“A hysterical spinster of mature age”: Some Reflections on Recent Biographies of Emily Hobhouse

While the first auto/biography of the heroine of the Afrikaner people, Emily Hobhouse was published a mere three years after her death in 1929, and a steady stream have followed since, in the last three years or so there has been a remarkable resurgence in popular accounts of her life and work. This review essay profiles three of the latest biographies written by Robert Eales, Elsabe Brits and Jennifer Hobhouse-Balme, and variously examines her role in the South African War and her ideas regarding pacifism, war and politics