The rediscovered classic: an unforgettable memoir by a trailblazing black woman in post-war London, introduced by Bernardine Evaristo ('I dare anyone to read it and not come away shocked, moved and entertained').
Beryl Gilroy was born in 1924 in British Guiana. She trained as a
teacher in Georgetown before starting university in London in 1952.
For years she was denied teaching employment due to the colour bar
and worked as a maid and clerk before studying child development
and a PHD in psychology. After finally entering the educational
system, she rose to become the first Black female headteacher in
Camden in 1969, and balanced teaching with raising a family. As
well as her autobiographical novel Black Teacher (1976), Gilroy
also wrote poetry, essays, and fiction, such as the prize-winning
Frangipani House (1986) and In Praise of Love and Children (written
in 1959 but rejected by publishers with male-dominated lists so
only published in 1996) as well as Nippers, a pioneering
multicultural series for children. Later, she held posts on the UK
Race Relations Board, the Institute of Education, and a
psychotherapy practice. She was described after her death in 2001
as 'one of Britain's most significant post-war Caribbean
migrants.
Bernardine Evaristo, MBE, is the award-winning author of eight
books of fiction exploring aspects of the African diaspora. Her
novel Girl, Woman, Othermade her the first black woman to win the
Booker Prize in 2019, as well as the Fiction Book of the Year
Award, Author of the Year, and the Indie Book Award at the British
Book Awards in 2020. She also became the first woman of colour and
black British writer to reach No.1 in the UK paperback fiction
chart. Her writing spans reviews, essays, drama and radio, and she
has edited and guest-edited publications including The Sunday
Time's Style magazine. Made an MBE in 2009. Bernardine is Professor
of Creative Writing at Brunel University, London, and Vice Chair of
the Royal Society of Literature. She lives in London with her
husband. www.bevaristo.com @BernardineEvari
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