The Modern Novel

Biography

Thomas Mofolo was born in 1876 in Khojane, Basutoland, now Lesotho. He was brought up as a Christian and his first job was working for a reverend. He trained as a teacher and worked at the publishing house, which would later publish his works. His work was influenced by his training in the Christian world and dealt with the issues of tradition and change, specifically the old Basuto customs and the Christian view of the world. His best-known novel – Chaka (Chaka) – based on the life of the Zulu king Chaka – was criticised as being too Christian but has now been recognised as a masterpiece of African literature. After writing this novel, he did not write any more but carried out a variety of job and died in 1948, exhausted after a futile legal battle to recover land that had been seized from him by the government.

Other links

Thomas Mofolo
Thomas Mokopu Mofolo: A pioneer of Sesotho literature
The Works of Thomas Mofolo: Summaries and Critiques