... remarkable... Foreign Affairs
... illuminates the workings of institutionalized racism through the correspondence of three South African women in the 1940s and 50s. Feminist Bookstore News
The history of a place and time is made vivid by the combination of the rich personal record of the letters and the theoretically framed analytic discussion. The result is new insight into the history of black education in South Africa, and a revealing study of the dynamics of womens relations under colonialism across the lines of race, age and power. Susan Greenstein, The Womens Review of Books
A riveting and revealing bookone in which few of the characters wear hats that are spotlessly white. Third World Resources
This rich collection of letters deserves its own reading, as do Shula Markss bracketing essays. They are invaluable for clarifying the myriad ramifications that the letters raise for African women. International Journal of African Historical Studies
... powerful and perceptive....speak[s] eloquently to a Western audience that is poised to deal with the political and personal lives of South African women in an intimate holistic fashion. Belles Lettres
The roots of modern Apartheid are exposed through the painful and revealing correspondence of three very different South African womentwo black and one liberal whitefrom 1949 to 1951. Although the letters speak for themselves, the editor has written an introduction and epilogue which tell of the tragic ending to this riveting story.
