In the Ditch

Sad, sonorous, occasionally hilarious, an extraordinary first novel – Adrianne Blue * The Washington Post *Striking … a world rarely brought to life on the page with the candor and intensity of firsthand experience … brings sexism and classism into equal focus – Lucy Scholes * The Paris Review *Bold, brave, defiant, and determined, Buchi Emecheta graced the world with her first novel in 1972 – Eashani Chavda * gal-dem *A pioneer among Black female novelists … Emecheta writes with an appealingly jocular tone … In the Ditch remains politically pertinent as well as entertaining … its charm comes not only from its basis in fact, but also in its author’s skill for capturing the truest quirks of human character – Ellen Peirson-Hagger * The Observer *Buchi Emecheta was evidently extraordinarily gifted as well as extremely determined… Adah’s story is told with empathy and humour. This is about survival in the face of almost insurmountable odds… In The Ditch is [also] a powerful critique of a stigmatising system, rife with contradictions and replete with negative stereotypes about people who are so urgently in need of support – Marjorie Mayo * The Morning Star *

Buchi Emecheta (1944-2017) was born in Lagos, Nigeria and moved to London in 1961. A writer and academic, she wrote sixteen novels, three children’s stories and numerous articles and television plays.

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