The Madonna of Excelsior_Mda
2004 Longlist

The Madonna of Excelsior

artwork-image

ABOUT
THE BOOK

The background is the notorious 1971 case in which nineteen citizens of Excelsior in the Free State were charged with breaking apartheid’s Immorality Act, which forbade sex between black and white. In an extraordinary alchemy of words into art, Mda tells the story of a family at the heart of the scandal – of Niki, the fallen madonna, Popi, her daughter by an eminent white citizen of the town, and Viliki, the betrayed son, and of how they come to terms with the repercussions and find resolution in surprising ways.

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Zakes
Mda

Zakes Mda, one of South Africa’s foremost authors (novelist, poet and playwright of more than 20 works), needs no introduction. He has won numerous literary awards in South Africa and the USA, including both the M-Net Award for English Fiction and the Sunday Times Fiction Award.

He has studied in Lesotho, South Africa and the USA and is a founding member of the African Writers Trust, an initiative that aims to bring together African writers. Zakes is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Ohio University’s Department of English.

Zakes Mda, one of South Africa’s foremost authors (novelist, poet and playwright of more than 20 works), needs no introduction. He has won numerous literary awards in South Africa and the USA, including both the M-Net Award for English Fiction and the Sunday Times Fiction Award.

He has studied in Lesotho, South Africa and the USA and is a founding member of the African Writers Trust, an initiative that aims to bring together African writers. Zakes is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Ohio University’s Department of English.

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Country
South Africa
Original Language
English
Author
Publisher
Oxford University Press

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