Black Pimpernel

In March 1961, after giving a brief speech at a conference, Nelson Mandela vanished. For the next eighteen months he was an outlaw, living under assumed identities and in various disguises (sometimes as a chauffeur, sometimes a gardener) as the South African police and secret services, helped by MI5 and the CIA, sought him in vain. His mission? To undergo military training and set up armed resistance to apartheid.

Wanner has now expertly transformed a slice of Mandela's life on the run into a gripping story of suspense and endurance for young readers, **- Praise for the True Adventures series, Cracking illustrations, true life stories in the vein of the ladybird books but more substantial ... brilliantly written by proper writers

Zukiswa Wanner is a South African writer who was born in Zambia where her Zimbabwean mother and her South African father were political exiles. Her father was one of the early recruits in uMkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing that Nelson Mandela set up and which is the subject of this book. As part of the research for this book, she reached out to some of his old comrades to verify some information. The Black Pimpernel: Nelson Mandela on the Run is her fourth children's book. Her other children's books are Jama Loves Bananas (Jacana, 2011), Refilwe: An African Reimagining of Rapunzel (Jacana, 2014) and Africa: A True Book (Scholastic, 2019). She has six books for adults. She has a 15 year old son who acts as a beta reader for her and her friends' children's books and was a beta reader for this one (although he is too old for it). Zukiswa lives in Nairobi, Kenya with her son and partner. She likes reading, swimming and long walks in different African cities.

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