117 Days: An Account of Confinement and Interrogation under the South African 90-Day Detention Law (Virago Modern Classics) - Softcover

First, Ruth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1844086305 ISBN 13: 9781844086306

Publisher: Virago, 2010

Synopsis

'Her life and her death remain a beacon to all who love liberty' NELSON MANDELA

An unforgettable account of defiance against political terror by one of South Africa's pioneering anti-apartheid activists.

'In prison you see only the moves of the enemy. Prison is the hardest place to fight a battle.'

117 Days is Ruth First's personal account of her detention under the iniquitous '90-day' law of 1963. There was no warrant, no charge and no trial - only suspicion.

This sparsely written and unique record tells of her experiences of solitary confinement, constant interrogation and instantaneous re-arrest on release - lightened by humorous portraits of governors, matrons, wardresses and interrogators, seen as the tools of the police state. This is the story of the war of nerves that ensued between First and her Special Branch captors-a work that remains a classic portrait of oppression and the dignity of the human spirit.

About this title

About the Authors

Ruth First was a journalist and academic and, along with her husband Joe Slovo, strongly active in the anti-apartheid movement. She escaped South Africa in 1964. Her interests in politics and the struggle against apartheid are reflected in both novels, 117 Days and The Barrel of a Gun.

In 1982, she was working at a university in Mozambique. She opened a letter bomb addressed to her by the South African security police which is where First was assassinated.

Gillian Slovo (father Joe Slovo, mother Ruth First) was educated in Britain where she has spent all her adult life. Since Nelson Mandela's release she has made frequent visits to South Africa. She has written seven books.

Edition details

• Publisher: Virago
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1844086305
• ISBN 13: 9781844086306
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 193