Last Reviewed on June 19, 2019, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 302

Tant' Sannie is the owner of the African Farm left to her by her dead second husband. Tant' Sannie also has to take care of her stepdaughter Lyndall and her step-niece, Em. Even though her English husband had told her to take the girls to school after he died, she doesn't follow up on his wishes.

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Lyndall is the only daughter of the dead Englishman. She is very inquisitive and strong-willed. One day, she decides to leave the farm and go explore the world. She had seen that marriage places enormous pressure on the lady and limits her freedom; therefore she did not want it. However, she still wanted a lover. Hence, she somehow managed to convince the man that she loved to live with her without marrying her.

Em is Lyndall's young cousin and a very reserved woman. She keeps to her thoughts and never outrightly rebels. She's also the first woman in the old farmhouse to want to marry.

Waldo is the son of the farm's German caretaker and almost the same age as Em and Lyndall. He is reserved and also outgoing as he learns by watching his father. Later on, we discover that he was romantically interested in Lyndall.

Gregory Rose is a young Englishman that decides to become a tenant on the farm. He slowly falls in love with Em and proposes to her. Before the actual marriage, Em calls off the wedding after realizing that she doesn't love him. He starts an affair with Lyndall only to discover that she was playing him.

Bonaparte Blenkins is perhaps the most cunning character in the book. Taken in as a lost wanderer, Bonaparte gains the trust of Tant' Sannie and takes over the farm's operations. He is later fired after engaging in pre-marital relations with his boss's niece.

Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 350

Tant’ Sannie

Tant’ Sannie, a simple, slow, Boer farm woman whom an Englishman marries just before his death so that there will be someone left to care for his daughter and her cousin. She ignores his request to educate the girls because she considers education unnecessary. After the children grow up, she marries a neighboring widower.

Lyndall

Lyndall, Tant’ Sannie’s stepdaughter, a serious, studious girl. She goes to the city, where her unconventional ideas and conduct lead to her ruin. She lives with a man but, scorning legal ties, will not marry him. Gregory Rose finds her in a hotel room, ill and deserted by...