Elsa joubert biography

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The children of the Red House in Idas Valley Photo by Willem Malherbe - click for enlargement

Elsa Joubert Novelist, Author of Poppy Nongena and other books Her works are inspired by Africa and the conflicts of its recent history.

Elsabé Antoinette Murray was born on 19 October 1922 in Paarl where she grew up and matriculated.

She studied at the universities of Stellenbosch (B.A. (1942) and S.O.D.) and Cape Town ( M.A. in Nederlands-Afrikaans).
She was a teacher at the Hoër Meisieskool in Cradock and then worked as editor for Die Huisgenoot for two years (1946-1948).
From then on she became a full time writer.

She rose to world fame with her novel, Die swerfjare van Poppie Nongena, which was translated into 13 languages and also staged as a drama.
Elsa Joubert was married to the journalist and writer Klaas Steytler in 1950 and lives in Oranjezicht, Cape Town.

She has two daughters and