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In the midst of uncovering deep family secrets Amelia Gruber narrates the pain of losing her family, the shame of becoming a poor white and the dilemma of befriending a black Lawyer, Peter Mudondo, who is campaigning for the return of land to the blacks. Amelia's Inheritance is set in 1970's Rhodesia. Please read it and leave your comments. It is available on Amazon Uk for 5 pounds with free delivery.  Amelia's Inheritance at Amazon UK The Kindle version is also available on UK and US Amazon sites.

Amelia's Inheritance now on Zimbabwean Bookshelves !!

To all in Zimbabwe: Lion Press Limited Publishers have now crossed the waters! For your own copy of Amelia's Inheritance visit the Innov8 Bookshop, Avondale Shopping Centre Harare Zimbabwe. I hope you enjoy the book!! Come back and give us your comments.

Amelia's Inhertiance NOW ON AMAZON KINDLE!!!

Amelia's Inheritance is now on Amazon Kindle UK and USA.  Take advantage and enjoy the story on your kindle device !!! http://www.amazon.co.uk/                  AMAZON KINDLE LINK

Why Should You Read Amelia's Inheritance by Sarudzai Mubvakure?

Amelia's Inheritance by Sarudzai Mubvakure is a heartfelt story that gives you a peak into Rhodesia through the eyes of a young white woman that is trying to establish herself in her family and in the society. To add to her awkardness her mother who is of mixed race parentage was left at the doorstep of an orphange when she was a baby as she was "no longer wanted". To cripple the family even further, her German father Wilhelm Gruber dies penniliess, leaving the family in debt and his children without an inheritance. Amelia and her family are escorted off their wealthy premises and go to live in the slums of the 'poor whites'.  Amelia is described as an underachieving recluse and these qualities are perhaps what causes her to identify with the black community of a nation that is divided by racial segregation. Much to the dismay of her white contemporaries she befriends a black activist Lawyer, Peter Mudondo. Peter is fighting for land taken away from black owners to be returned. A conflct arises between Amelia and Peter as Amelia finds much needed employment with Maxwell Stern, a Capitalist land owner that Peter is fighting. Amelia struggles between loyalty to Peter and loyalty to her employer whom she becomes devoted to. In the midst of this struggle lies the secret of the identity of Amelia's mother's parents and this brings the story to an exciting climax.

Amelia's Inheritance is an educative snapshot of a history of Zimbabwe that has sadly been forgotten. It is a story that highlights the race relations of the nation without finger pointing or malice. It is a story that acknowledges the historical account of the Land Struggle that has consistently been present thoughout the history of Zimbabwe. In the midst of that struggle Amelia, a young white woman is awaiting her own inheritance - land that she beleives she is entitled to. Perhaps Amelia's Inheritance has the solution to the current Land issues faced by Zimbabwe today. Amelia's Inheritance was reviewed by Edmore Zvinonzwa of the Zimbabwe Herald, and is a must read!

Book Review by Edmore Zvinonzwa in The Herald -Zimbabwe National Newspaper

Follow the link or read below for a review of Amelia's Inheritance in The Herald Newspaper -Zimbabwe  by Edmore Zvinonzwa

Book bares complexity of human relations

Amelia’s Inheritance: By Sarudzai Mubvakure; Coventry: The Lion Press Ltd, 2010 202 pages ISBN: 978-0-9562422-9-7 (Paperback) WHENEVER people hear the term inheritance, they think about material possessions that one may get after the death of their parents or some other relative.


It is unusual for people outside the family to emerge as beneficiaries of a distant person’s estate.

Those who may have read Charles Dickens’ classic novel Great Expectations will recall the mystery of Pip’s benefactor.
For the greater part of the story, a wealthy woman who lived in the neighbourhood was thought to be the benefactor when in fact it was an ex-convict Magwitch.
It seems not coincidental that the narrator’s mother at one time made them read the Dickensian masterpiece.
Sarudzai Mubvakure Amelia’s Inheritance is a thrilling 32-chapter narrative that revolves around Amelia Gruber, daughter to a German immigrant who owned a coal mine before becoming poor. Despite the fact that her father had died bankrupt, people still do not expect Amelia to be poor. "It was burden enough for them to know that we were white and poor." (p11) However, there is reason to believe the author does not look at material possessions as the definer in human life. Amelia’s father acknowledges: "Amelia, a person’s worth is not determined by what they have, but it’s determined by who they are inside. It’s their character." (p20)
Amelia’s Inheritance is set in colonial Rhodesia around the late 1960s to early 1970s, a period which few authors would want to look at. The racial tensions of that time, women’s rights, domestic violence, poverty are the issues that Mubvakure concerns herself with in this powerful story that examines the long-term consequences of family intrigue.
The story is told through the eyes of Amelia Gruber, a seemingly unusual adolescent who is born into a wealthy family with all privileges which her race and father’s wealth — drawn from his coal mining ventures  can guarantee.
Her mother Alana, who is rejected by her parents, is raised by Sisi — a servant girl who was employed at the orphanage. When she is picked up in a reed basket: "This child is no longer wanted. Therefore bring it up in the way that you see fit. However, to show that we are not of evil character, we enclose this cheque with a sum to be used for its upkeep and education. This is our act of Charity." (p14)

This automatically brings in the theme of parental love as well as support. Mubvakure also examines the theme of love between family members like we see between Amelia and Sister Trudy.
Amelia evolves into becoming a very strong woman who rejects defeat and is ready to take charge of her own life. After persistent criticism and bashing from her mother, Amelia starts to work on her own. It is during this period that she stumbles into her family’s past.
One of her closest accomplices, Peter Mudondo is an attorney representing the victims of illegal resettlement. Crawford and Crawford represent the minority white settlers. It is Stern Conglomerates that is buying most of the land and homes of displaced people. Ironically Amelia works for Mr Stern, who has also been the architect of the displacement of her family from their original home.
Sisi remains a calm, compassionate and supportive character throughout the neatly interwoven narrative. It is through such characters as Sisi that Mubvakure explores the complexity of human relations. Somehow Peter fails to accept that Amelia has no hand in his loss in the case between Mr Stern and Chief Sanhowe and his people. Mubvakure is making subtle comments on the history of dispossession that has been the fulcrum of colonial economic policy. The same court case also reveals the corrupt nature of the judiciary. Court officials receive money to influence decisions. "Listen, when you’ve got cash, you don’t need a good Lawyer." (p160)
The conceit reflected in this statement, especially when placed against the miserable-looking villagers whose mood is summed up by "Chief Sanhowe, the Head of Dambudzo Village. He looked tired and frail. He looked like he had travelled a long distance, but still many miles away from his destination". (p160)

Amelia’s shock at being shown a "Europeans only" section at the court gallery is suggestive of apartheid-style segregation, which Amelia believes should be blamed on the excesses of the colonial government.

Mubvakure’s voice sounds firm and emphatic. Her concerns are those, which many authors would shudder to consider as playing ground without hopping into contemporary politics and injustices.

One theme that the writer paints so well is that of race relations. Whites clearly enjoy unlimited rights and can even get conflicts twisted in their favour on the grounds of the colour of their skin. "They were so in love but they had to keep it a secret. As you know, back then, it was difficult for blacks and whites to be in love as they were." (p127)
Earlier, Amelia has to intervene when a near-scuffle occurs at the police stop line. ". . . Bruce was getting closer to Peter and I feared that the situation could get worse. If a scuffle were to occur, I was sure that the officer would later paint a picture that would eventually point accusation towards Peter as being the instigator. I decided to intervene." (p114)
There are several other instances that the author looks at race relations. The red-faced man is told: "You blacks are always causing trouble." (p41) Amelia is also reminded: "What are you doing around here anyway? Lost your way? Your kind shouldn’t be roaming around here." (p42) There are clear signs that some places are no-go areas for blacks while there are also suggestions that whites are not safe in others.
Mubvakure’s skill, however, is noted in the way she manages to create suspense in her novel. The reality about the protagonist’s family history is only known at the end of the book. And what a revelation!

Sisi, who has all along remained close and loving to Amelia’s family, is in fact her maternal grandmother. Mr Stern, whose firm has ironically made Amelia’s family homeless and her father poor is her maternal grandfather.
Amelia realises that she had hated "grandparents that I never knew. I hated them because I believed that they had left my mother, Alana Pennyfarthing, at the door of the orphanage, unloved and unwanted. But I never knew that my grandparents were not as evil as I thought. In fact, my mother being left at the doorstep of the orphanage was indeed an act of God. Rosemary Chitiyo, my beloved Sisi, was my grandmother." (p198)

All seems to be settled at the end of the narrative. The Dambudzo villagers have been given the castle by Amelia. Their lawyer Peter Mudondo has risen to become prime minister of the new government that replaces the racist Rhodesian regime. Amelia and her family now live at the Stern mansion, following the death of both Mr Stern and Sisi, who at that time were living as husband and wife. That is Amelia’s Inheritance, which has been kept hidden from the reader in the same way Pip’s benefactor in Great Expectations is kept secret.
In all this Mubvakure seems to be making very subtle comments about human relations and their complexities. These know no race or skin colour. Human relations transcend all these borders because after all — all humanity is the creation of God. The writer also seems to be advocating equitable distribution of resources, which in the book include land and minerals among others.

What Peter and his friends have embarked on is a "Struggle against bigot policy makers. They push hard-working black families off their fertile land to make way for capitalist thieves. As we speak, men, women and children are being ripped off in broad daylight. People are being bulldozed out of their villages leaving with nothing but clothes on their back. That’s a crime against humanity that I am not afraid to fight." (p90-91).

This book is a must-read for those keen on looking at another rendition on colonial Rhodesia and the transition that takes place despite the resistance from the minority racist regime. After all, Amelia has always contended the problem was the government. "This government is ridiculous. They make us feel like prisoners in our own country." (p90)

Sarudzai Mubvakure was born in Islington, London in 1973. She moved to Zimbabwe with her family in 1983. She was educated in Harare after which she returned to London in 1998. Sarudzai always loved creating and imagining things and this reflected in her love for music and art. She did not read much because she was never able to finish the story due to loss of interest. She wanted to find that ultimate page-turner that she would not be able to put down. "Divine inspiration made me sit down to write the dream book, Amelia’s Inheritance, that could not be put down," Mubvakure says.
Mubvakure now lives and works in London as an Occupational Therapist. She read Occupational Therapy at the University of Zimbabwe.
Her interests and passions include music and abstract art. Reading or writing were never Sarudzai’s passions however, she had a strange fascination with buying and collecting books which she never read. Therefore, writing her first novel, "A Disappointing Truth", published in 2008, was an unexpected and strange surprise.

This was followed by Amelia’s Inheritance, published by the Lion Press Ltd in January 2010. She is currently working on her third novel, Sarah’s Revelations, which is a sequel to A Disappointing Truth. Other projects she is working on include a novella entitled Muchineripi. An interest for the history of Zimbabwe in the 1960’s and 70’s is a prominent feature in Sarudzai’s stories.

What is even more prominent is her interest in painting a colourful picture of the race relations that shaped the Zimbabwe that now stands today.
Amelia’s Inheritance will soon be available on Zimbabwean bookstore shelves although orders can be placed online on Amazon.com and The Lion Press website.

l Feedback: edmore.zvinonzwa@zimpapers.co.zw





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Contact the Author and Availability of Amelia's Inheritance

To contact the author and share your comments you can email Sarudzai Mubvakure at adisappointingtruth@googlemail.com.   or sarubz@aol.com

The Novel Amelia's Inheritance is generating a lot of interest and favourable comments are being received from readers who have enjoyed the novel.

BOOK AVAILABILITY:

Amelia's inheritance is available from the following online bookstores

A)      Lion Press Ltd Book Store United Kingdom

 B)      Amazon United States

C)       Amazon United Kingdom

D)       Loot South Africa

E)        Inifibeam India

 F)       For availability in ZIMBABWE contact Tsitsi Mubvakure by EMAIL or PHONE:  00263912314126 careerhr@mweb.co.zw


 G)    FROM SARUDZAI MUBVAKURE BOOKS -
 £7.00 (Includes. Postage and Packaging). Send an email to sarubz@aol.com with your name and an address of where you would like the books to be posted. You will receive an invoice from Sarudzai Mubvakure Books with a link to pay securely on paypal. You can pay using your paypal account. If you don't have a paypal account you can choose the option to pay directly with your credit or debit card on the paypal site.

Book Review by Ivor Hartmann - Amelia's Inheritance

Review by Ivor Hartmann

Sarudzai Mubvakure’s Amelia’s Inheritance is a powerful heartfelt tale of family intrigue and its devastating long term effects. Set in a troubled colonial Rhodesia in the late sixties and early seventies as seen through the eyes of one Amelia Gruber. Though born into a wealthy family with all the privileges that money and her race bestow, when we first meet Amelia she is a somewhat awkward adolescent. This soon changes as she is flung into an uncertain future when her father is bankrupted and dies shortly after. It is through these dramatic changes that Amelia, who far from being defeated instead blossoms into a strong woman who takes control of her life; and along the way, discovers and is strong enough to deal with the secrets of her family’s past.


From the bright and dashing lawyer Peter Mudondo boldly championing the victims of illegal re-settlement, to the calm and supportive though private Sisi and downright slimy piece of work Bruce Forbes. Each of the characters Amelia encounters in her life changes her in the way people whom we are passionate about, in love and hate, do. In this Mubvakure rings a golden note of a gentle and compassionate observation, understanding, and portrayal of the complexity of human relations. How people in our lives and the way we interact with them mould us into who we are.

This is Mubvakure’s second novel and she has a firm yet very empathetic voice as she plough’s wholeheartedly into a setting and perspective that few writers today can deal with; without becoming too embroiled in the politics and injustices of this period. Mubvakure’s colonial Rhodesia on the brink of massive change is a character unto itself in the way it influences and in many ways governs their actions and thereby their lives. But never does it overtly intrude, though these elements are certainly there and accurately portrayed, her principle focus nobly remains within the rich lives of her characters.

In Amelia’s Inheritance, Mubvakure also tackles many of the issue’s of that era and some which still persist, from woman’s rights and domestic violence to poverty and racial injustice, but always without malice or a sense of finger pointing. Instead she skilfully employ’s these issues to both highlight them and to drive plot and character arcs. Indeed one can say for sure Amelia’s Inheritance is a primarily a character driven novel.

With many Zimbabwean writers eagerly diving into stories set in and of contemporary Zimbabwe with its instability and upheavals, Amelia’s Inheritance is surely a breath of fresh air. She has a wonderful easy going style that invites the reader onward and envelopes you in her world as you laugh and mourn together with her characters. There is no literary pretension on her behalf; only a good story well told that leaves you happy to have taken the time to experience it.

Book Review by Sarudzayi Chifamba Barnes - Amelia's Inheritance

Author, Editor and Publisher Sarudzayi Chifamba Barnes has completed her review of Amelia's Inheritance by Sarudzai Mubvakure. Follow the link to read the review Book Review by Sarudzayi Chifamba Barnes


Amelia's Inheritance is also available for purchase at
The Lion Press Ltd Book Store

Book Review by Masimba Musodza - Amelia's Inheritance

Paperback 204pp, Lion Press.


Reviewed by  Masimba Musodza

Zimbabweans are picky readers and even pickier book-buyers. Who can blame us, considering that a considerable portion of the literature that has been churned out over the last two decades has been about the Chimurenga or the more recent political conflict? In a country where professionals earn $100 a month, who really wants to spend $10 on a book about how bad Rhodesia was or how repressive the present regime is? We know all that already.

How refreshing then to come across Sarudzai Mubvakure’s second and latest literary offering, Amelia’s Inheritance! Mostly in Ian Smith’s Rhodesia, this is the story of Amelia Gruber, the daughter of a German immigrant man and a mixed-race woman of unknown parentage, who had been raised as an orphan. As a child, her peers mark her as an outcast, and perhaps this pushes her from the psychological and social fortress the White settlers built around themselves and allows her a glimpse of the rest of the world. Her father loses his wealth and dies a broken man, leaving the family to cope as best as they can as one of Rhodesia’s best kept secrets; the Poor Whites. Amelia’s mother loses her mind, and her younger sister elopes leaving Amelia to hold on to precious little else. Sisi, their maid, stays with her.

Speaking of secrets, boy are there plenty! The people she meets along the way seem to know a lot more about her past than they should, and it seems less and less a coincidence that they have come in to her life. Amelia is also learning about the wider world, she is crossing the racial and social barriers of Rhodesia. She makes friends with a Black activist. Through their relationship, we are reminded of a fact that doesn’t seem to get mentioned by other writers; that the dispossession of indigenous Black people’s lands by White Settlers did not end with the Pioneer Column but continued well in to the last days of that ignoble racist political system. Like I noted, Mubvakure doesn’t take up too much prose telling us what we know already. In a suspense-filled, pacy narrative, Amelia becomes part of the process to break down those barriers and the secrets of her past become unlocked in a stunning conclusion.

Mubvakure has marked her own territory on the Zimbabwean literary landscape. Amelia’s Inheritance reminds me of Dickens’ Great Expectations, Oliver Twist etc in that she has a hero whose circumstances are set to change as the mystery of their past unfolds. However, despite her many shortcomings, the most glaring being her poverty and the breakdown of her family, Amelia is hardly a passive subject to the whims of fate. And there may be a bit of Catherine Cookson in the style, too. But Mubvakure’s style is original and establishes her as one of the most exciting new authors on the scene.

Amelia's Inheritance Synopsis

On the day she is born Alana Pennyfarthing is left at the doorstep of an orphanage in Rhodesia, with a written note:

    ‘This child is no longer wanted…’

It takes the love of Sisi, a servant girl employed at the orphanage, to erase the rejection and raise Alana. Years later she marries Wilhelm Gruber, a German immigrant, who amasses wealth in the Rhodesian coal mines. Alana re-employs Sisi to raise her three daughters and life could not be better. However, unforeseen tragedy hits the Gruber family. Alana’s eldest daughter Amelia, an underachieving recluse, is left to fend for herself. Without an inheritance, Amelia has to secure employment for survival and to support Sisi, the closest to family she has left. She struggles; however, providence see’s her secure employment at the household of the wealthy landowner, Maxwell Stern. Amelia has no idea that the shocking details of her families past lie within the walls of the Stern mansion. What she discovers may be too hard to bear.


Amelia's Inheritance is available at all Amazon Bookshop websites.

Amelia's Inheritance - Available at Amazon.com

Amelia's Inheritance now available @Amazon.com

Paperback: 204 pages
Publisher: The Lion Press Ltd (January 12, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0956242294
ISBN-13: 978-0956242297
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.4 inches

Amelia's Inheritance by Sarudzai Mubvakure

This is the cover of Sarudzai Mubvakure's new novel Amelia's Inheritance. Copies to be available end of January 2010. Edited by David Mungoshi and Published by the Lion Press Limited. Read  the synopsis and reviews at the Sarudzayi Barnes blog.

Cover design by Ivor Hartmann
Photo credit for Smoking Girl - Self portrait by Popsicle


Other novels by Sarudzai Mubvakure:
 A Disappointing Truth.
Read reviews at A Disappointing Truth Blog