The book written by Selina and Robert Molteno (with contributions from Catherine Corder and Hugh Corder) has recently been published and was launched in South Africa in June 2025.
Copies can be ordered through a bookshop in South Africa or directly from UNISA: https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Unisa-Press/How-to-buy
The Moltenos of the Cape tells the story of a remarkable family of Anglo-Italian origin, who located at the Cape. The commanding figure was Sir John Charles Molteno, the first prime minister of the Cape Colony, who fought fiercely for South African interests against successive British governors. His children included Percy (who was director of the Union Castle Line and a liberal politician in the UK), Betty (whose radical opinions put her in touch with many advanced thinkers of her day) and Charlie, who opposed Cecil Rhodes and was instrumental in keeping Bechuanaland out of his hands.
The book also features Barkly, who joined the British navy and fought slaves near Zanzibar before commanding a warship at the critical battle of Jutland. In the next generation, Donald earned the Xhosa name Dilizintaba (Remover of mountains) for his staunch opposition to segregationist policies.
Leading members of the Molteno family sought to bridge the divides between black and white, and English and Afrikaans speaking, South Africans. They were anti-racists and anti-imperialists long before their time and their tradition of dedicated public service will inspire new generations of South Africans.
“The Molteno family history tracks all the fault lines of the nineteenth-century history. From the rist of the Cape wool economy, to self-governance, to the fate of the Cape liberalism, the Molteno family was central to every major development worth remembering. Selina Molteno’s fair-minded, lucidly written account of the Moltenos is a most valuable resource and will be for a long while to come.” – Jonny Steinberg, prize-winning South African writer.