Author to showcase book at uMhlanga book fair

LOCAL author Anna Jensen will promote her new book, Remembered Lives, at Eduvos Durban International Book Fair at the Eduvos Umhlanga Campus from November 27 to December 1. She looks forward to meeting and interacting with readers and other authors. Jensen caught up with Northglen News journalist Candyce Pillay to chat about her book.

CP: Tell us a bit about yourself.
AJ: I moved to South Africa from the UK in 1997 when I married a local Durban boy. We now live in uMdloti and have two children, a daughter and son.

CK: How and when did your love for writing start?
AJ: I used to write and illustrate stories on A4 sheets of paper as a schoolgirl. I also wrote a bit of poetry as a teenager, but then didn’t really continue writing after I finished university. I discovered a renewed interest in writing after a visit to Victoria Falls in 2017 and published my first book – a collection of reflections and inspirational poetry – in 2019. Since then, I have published several other poetry collections, several contemporary and historical novellas and three full-length historical novels.

CP: Where did the idea for your book come from?
AJ: I visited the site of the Battle of Spionkop a few years ago and was intrigued to find various items of Liverpool Football Club memorabilia on display in the entrance hut. My Dad, who was over from the UK at the time, explained the link between the battle and the Kop at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium. The seed of a story was planted then.

CP: Who are the characters and what are their personalities?
AJ: Remembered Lives is a dual-timeline, three-part story. The main contemporary character is Jimmy. He is a Liverpool fan who, in 1989, watched the terrible events, which became known as the Hillsborough Disaster, unfold live on TV while he watched the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Twenty-five years later, Jimmy, wife Sarah and best friend Des join a tour of Liverpool fans to South Africa – and discover a personal link to the Battle of Spionkop. The first of the two historical characters is Percy, a young British soldier sent to fight in far-off South Africa in October 1899. Increasingly unsure of the reason for the military campaign, Percy finds himself in close-quarters combat with the supposed enemy. The second character is Wilhelm, the son of a Carolina farmer, who joins the local Commando in search of excitement and the chance to defend his country from the Empire.

CP: Where do you draw inspiration from for your plot and characters?
AJ: I read several books before writing Remembered Lives. Thomas Packenham’s The Boer War, Deneys Reitz’s Commando, and Winston Churchill’s Despatches from South Africa offered both insights into historical events told from different perspectives and a number of ideas for characters I could include in my novel. I also spent time with Raymond Heron, historian and owner of Spionkop Lodge, who provided me with several more personal anecdotes which I’ve enjoyed including. For the Hillsborough/Liverpool FC aspect of the story, I read various contemporary newspaper articles. I also met with members of a local SA supporters’ club who had commissioned memorial events and a bench and chair at Spionkop Lodge.

CP: Any hobbies?
AJ: I enjoy road and camping trips, exploring South Africa and neighbouring countries. As you’d expect, I also love reading – history and crime novels are my particular favourites!

Jensen’s books will be available at the fair and also via her website at www.annajensen.co.uk.

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