Queen of the Free State

Growing up Jewish in a small town in the Free State in the ’50s and ’60s, Jennifer Friedman moves between child and adult, black and white, as Verwoerd’s grand apartheid is dividing South Africa. There are midnight escapes, banned comics, eisteddfods, terrifying policemen, albino messengers and Pa’s beatings… Told with humour and pathos, Friedman’s memoir brings to life a strong sense of place, love, rebellion and betrayal.