Synopses & Reviews
This story of a young mother's struggles in 1950s Lagos is a powerful commentary on polygamy, patriarchy, and women's changing roles in urban Nigeria.
Review
...a graceful, touching, ironically titled tale.John Updike
About the Author
Buchi Emecheta, born in Lagos in Nigeria, won a scholarship to the Methodist Girls' High School, but by the time she was seventeen she had left school, married and had a child. She accompanied her husband to London where, at 22, she left him, and took an honours degree in Sociology while supporting her five children and writing in the early morning.
She haw written sevearl books including, In The Ditch, Second-Class Citizen, The Bride Price, The Slave Girl, which was awarded the Jock Campbell Award, The Joys of Motherhood, Destination Biafra, Naira Power, Double Yoke, Gwendolen, The Rape of Shavi and Kehinde, as well as a number of children's books and a play, A Kind of Marriage produced on BBC television. Her autobiography, Head Above Water, appeared in 1986 to much acclaim.