De Burger-Leeskring: a Brief History of South Africa’s First Commercial Book Club and its Effect on Afrikaans Literature

Abstract

This paper investigates the history of the De Burger-Leeskring and the impact it had on Afrikaans literature and cultural development. It places the development of Nasionale Pers and the Afrikaans language within the context of South Africa’s history and the development of language, politics and culture, as well as considering book clubs or readers’ circles and their purpose within this context. This paper uses Bourdieu’s classification of different kinds of capital—specifically cultural capital and financial capital—to evaluate the success of this Leeskring [Reader’s Circle]. It was found that although not financially successful, the Leeskring’s influence on Afrikaans literature was vast.