A Talent for Tomorrow: Life Stories of South African Servants

Suzanne Gordon's biographies, based on several years of careful research and interviews, bring the lives of her subjects into a focus which has both depth and subtlety. The twenty-three people portrayed here come from backgrounds which reflect the complex social fabric of rural South Africa. Entering domestic work by many different routes they survive and sometimes overcome the limitations of their working lives in ways which reflect a great spectrum of personalities and abilities. For some the 'talent for tomorrow' is a life sacrificed for a coming generation. For others it is the dawn of new opportunities as South Africa's servants begin to organize and bargain fora better deal.