A Wreath for Udomo - Wikipedia A Wreath for Udomo is a 1956 novel by the South African novelist Peter Abrahams. The novel follows a London-educated black African, Michael Udomo, who returns to Africa to become a revolutionary leader in the fictional country of Panafrica and is eventually martyred. The novel explores a revolutionary politics A Wreath for Udomo Front Cover Peter Abrahams Faber & Faber, 1956 - Africa - 309 pages "The white man was generally considered the chief hurdle to African freedom by the young revolutionaries exiled to England. But when Udomo, whose fire and drive seemed to fit him to be the one to go out to Queensland to lead revolution, is himself the leader he finds there are two other enemies,- poverty and the traditions of his people. Udomo- back in London- had betrayed the white woman who loved him. For this some of their mutual friends could not forgive him. But in Africa, he learns to compromise with conditions with one sole goal in view. He sends for the others of the group, once the revolution has won control, politically, for the blacks. One of his comrades he returns to his mountain people to cope with some of the ritual problems, to lay the groundwork for education. Another -- whose first attempt at revolution had failed and whose life might be forfeit -- seeks out a secret way through the jungle, and launches a peaceful campaign of sabotage. Then Udomo is threatened with the end of his goal of economic recovery- and again he sacrifices the individual for the cause, or so he feels. But he reckons without the abiding sense of loyalty, and he dies at the hands of fanatics who cannot forgive. It is a powerful story, disturbingly violent. It has its moments of tenderness in first one, then another love story. It has several unforgettable figures. But it won't be an easy book to place, for the moral code, the sexual code is remote from our understanding. Abrahams is not to be overlooked- as witness Mine Boy and Tell Freedom."--Kirkus « Less About the author (1956) Peter Henry Abrahams Deras was born in Vrededorp, South Africa on March 3, 1919. Before entering school at the age of 11, he sold firewood and worked for a local tinsmith. He completed a three-year course at a colored school in Vrededorp in one year and won a scholarship to the Diocesan Training College in Grace Dieu. He later studied at St. Peter's, an elite school for blacks in Rosettenville. While working as an editor at a socialist magazine in Durban in 1939, he found work as a stoker aboard a freighter and made his way to London. Once there, he was hired as a dispatch clerk at a socialist bookstore and did editing for The Daily Worker, the newspaper of the British Communist Party. He eventually moved to Jamaica and broadcast political commentaries on Radio Jamaica for four decades. His novels and journalism explored the injustices of apartheid and the complexities of racial politics. His novels included Song of the City, Mine Boy, The Path of Thunder, A Night of Their Own, The View from Coyaba, A Wreath for Udomo, and This Island, Now. His other works included Dark Testament, Return to Goli, Jamaica: An Island Mosaic, Tell Freedom: Memories of Africa, and The Black Experience in the 20th Century: An Autobiography and Meditation. He died on January 18, 2017 at the age of 97. Bibliographic information Title A Wreath for Udomo African/American library Faber paper covered editions Faber paperbacks Author Peter Abrahams Edition reprint Publisher Faber & Faber, 1956 ISBN 0571063462, 9780571063468 Length 309 pages