SECOND-CLASS CITIZEN

Fresh, timeless ... a lively work of art Observer

Buchi Emecheta was the foremother of black British womens writing . . . powerful fictions written from and about our lives Bernardine Evaristo

Most dreams, as all dreamers know quite well, do have setbacks. Adahs dream was no exception, for hers had many

They nicknamed Adah the Igbo tigress at school in Nigeria, she was so fearless. Now she has moved to London to join her husband, and is determined to succeed. But her welcome from 1960s England - and the man she married - is a cold one. Providing for her growing family, struggling to survive and negotiating everyday injustices along the way, Adah still resolves that she will never give up her dream of becoming a writer.

Bold, brave, defiant ... its exploration of blackness, the white gaze, and the development of the main character Adahs sense of self is extremely powerful Gal-dem