Buckingham Palace District Six by Richard Rive
A Study Guide by Matthew Venter-Clelland
Disclaimer:
This document is merely a collection of my notes on the book and it contains only what I think is
relevant and important. Teachers might think differently, so you probably should read the book.
District Six:
District Six was an impoverished suburb near Cape Town city centre. Although it was poor it
was regarded as one of the most cosmopolitan areas on the continent. It was inhabited by
people of many races and nationalities who lived in relative harmony. However, this came under
threat when the National Party took power in 1948 and started to enforce their policy of
Apartheid. The multicultural District Six was seen as a threat and attempts were made to move
people out of the area. The most brazen of these came in 1966 when the suburb was declared
as a white area under the Group Areas Act. Over the next eighteen years more than 60,000
people were removed to the Cape Flats and everything was bulldozed except for a church and
a few mosques.
The Structure:
The book is written in three parts titled “Morning”, “Afternoon” and “Night”, set in 1955, 1960 and
1970 respectively. Each part starts with a first person introduction from a person who we
assume is Richard Rive (the author). Following this are several chapters written in the third
person that generally feature the residents of Buckingham Palace as main characters. The book
starts out with quite a light mood that gets ever darker as the story progresses.
Buckingham Palace:
Buckingham Palace is the name given to a row of five cottages owned by Mr Katzen and
inhabited by the main characters from the story. The cottages are situated on the left-hand side
of Caledon Street and we don’t know for sure where they get the name Buckingham Palace
from, although many other features of the district have British names, so perhaps it stems from
that. It’s very likely also a tongue-in-cheek name because the row of cottages was obviously
nothing like the Buckingham Palace in London (i.e. not posh or expensive. We know that at one
end of the row sits St Mark’s Church but what sits at the other is unknown. The house furthest
from the church is a house of pleasure (brothel) named the “Casbah”. This is inhabited by Mary
© Copyright Matthew Venter-Clelland 2022
Distribution of this document without the permission of the author is strictly prohibited
, and “the Girls” as they are known in the novel. Next to that is Winsor Park which is inhabited by
Zoot and the Boys. Next to them are the Abrahamses and the Jungles followed by the Rives
(the author’s family) and the Knights.
Themes:
When discussing the themes of this particular novel it is vitally important to understand what the
book is about. In most cases this is rather simple. However, in the case of Buckingham Palace
District Six it is possible to miss the purpose of the novel. The purpose is not so much to
document the people of District Six and what happened to them. The purpose is to capture the
soul of the community, the emotions of its members and the true emotional and spiritual cost of
the forced removals. By acknowledging this we can identify a few key themes throughout the
novel.
The first of these is community. This is in my mind the most obvious theme in the book. It is
constantly referenced and it is emphasised that what is important to the people of District 6 is
that they belong. Everyone accepts one another for the most part and when the narrator tells
his story after being removed, one of the first things he mentions is that he felt like he didn’t
belong.
The second is acceptance. The mix of characters who live in District Six is eclectic to say the
least. Despite this the reader gets the sense that there is very little prejudice in the community
and when there is prejudice, it’s resolution forms a major part of the story. For example, when
Mrs Knight has her falling out with Mary and The Girls.
© Copyright Matthew Venter-Clelland 2022
Distribution of this document without the permission of the author is strictly prohibited
A Study Guide by Matthew Venter-Clelland
Disclaimer:
This document is merely a collection of my notes on the book and it contains only what I think is
relevant and important. Teachers might think differently, so you probably should read the book.
District Six:
District Six was an impoverished suburb near Cape Town city centre. Although it was poor it
was regarded as one of the most cosmopolitan areas on the continent. It was inhabited by
people of many races and nationalities who lived in relative harmony. However, this came under
threat when the National Party took power in 1948 and started to enforce their policy of
Apartheid. The multicultural District Six was seen as a threat and attempts were made to move
people out of the area. The most brazen of these came in 1966 when the suburb was declared
as a white area under the Group Areas Act. Over the next eighteen years more than 60,000
people were removed to the Cape Flats and everything was bulldozed except for a church and
a few mosques.
The Structure:
The book is written in three parts titled “Morning”, “Afternoon” and “Night”, set in 1955, 1960 and
1970 respectively. Each part starts with a first person introduction from a person who we
assume is Richard Rive (the author). Following this are several chapters written in the third
person that generally feature the residents of Buckingham Palace as main characters. The book
starts out with quite a light mood that gets ever darker as the story progresses.
Buckingham Palace:
Buckingham Palace is the name given to a row of five cottages owned by Mr Katzen and
inhabited by the main characters from the story. The cottages are situated on the left-hand side
of Caledon Street and we don’t know for sure where they get the name Buckingham Palace
from, although many other features of the district have British names, so perhaps it stems from
that. It’s very likely also a tongue-in-cheek name because the row of cottages was obviously
nothing like the Buckingham Palace in London (i.e. not posh or expensive. We know that at one
end of the row sits St Mark’s Church but what sits at the other is unknown. The house furthest
from the church is a house of pleasure (brothel) named the “Casbah”. This is inhabited by Mary
© Copyright Matthew Venter-Clelland 2022
Distribution of this document without the permission of the author is strictly prohibited
, and “the Girls” as they are known in the novel. Next to that is Winsor Park which is inhabited by
Zoot and the Boys. Next to them are the Abrahamses and the Jungles followed by the Rives
(the author’s family) and the Knights.
Themes:
When discussing the themes of this particular novel it is vitally important to understand what the
book is about. In most cases this is rather simple. However, in the case of Buckingham Palace
District Six it is possible to miss the purpose of the novel. The purpose is not so much to
document the people of District Six and what happened to them. The purpose is to capture the
soul of the community, the emotions of its members and the true emotional and spiritual cost of
the forced removals. By acknowledging this we can identify a few key themes throughout the
novel.
The first of these is community. This is in my mind the most obvious theme in the book. It is
constantly referenced and it is emphasised that what is important to the people of District 6 is
that they belong. Everyone accepts one another for the most part and when the narrator tells
his story after being removed, one of the first things he mentions is that he felt like he didn’t
belong.
The second is acceptance. The mix of characters who live in District Six is eclectic to say the
least. Despite this the reader gets the sense that there is very little prejudice in the community
and when there is prejudice, it’s resolution forms a major part of the story. For example, when
Mrs Knight has her falling out with Mary and The Girls.
© Copyright Matthew Venter-Clelland 2022
Distribution of this document without the permission of the author is strictly prohibited
