THE COVENANT

Author of Walking the Whirlwind, Westward the Sun provides a third panel in South African history, in this novel of Stephen and Jannion's love and pride. The period is 1645-1901, the setting, the Transvasl. Old Stephen's clash with his son, William, over the boy's marriage, led to William's not inheriting Ingaraby, so that when Jannion learns that her cousin Stephen might be wooing her so that he could return to his rightful lend, she turns his down. Stephen rides with Jameson and, returning to his Transvasi home, learns that his Dutch neighbors are more tolerant than he had expected. His break with Jannion is widened when she learns that he is father to the widow Chris' child, but eventually, when she has lost her own baby, and Crris has died, Jannion softens and takes the child as her own. The Boer War finds Stephen in conflict as to its merits -- and he deserts, saved from disgrace by a mental collapse. Another solid novel of balanced blends of personal and national history and problems; a picture of a civil war that was not the people's choice.