Book Bearings
Cover of A Question of Power by Bessie Head

A Question of Power

Bessie Head

  • 206 pages · about 3 hours
  • First published 1972
  • 13 editions
Buy on Bookshop.orgView on Open Library

Bookshop.org links may earn us a commission. It supports independent bookstores and costs you nothing.

1 About this book

A Question of Power is a novel by the South African-born Motswana writer Bessie Head, first published in London, England, in 1973. The novel follows Elizabeth as she leaves South Africa to live in Botswana and experiences power relationships. Encyclopædia Britannica describes it as a "frankly autobiographical account of disorientation and paranoia in which the heroine survives by sheer force of will".

Elizabeth searches for wholeness, in a journey through hell.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Natural history
  • Zoology
  • Botany
  • Women teachers
  • Women teachers in fiction
  • Geology
  • Periodicals
  • Teachers

2 About Bessie Head

1937–1986

Bessie Amelia Emery Head (6 July 1937 – 17 April 1986) was a South African writer who, though born in South Africa, is usually considered Botswana's most influential writer. She wrote novels, short fiction and autobiographical works that are infused with spiritual questioning and reflection. Notable books by her include When Rain Clouds Gather (1968), Maru (1971) and A Question of Power (1973).

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

3 More by Bessie Head

4 Similar books

Find a book that fits your moment