The Pretoria Conspiracy

by Lily Mabura

The story is set in 1945 South Africa. Colonel Willem Stewart de Veer flies in the face of convention, and segregation, by marrying a coloured woman. His family disown him; but they meet again, this time on opposing sides in the political struggle. Willem Stewart must contend with the head of the de Veer family, Paulus de Veer, and a handful of tenacious supremacists in a tense clash of the personal and the political. Lily Mabura is a fiction and children's author who was born and lives in Kenya. Her children's book, Ali and the Little Sultan won the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature. The Pretoria Conspiracy, her first novel, was awarded the (Kenyan) National Book Week Literary Award for the Best First Novel in 2001.

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Lily Mabura is a fiction and children's author who was born and lives in Kenya. Her children's book, Ali and the Little Sultan won the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature. The Pretoria Conspiracy, her first novel, was awarded the (Kenyan) National Book Week Literary Award for the Best First Novel in 2001.

(from http://www.africanbookscollective.com...)

Reviews

[Fenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have re-read this book a couple of times...it doesn't get old.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an easy read and a very interesting one for that. I loved the fact that the fiction was inspired by historical events because it does give one a little more insight on how the situation really was. Lily did a very good job with the research and produced a marvellous book.

[Habiba Billal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such dimension! I read this in high school. Artfully unfolded. Skillfully written. Like when you bake, you leave the dough just long enough in the oven so everyone anticipates the dish loooong before it hits the table, just by the aroma. If you ever find yourself looking for a book you read more than ten years ago, that was an author well worth the name.

[Sinei Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved johanns story