Description

The year is 1832 and the Cape is rife with rumours about the liberation of slaves. Philida is the mother of four children by Francois Brink, the son of her master.

Francois has reneged on his promise to set her free and his father has ordered him to marry a white woman from a prominent family, selling Philida on to owners in the harsh country in the north. Unwilling to accept this fate, Philida tests the limits of her freedom by setting off on a journey. She travels across the great wilderness to the far north of Cape Town – determined to survive and be free.

LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2012.

Publisher Review

A moving story of one woman's struggle against hierarchies of race and gender that seek her absolute subjugation, Philida vividly dramatises the courage required to lay claim to the protections of the law, to speak out for ones rights even in the moment in which the law is on the wrong side of history -- Patrick Flannery * Daily Telegraph * Philida is a very powerful novel -- Michael Arditti * Daily Mail * In the hands of Mr Brink, one of South Africa's most famous novelists, the land breathes, it feels alive * The Economist * Rich and complex -- Paul Dunn * The Times * A compelling and memorable novel -- Alex Clark * Guardian *