A QUESTION OF POWER

223pp., paperback, Reprint, Cape Town, (1974) 2018

A semi-autobiographical novel set in Motabeng in Botswana. Elizabeth and her son have left apartheid South Africa to start a new life, but she struggles to find acceptance in the traditional village community.

Bessie Head (1937-1986) was born in South Africa but spent much of her life in Botswana. She is the author of Tales of Tenderness and Power, an anthology of stories, personal observations and legends; A Woman Alone, autobiographical writings; the novels Maru, The Cardinals, A Collector of Treasures and the history Serowe: Village of the Rain Wind.