It has been 10 years since Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Orange Prize-winning masterpiece Half of a Yellow Sun was published. Last year the novel was awarded the prestigious honour of the The Baileys Prize Best of the Best and this year we celebrate the 10th Anniversary with a set of stunning new editions. All four books are available now at all good bookshops, or via the links below.
Purple Hibiscus
Half of a Yellow Sun
The Thing Around your Neck
Americanah
We asked 4th Estate staff to write 30 words on one of 30 classic 4th Estate titles. Here’s Hugo Hamilton, author of ‘Every Single Minute’ on ‘Purple Hibiscus’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
‘Purple Hibiscus remains unforgettable for the way in which it holds the inner family tyrannies up against the outer political landscape of Nigeria and the world, freeing a great writer.’
To celebrate WOM4N, we asked several of our authors and staff to share their favourite female characters from the 4th Estate bookshelves. Here, Emmanuella Kwenortey explains how she is ever-inspired by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Aunty Ifeoma from Adichie’s award-winning novel Purple Hibiscus.
‘As a woman, to live independently in the deeply patriarchal society that is 1970s Nigeria is one feat; but to be a single mother, academic and financial breadwinner is quite another. Aunty Ifeoma from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s award-winning Purple Hibiscus is one of those rare characters who you can do nothing but admire. Following the devastating death of her husband, Ifeoma does something not all women are capable of doing; she dusts herself down, picks herself up and carries her burden, her children and their lives towards salvation.
