Searching for Sarah

Author: Dominique Malherbe
Publisher: Tafelberg
Reviewer:  Beryl Eichenberger
A fiery redheaded Jewess and an Afrikaans literary icon – an unlikely pair, but for young Sarah Goldblatt and literary genius CJ Langenhoven this was a match that would see his name live on decades after his death. ‘Searching for Sarah’ by Dominque Malherbe is an incisive look into this fragment of South African history and the woman who made such a contribution to the preservation of the Afrikaans language, but who largely slipped into the shadows. 

For Malherbe, great-niece of Goldblatt, mystery had always surrounded this relative. Stories were told over family tables. Gossip was rife. Malherbe remembers her as a strict disciplinarian and a talented teacher, but there was no distinctive history of this woman who had virtually renounced her Jewish heritage and taken on the cloak of an Afrikaner. Malherbe’s curiosity was piqued and as a writer and lawyer she took on the task of finding more about this unsung heroine. She explains in the introduction that she wanted to tell the simple love story she uncovered ‘between a young, red-headed Jew and an older Afrikaans literary icon’ and ‘had his child’. And therein the mystery lies…
It was to Goldblatt that Langenhoven left his literary legacy when he died suddenly in 1932, and through her extraordinary efforts, saw more than two million copies sold of his books by her death in 1975. When JC Kannemeyer wrote a biography of Langenhoven in 1995, in his narrative he had ‘cast Sarah as the Jew who hero-worshipped Langenhoven; the Jew who was always the outsider and whose appointment to control his literary legacy was a matter of some surprise and much speculation.’
Goldblatt arrived in Cape Town from London in 1897. Her father David, was a printer and so early on she became familiar with the trade.  She spoke Yiddish and English and with her aptitude for language she learned Afrikaans when she met the older Langenhoven in Outshoorn. He was editor of the local paper, she became his assistant. He called her his ‘Sub’ and he was her ‘Chief’, endearments that endured throughout their relationship. She was 20 and, as their relationship developed so too did Goldblatt’s passion for Afrikaans and the culture. It was a time (1920s and ‘30s) of harsh anti-Semitism in the Afrikaner community but she became the ‘intimate house guest’ of the family, a status maintained long after Langenhoven’s death. She was a good friend to Vroutjie, Langenhoven’s wife and to their daughter Engela, becoming godmother to her son, Guillaume. Her feelings and devotion to Langenhoven were obsessive and remained the driving force throughout her life.   
In fact, as I read, I felt that here was a woman who had willingly relinquished her own identity in taking on the mantle of his legacy. How many other women out there have largely been ignored but have been instrumental in shaping history?
Malherbe’s book is a detailed document of her research journey. It is a memoir and biography that spans decades of archival documents, letters and memories. A fascinating read, she slowly uncovers this story.  Malherbe is meticulous as she records her conversations with those who had known Goldblatt, some with the late Elsa Joubert, who was a long-time friend, others as memories from family members and those whose lives had crossed hers. Telling personal correspondence between Goldblatt and Langenhoven reveal an enduring fondness, an understanding of personal issues and sharp insight into what made this relationship so vital to them both.
Malherbe shapes her personal conclusions from irrefutable evidence and raises many questions on interpretation.  The lawyer in her combines seamlessly with the writer as she takes us into the intimate world of this remarkable woman.
It is an unbiased look at this great-aunt of hers and I found it utterly absorbing as she reconstructs a Sarah Goldblatt who was feisty, difficult, highly intelligent and full of passion for the man she loved. For someone educated in England, this was a book that introduced me to two memorable characters who trod the path of Afrikaans literary greatness. With research conducted over several years Malherbe painstakingly, inch by inch, with love and respect shows us a woman out of her time, who pursued a passion and in many ways paid dearly for it. And the son? Read the book!