Buchi Emecheta, born Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta in 1944 and died in 2017, was a Nigerian writer of novels, plays, autobiography and children's books, celebrated as the first successful Black woman novelist living in Britain after 1948. She is best known for her 1974 novel Second Class Citizen, drawn heavily from her own experience as a single mother raising five children in London while building a writing career, and her wider body of work repeatedly examines gender inequality, the tension between inherited tradition and modern life, and the particular difficulties faced by Black women in both Nigeria and Britain.
Facts
Awardhonorary doctorate, 1992. 1 AwardMember of the Order of the British Empire. 1 AwardOfficer of the Order of the British Empire. 1 Classification
Original Language FAQs
How did Buchi Emecheta's own life shape Second Class Citizen?
She drew on her unhappy and sometimes violent marriage and her years as a single mother in London.
Emecheta said that her marriage to Sylvester Onwordi, which began in 1960 and which she described as unhappy and sometimes violent, supplied details that she incorporated into Second Class Citizen, published in 1974. She had joined him in London in 1962 and gave birth to five children there over the next six years. Her husband was suspicious of her writing and burned her first manuscript, The Bride Price, which she rewrote and published in 1976. At 22, pregnant with her fifth child, she left him, and while supporting her children alone she earned a degree in sociology from the University of London in 1972. The novel therefore draws on her experience as a Black woman and single parent in Britain.
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Source Wikipedia: Buchi Emecheta
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Buchi Emecheta
Early life, birth date
Emecheta was born on 21 July 1944, in Lagos, Colonial Nigeria
Early life, birth year
Emecheta was born on 21 July 1944, in Lagos, Colonial Nigeria
Death section, death date
She died in London on 25 January 2017, aged 72.
Death section, death year
She died in London on 25 January 2017, aged 72.
Lead paragraph
Buchi Emecheta ( ; born Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta; 21 July 1944-25 January 2017) was a Nigerian writer, whose work includes novels, plays, autobiography, and children's books. She was best known for her 1974 novel, Second Class Citizen. Her other novels include The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977), and The Joys of Motherhood (1979).
Award: Member of the Order of the British Empire
Buchi Emecheta ( ; born Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta; 21 July 1944-25 January 2017) was a Nigerian writer, whose work includes novels, plays, autobiography, and children's books. She was best known for her 1974 novel, Second Class Citizen. Her other novels include The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977), and The Joys of Motherhood (1979).
Award: honorary doctorate
Buchi Emecheta ( ; born Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta; 21 July 1944-25 January 2017) was a Nigerian writer, whose work includes novels, plays, autobiography, and children's books. She was best known for her 1974 novel, Second Class Citizen. Her other novels include The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977), and The Joys of Motherhood (1979).
Award: Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Buchi Emecheta ( ; born Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta; 21 July 1944-25 January 2017) was a Nigerian writer, whose work includes novels, plays, autobiography, and children's books. She was best known for her 1974 novel, Second Class Citizen. Her other novels include The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977), and The Joys of Motherhood (1979).
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