The Missing Madonna

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Designing the Missing Madonna book for Cicely van Straten was an absolute pleasure and was honoured to work with such an acclaimed author. The first of a trilogy, a story on Uganda.

Born in South Africa, Cicely van Straten (née Luck) grew up in East Africa where her family farmed in Kenya and her father taught at Makerere University, Uganda.

When the family left Uganda for South Africa, Cicely took an honours degree in English at Wits University. Her African roots, and her grandfather’s anthropological studies in Kenya, gave her a fascination with African folklore. Her Master’s Dissertation: The fairytale as paradigm of inner transformation: a comparative study of European and African fairytales (Univ. Pretoria 1996) concerns the need to restore the rich folkloric heritage lost to millions of indigenous children during rapid cultural change. She has contributed papers on this theme at various conferences and seminars on children’s and youth literature.

Among her publications are: The Great Snake of Kalungu (Juventus), Tajewo and the Sacred Mountain (Juventus), Quest for the Sacred Stone (OUP), Flowers of the Thorn (Lowry), Huberta’s Journey (Tafelberg), The Warrior’s Star (Queillerie).

She has written The Wings of Eredu, a trilogy in a pan-African setting, depicting the initiate’s journey to adulthood. It also emphasises the traditional African reverence for the natural world fast being destroyed by the exploitation of industrialised cultures. The trilogy has fantasy and sci-fi elements and is still looking for a publisher.

The first in the series is A Missing Madonna. Set in Buganda in the first decade of this century, it depicts the recovery of Uganda since the downfall of Idi Amin and celebrates the resilience of ordinary people, who lead rather extraordinary lives.

Three generations of my family were involved in education in East Africa and education was a family passion. After we left Uganda in the late 1960s and moved to South Africa, we mourned the decline in education caused by the political turmoil in Uganda.

Imagine my pleasure when I began to hear of the resurrection in education in Uganda and the number of dedicated teachers of all kinds who gallantly worked for `Excellence of the Best’ against many odds! (I have actually seen `Excellence of the Best’ painted on a school wall!)

Where ingenious and non-violent theft is a way of life!

A Missing Madonna centres on three thefts, by differing thieves, of a statue of a Madonna and Child from a convent school chapel, out in the bush on a hill overlooking Lake Victoria Nyanza. A science pupil and explosives from the school labs also disappear. Follow the desperate sisters as they trace the thieves and their loot into odd places. Meet the local characters who help them on their hunts.

Yes, there is sorrow and hardship in Buganda, with AIDS still swinging the scythe there. But the brave sisters of St Mary’s hold a bright light against this dark background. Woman Power is strong in Africa! Humour and celebration abound among its people.

 Cicely can be contacted at

Turaco Publishing | Cicely van Straten | cstraten@mweb.co.za
Author | MA University of Pretoria
http://turacopublishing.blogspot.com