav Spiller (1864 - 1940) was the Secretary of First Universal Races Congress. Schreiner received...
Sprigg, Sir Gordon	Sir (John) Gordon Sprigg (1830-1913) was a British colonial administrator and politician. He travell...
Stakesby Lewis, Henrietta	Henrietta Rebecca (Ettie or Het) Stakesby Lewis (nee Schreiner) (1850 - 1912) was Olive Schreiner’s ...
Stakesby Lewis, John	John Stakesby Lewis (died 1898) married Schreiners sister Ettie in October 1891 in London, although ...
Stead, William Thomas	William Thomas (W.T.) Stead (1849-1912) was a prominent British journalist, high profile newspaper e...
Steinmann, W.	Schreiner sent a cheque for two bottles of claret along with a brief note to W. Steinmann in January...
Stephen, Leslie	Leslie Stephen (1832 - 1904) was a British writer, literary critic and pioneering editor of the D
Steyn, Gladys	Gladys Steyn was a daughter of Marthinus Theunis Steyn and his wife ‘Tibbie’. She was th...
Steyn, Marthinus	Marthinus Theunis Steyn (1857 - 1916) was an advocate, judge and last president of the independent O...
Stuart, Katie	Katie Harriet Rebecca Stuart nee Findlay (born 1862) was the eldest daughter of Schreiners sister C...
Stuart, Will	Will Stuart was the son of Schreiner’s niece Katie Stuart. Will Schreiner later gave him finan...
Sutton, Kitty	Kittie Sutton nee Reitz was a sister of Frances (Fan) Schreiner.
Swanwick, Helena	Helena Swanwick nee Sickert (1864 - 1929) was German by birth from a family which settled in Britain...
Symons, Arthur	Arthur William Symons (1865-1945) was a British writer and literary scholar. At the age of seventeen...

Name	Description
Taylor, Helen	Helen Taylor (1831 - 1907) was a British political activist who promoted socialism and women’s...
Theal, George McCall	George McCall Theal (1837 - 1919) was born in the United States but settled in South Africa as a you...
Thema, Richard Victor Selope	Richard Victor Selope Thema (1886 - 1955) was a South African political activist and leader. He was ...
Theron, Danie	Daniel Johannes Stephanus (Danie) Theron (1872 - 1900) became a prominent figure during the 1899-190...
Thicknesse, Ralph	Ralph Thicknesse was a member of the Men and Women’s Club and a friend of Karl Pearson’s...
Thompson, Miss	No information has been traced about Miss Thompson. There is one extant postcard to Miss Thompson f...
Thompson, Cyril Newton	Cyril Newton Thompson (‘Turnips’) (1891 - 1958) was a South African friend of Schreiner&...
Thompson, Joyce Newton	Joyce Newton Thompson (nee Nettelfold) (1893 - 1978) was born in London, and as Joyce Nettelfold bec...
Tooley, Sarah Ann	Sarah Ann Tooley was a journalist and biographer who approached Schreiner for an interview in 1897 w...

Name	Description
Unwin, Jane Fisher	(Emma) Jane Catherine Cobden (1851 - 1947) was a daughter of Richard Cobden, the Manchester manufact...
Unwin, T Fisher	Thomas Fisher Unwin (1848 - 1935) became Schreiner’s main British publisher. Unwin started his...

Name	Description
Van Heerden, Nel	Petronella van Heerden (1887-1975) was the first Afrikaner woman to qualify as a medical doctor. Dur...

Name	Description
Walters, Mrs E M	Mrs E.M. Walters, sometimes referred to in Schreiner’s letters as Minnie, was a close friend o...
Weakley, Mrs	Mary Weakley and her husband George Robert Weakley lived in Colesberg and employed Olive Schreiner a...
Weakley, Mr	George Robert Weakley and his wife Mary Weakley lived in Colesberg and employed Olive Schreiner as g...
Weaklys (The)	Refers to George Robert Weakley and
Webb, Beatrice	(Martha) Beatrice Webb nee Potter (1858 - 1943) was a pioneering British social and economic reforme...
Webbs (The)	See Beatrice Webb
Weldon, Maud	Howard Hinton married and had two children with Maud Weldon, when he was already married to Mary Ell...
Whitby, Charles	Dr Charles Whitby was a second cousin of Olive Schreiner’s. From Schreiner’s mentions of...
White, Maud	Maud White nee Cameron was a mutual friend of Olive Schreiner and Mary Sauer.
Wilde, Oscar	Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (1854 - 1900) was a famous Irish playwright, poet and writer. H...
Willard, Frances	Frances Elizabeth Willard (1839 - 1898) was a prominent American-born suffragist and social activist...
Wilson, Dr	Dr Wilson (personal name unknown) was Schreiner’s doctor while she lived in Hanover during the...
Wilson, Mrs	Mrs Wilson (personal name unknown) was the wife of Dr Wilson, Schreiner’s doctor in Hanover. F...
Wilson, Charlotte	Charlotte Mary Wilson (nee Martin) (1854 - 1944) was a feminist and anarchist friend of Schreiner...