Children of the Mist
the lost tribe of South Africa
book by Scott Balson

Children of the Mist - S Balson (presentation copy released September 2006)
First edition late 2007

The first printed draft of this novel is currently being edited in preparation for the pre-release presentation copies which will be delivered to key curators and museums in South Africa in September this year. These are the only copies being printed in hard copy form.

The 20 presentation copies will all have a bookmark with a 2/- Strachan and Co coin attached and engraved - in lines of the story. The coin and the scarcity of this hard copy book will make this an extremely sought after item crossing numismatic and book collecting boundaries making its intrinsic value in excess of US$1,000.

Once feedback has been received from these carefully selected experts who have assisted in the historical correctness of this novel the book will be published for general circulation - probably in January 2007. 

Here is the overview of the book - critical acclaim on the back cover (PDF at this link):

When Marie goes to stay on the family farm in the remote district of Matatiele in East Griqualand, shocking memories of her childhood flood back to her. She confesses an awful secret that has dogged her all her life to her fifteen-year-old granddaughter, Amie.

This tragic outcome, arising from the act of a good Samaritan, left a dark shadow over her life, and resulted in a passionate search for the true history of the Griqua people - the direct descendants of South Africa's first inhabitants, the Hottentots.

Her research reveals a forgotten tribe, the elusive pot of gold at the end of South Africa's Rainbow Nation, and an ugly side to the country's early history that has been covered up and sanitized by past historians.

Marie shares the exciting history of the Griquas with Amie, adding a new and refreshing insight into the lives of South Africa's first Voortrekkers.

The book closes dramatically with an unexpected twist whose secret is wrapped in a coin.

Children of the mist hold your heads up high,
For the blood that flows through your veins
Is the very foundation of this land, South Africa.

- Scott Balson.

The Balson Holdings Family Trust will keep several of these hard copy books in their unique library.