Dalene Matthee

Dalene Matthee (1938–2005) was a popular and award-winning South African novelist.

Her writing

Best known for her four "Forest Novels" - Kringe in 'n Bos (Circles in a Forest), Fiela se Kind (Fiela’s Child) (1985), Moerbeibos (The Mulberry Forest) in 1987, Toorbos (Dreamforest)(2003) - written in and around the Knysna Forest.

Her books have been translated into fourteen languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew and Icelandic, and over a million copies have been sold worldwide. [1]

Adaptations

Kringe in 'n Bos (Circles in a Forest)

Kringe in 'n Bos was adapted for screen in 1990 with Arnold Vosloo cast in the lead role of Saul Barnard.

Fiela se Kind (Fiela’s Child)

Stage versions

• A dramatised stage version of the book, called Hanskind van die Bos was also written and directed by Abraham Jansen and performed by the Heidram in Bloemfontein (1986).

• The novel was dramatised by Suzanne van Wijk with the same title (1986).

• Carl van Wyk's folk opera Fiela se kind, set to an English libretto by Andries van der Walt (1990).

• A musical version was created by Ian von Memerty and titled Fiela’s Child - The Musical (1999).

Film versions

Fiela se Kind was adapted for film twice:

• in 1988 (directed by Katinka Heyns)
• in 2019 (directed by Brett Michael Innes)

Toorbos (Dreamforest)

In 2019, Rene van Rooyen's film adaptation of Matthee's novel, Toorbos (Dreamforest), was released.

Writing for radio

Her radio drama, n Mens Weet Nooit was recorded and broadcast by the visually impaired staff and students of Innovation Radio in Worcester during 2023.

Sources

Tucker, 1997

Email submission sent by Taryn Tavener-Smith on 12 November 2024.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalene_Matthee

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