Can you recommend books set in colonial era Africa, prefereably South Africa?

[BaleOfHay]

Looking for recommendations. Something absorbing and rich in historical/local detail please.

Rider Haggard's "She". Like all books of it's time. problematic now. But still worth reading.
Alan Seton's Cry My Beloved Country.

Its. Not It's!

Check out Wilbur Smith's catalogue - there's so many books!

Thank you!!

Olive Schreiner The Story of an African Farm.was the 1st South African novel and was published in 1883.
André Brink wrote some historical novels.

The Poisonwood Bible

Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe. It is set in colonial era Nigeria, about the impact of colonialism on rural life.

Lovely, thanks.

I can't get on with Barbara Kingsolver, no idea why, we just clash. I'm the same with Margaret Atwood

Lots of Doris Lessing. Nadine Gordimer. Can't come up with titles right now but those are the obvious ones for me.

I want to suggest Americanah even though it's not colonial because I loved it so much.

The Covenant by James A Michener - but it’s very long!

A bit different but starts in Ghana and is an amazing read - Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

The African Trilogy by Chinua Achebe - the most well known is probably Things Fall Apart, but all 3 are worth reading

Remembered another couple:

Beyond the Door of No Return by David Diop
A Sin of Omission by Marguerite Poland

@BobbinThreadbare123 I was also going to suggest good old Wilbur - they are my guilty pleasure. Definitely "of their time" but the descriptions of the landscape and wildlife are brilliant, and they are rattling good yarns.

The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing

Out of Africa?

Seconding Nadine Gordimer. Especially July’s People and Burger’s Daughter.

Also JM Coetzee’s work. In the Heart of the Country, Waiting for the Barbarians, Disgrace and others.

Thank you. I've read a lot of the classics and a few of the Nigerian based books (lived there for a bit). But there are some great suggestions on here. Africa is so vivid, it takes talent to capture that

There’s also the colonial Kenya-set Out of Africa by Karen Blixen, which is ravishingly written, though highly problematic, and best read in conjunction with Judith Thurman’s biography (which teases out actual events, as distinct from Blixen’s mythologisation of them.)

Yes, I love the colour of Blixen's work and that era is fascinating. I couldn't get on with White Mischief though, found it unreadable.

I loved Don't lets go to the dogs tonight and Scribbling the cat by Alexandra Fuller

In South African literary history colonial would normally mean before 1910. Nadine Gordimer, Alan Paton and Alexadra Fuller are all 20th century/apartheid novels.

I'm open

I can't remember what time period it is set in but The White Masai is really good.

Ah yes, read that, quite the life!!

I enjoyed You Will Be Safe Here by Damian Barr

Have you read Prester John by John Buchan?