The Word of a Gentleman his wife Nora are the focus of many chapters (and the book opens with a quotation from Oscar Wilde's "The Ballad of Reading Gaol"); these reflect Niesewand's detention by Desmond Lardner-Burke under P. K. van der Byl and Smith, and his subsequent deportation, leaving behind his wife of three years, Nonie Niesewand (née Fogarty). The Word of a Gentleman The Word of a Gentleman (1981) (later retitled "Undercut") was the third of five novels written by Peter Niesewand, the South African journalist who spent 73 days in solitary confinement for his coverage of Ian Smith's government in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
Treujenn-gaol Treujenn-gaol The treujenn-gaol (Breton: "cabbage stalk") is the Breton term for the clarinet as used in Breton music. The term 'treujenn gaol' was originally a pejorative term invented by bombard players who found the newer instrument encroaching on their livelihood. The clarinet arrived in Brittany in the 18th century. The most traditional Breton clarinet is an older type of instrument with 13 or even fewer keys, in contrast to the modern 'Boehm' instrument commonly used in contemporary music in France. Classical musicians in the 19th century discarded older instruments in favor of newer designs from makers such as Boehm, Albert,