C.J. Langenhoven is known for his commercial fiction. He shamelessly wrote to entertain.
Not only were his works entertaining, they were often innovative as well.
In 1923, he published Loeloeraai, a very clever piece of science fiction about an alien visiting planet Earth.
Langenhoven also wrote the first detective novel in Afrikaans, Donker spore, in 1926.
A more serious work, Skaduwees van Nasaret, was published in 1927. Langenhoven received the Hertzog Prize for this novel.
Some of his other prose includes:
- Stukkies en brokkies, 1911
- Afrikaanse verjaardag-boekie, 1912
- Sonde met die bure, 1921
- Doppers en Filistyne, 1921
- Die Lig van verre dae, 1924
- Herrie op die óú tremspóór, 1925
He wrote numerous children’s books:
- Die eensame hoop, 1922
- Brolloks en Bittergal, 1922
- Mof en sy mense, 1926
- Die Krismiskinders, 1927
- Die boekie sonder naam, 1928
- Verhaaltjies, 1931
A host of his ghost stories can still be enjoyed by adults:
- Geeste op aarde, 1924
- Die wandelende geraamte, 1930
Numerous plays appeared from his pen:
- Die familiesaak, 1909
- Die troubelofte, 1909
- Die onmoontlike tweeling, 1920
- Vrouetrou, 1921
- Die laaste van die takhare, 1925
- Die kinderparlement, 1927
- Petronella, 1931
He wrote many historical and political works:
- Iets over arbiters en arbitraties, 1906
- Die Hoop van Suid-Afrika, 1913
- Die Vrou van Suid-Afrika, 1918
- Eerste skoffies op die pad van Suid-Afrika, 1921
- Republicans and sinners, 1918
- The everlasting annexation, 1919
- Twee geskiedkundige opstelle, 1919
- Die goeie burger, 1928
- Goud of Papier?, 1929
- Die witman se pand, 1929
Then there were guides on how to become a better writer:
- A first guide to Afrikaans, 1926
- Hoe om te skrywe, 1931
- Die opdraende pad, 1923
- Oor opstelle (posthumously), 1937
Langenhoven wrote many poems as well. The best known is “Die Stem”, which he initially wrote as a hymn, but which in 1957 became the national anthem of South Africa under the National Party government.
His collected works were eventually published in 16 volumes.