Charles-Etienne Boniface and the French Shipwreck (1829): or, how to annoy your Cape Town neighbours.

Conference led by Doctor Culpin | 13.03.24 | from 18:00 to 20:30 – AF du Cap,155 Loop Street

Charles Etienne Boniface was born in Paris in 1787, but fled the country with his family at the age of 12. After a decade of wandering that took him to the Seychelles and Mozambique, he reached Cape Colony in 1807 and quickly became a leading figure in the cultural life of Cape Town. Boniface earned his living in part as a teacher of singing and the Spanish guitar, and was also a sworn translator at the Supreme Court. At the same time he pursued an active career as a writer, poet, dramatist and journalist, and was a virulent critic of both individuals and institutions in Cape Town. His best-known work today is the Narrative of the Shipwreck of the French Vessel the Eole (1829), which was probably the first book printed in French at the Cape. The narrative retells the story of the survivors of the shipwreck, from the time they were washed up on the Wild Coast until their safe arrival in Cape Town. But why did a poet and dramatist attempt a task so unlike anything he had done before? This presentation will take a fresh look at Boniface’s shipwreck narrative, republished by the National Library of South Africa in 2012, showing how he used techniques frequently found in travel narratives, not just to tell a tale of daring-do, but to continue his ongoing practice of annoying his Cape Town neighbours!
Copies of the Narrative of the Shipwreck of the French Vessel the Eole will be for sale at the presentation, at a price of R220 (cash only).

Booking essential on Quicket: link