Jan van Melle

Jan van Melle (19*-) was an Afrikaans-Flemish author and teacher.

His penname is wrongly given as John van Melle in Wikipedia. He sometimes appears as J. van Melle.

Biography
Born Johannes van Melle in Goes, Belgium. He arrived in South Africa in 1906, and after a short sojourn in the Netherlands East Indies, settled in South Africa permanently in 1913. He worked as a teacher in many rural schools and soon started to publish in both Dutch and the newly emerging Afrikaans language.

His best known work is the novel Bart Nel, a classic of Afrikaans literature. It tells the tale of a farmer whose indomitable spirit allows him to survive the destruction and loss of his farm in wartime and being abandoned by his wife and family. It has been a standard Afrikaans setwork at school and at University levels since publication.

Contribution to South African theatre, film, media and performance
Bart Nel has been adapted for the stage, radio, TV and film in a variety of ways over the years. , in 19**. It was filmed in 19**.

Some of his short stories have also been dramatised. (?)

Return to
Return to ESAT Personalities V

Return to South African Theatre Personalities

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page