Jonathan Ball Publishers and Love Books invite you to the launch of Rhodes and His Banker: Empire, Wealth and the Coming of Union by Richard Steyn.

Steyn will be in conversation with Eugene Ashton at the event.

About the book

Rhodes and his Banker tells the story of the remarkable friendship between Cecil John Rhodes, a larger-than-life historical figure, and Sir Lewis Michell, a modest, unassuming banker.

The financial institution that brought the two together – the Standard Bank – was at the heart of South Africa’s transformation from agricultural backwater to industrial powerhouse in the late 19th century, thanks to the discovery first of diamonds and then of gold.

Richard Steyn, the author of acclaimed biographies of Jan Smuts, Louis Botha and Alfred Milner, intertwines the stories of Rhodes and Michell, chronicling the growth of the Standard Bank under Michell’s careful stewardship and the seemingly irresistible rise of Rhodes, rapacious entrepreneur and empire-builder. He situates Rhodes and Michell at the high noon of the British Empire, a time when the benefits of British rule seemed self-evident to its ruling elite.

Event details

Date: Tuesday 2 July 2024
Time: 17:30 for 18:00
Venue: Love Books, 53 Rustenburg Road, Melville, Johannesburg
RSVP: kate@lovebooks.co.za or 011 726 7408

Categories Non-fiction South Africa South African Current Affairs

Tags Book events Book launches Eugene Ashton Johannesburg Jonathan Ball Publishers Love Books Rhodes and His Banker Richard Steyn