The Concubine

Front Cover
Heinemann, 1966 - 216 pages
Set in a remote village in Eastern Nigeria, an area yet to be affected by European values and where society is orderly and predictable, the story concerns a woman "of great beauty and dignity" who inadvertently brings suffering and death to all her lovers. The novel portrays a society still ruled by traditional gods, offering a glimpse into the human relationships that such a society creates.
 

Selected pages

Contents

Section 1
1
Section 2
4
Section 3
10
Section 4
14
Section 5
19
Section 6
24
Section 7
30
Section 8
36
Section 17
110
Section 18
117
Section 19
127
Section 20
129
Section 21
137
Section 22
145
Section 23
154
Section 24
161

Section 9
42
Section 10
53
Section 11
61
Section 12
67
Section 13
77
Section 14
87
Section 15
94
Section 16
102
Section 25
168
Section 26
177
Section 27
182
Section 28
191
Section 29
198
Section 30
206
Copyright

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About the author (1966)

Elechi Amadi was born in Aluu, Nigeria on May 12, 1934. He was educated at the Government College, Umuahia, and at the University College, Ibadan. After graduating, he worked briefly as a land surveyor and then a secondary school teacher. During the Nigerian civil war, he opposed the Biafran cause. His unpleasant encounters with the Biafran authorities are recorded in the memoir Sunset in Biafra. He wrote several novels during his lifetime including The Concubine, The Great Ponds, The Slave, and Estrangement. Later in life, he wrote several plays including Isiburu and Dancer of Johannesburg. In 2003, he was made a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, his nation's highest honor. He died on June 29, 2016 at the age of 82.

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