In The New Tribe, pioneering author Buchi Emecheta tells the tale of a young Nigerian boy adopted by a white family. In this, her final novel, Emecheta explores the isolating experiences of growing up Black in Britain. 'Chester could not remember the exact moment when he knew he was adopted ... However, even at the age of four or five, he felt a sense of unbelonging.' Life changes dramatically for the Arlingtons when an abandoned baby girl, Julia, arrives unexpectedly on their doorstep. Only two years later, their lives are irrevocably changed once again when they discover that a Nigerian mother is in desperate need of a loving home for her baby boy named Chester... Instantly marked as different from the other children in his school – and even from his own family – Chester's pain and confusion at growing up an outcast push him to find out about his biological family. The New Tribe is a poignant and heart-warming story of Chester's journey through childhood as a son, brother, and best friend. Buchi Emecheta weaves together a tale of love and acceptance while illuminating the importance of self-discovery. 'We are able to speak because [Buchi Emecheta] first spoke.' Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 'Her name deserves to be embedded in our literary history.' Bernardine Evaristo 'A pioneer among female African writers.' Guardian

'Sad, sonorous, occasionally hilarious, an extraordinary first novel' Washington Post 'Striking . . . brings sexism and classism into equal focus' The Paris Review Adah is a single mother of five, living in a dank, crumbling housing estate for 'problem families', avoiding the rats and rubbish. It's not quite the new start in London she had planned. As she navigates the complicated welfare system that keeps her trapped in poverty, can she cling to her dream of a better life, and find somewhere that feels like home? Buchi Emecheta's scorching debut novel drew on her own experiences to paint a moving picture of hope, unexpected friendship, and survival. In the Ditch joins The Joys of Motherhood and Second-Class Citizen in Penguin Modern Classics, with a bespoke cover design from Turner Prize-winning artist Chris Ofili. 'Buchi Emecheta was the foremother of black British women's writing' Bernardine Evaristo

Adah's desire to write is pitted against the forces of an egotistical and unfeeling husband and a largely indifferent white society.

A bestselling title in Heinemann's long-established 'African Writers Series', this novel is now being published with a new introduction as part of the new series 'African Writers Series Classics'.

In the late 1960's, Adah, a spirited and resourceful woman manages to move her family to London. Seeking an independent life for herself and her children she encounters racism and hard truths about being a new citizen. "Second Class Citizen pales a lot of academic feminist writing into insignificance." -The Guardian "Emecheta's prose has a shimmer of originality, of English being reinvented...Issues of survival lie inherent in her material and give her tales weight." --John Updike

'Fresh, timeless ... a lively work of art' Observer 'Buchi Emecheta was the foremother of black British women's writing . . . powerful fictions written from and about our lives' Bernardine Evaristo 'Most dreams, as all dreamers know quite well, do have setbacks. Adah's dream was no exception, for hers had many' They nicknamed Adah 'the Igbo tigress' at school in Nigeria, she was so fearless. Now she has moved to London to join her husband, and is determined to succeed. But her welcome from 1960's England - and the man she married - is a cold one. Providing for her growing family, struggling to survive and negotiating everyday injustices along the way, Adah still resolves that she will never give up her dream of becoming a writer. 'Bold, brave, defiant ... its exploration of blackness, the white gaze, and the development of the main character Adah's sense of self is extremely powerful' Gal-dem

'A scorching portrayal of a woman's life . . . the female, feminist counterpart to Things Fall Apart' Bernardine Evaristo 'God, when will you create a woman who will be fulfilled in herself, a full human being, not anybody's appendage? ... when will I be free?' There is no greater honour for a woman in an Ibo village than to have children - especially sons. Unable to conceive in her first marriage, Nnu Ego is sent away to a new husband in the city of Lagos, where she finally succeeds in becoming a mother. But things are changing, and a war that unfolds thousands of miles away threatens her family's fortunes and her entire way of life. In a world where motherhood is everything, what will be left for her at the end of it all? 'Sparkling intelligence and a certain kind of honest, lived, intimate insight into working-class colonial Nigeria' Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

"The most consistent of all series in terms of language control, length, and quality of story." David R. Hill, Director of the Edinburgh Project on Extensive Reading.