EKWENSI, Cyprian.

£1,500 · Offered by Peter Harrington

Jagua Nana. First edition, first impression, of the Nigerian novelist's most successful novel; copies in such nice condition are uncommon. A critic of rapid urbanization and modernization in the newly independent Nigeria, Ekwensi's book revolves around the titular character, setting in motion "a whole panoply of vibrant, amoral characters who have rejected their rural origins and adopted the opportunistic, pleasure-seeking urban lifestyle".Cyprian Ekwensi (1921-2007) wrote hundreds of short stories, radio and television scripts, and several dozen novels, including children's books. Having attended college in Ghana and studied pharmacy at London, he worked as a forestry officer, pharmacist, teacher, and as Head of Features at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation until the mid-1960s. In 1968, he received the Dag Hammarskjöld International Prize in Literature, was made an Member of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2001, and in 2006, he became a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters.

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