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About
Rookie lawyer Grace Zulu does not give up easily. She escaped an arranged marriage to put herself through university. Now she’s got her first case.
Her client is young Willbess ‘Bessy’ Mulenga, who has been arrested for offences ‘against nature’. Bessy works in a men-only bar, loves to dance, to wear dresses and live freely. But in 1990’s Zambia, following your own identity can get you beaten, jailed or even worse.
Grace is determined to get Bessy out of custody. Then her terrified, bruised client goes missing without a trace. She knows something bad has happened, and that someone is trying to cover it up. Along with the most unlikely group of allies, Grace must take on powerful enemies at the highest levels – even risk her own safety – to get to the truth. The whole truth.
A debut novel that soars with passion and humanity, Lion’s Den is a moving story of prejudice, corruption, courage and solidarity. It shows us that no cause is ever a lost one. "Iris Mwanza’s first novel is an evocative journey into the sinister side of Zambia, a country which tries to tell you who to love, a journey into forced marriage and homophobia" - Peter Godwin, author of Mukiwa
"A smash of a debut . . . Iris Mwanza has taken it all on, from the original reverberating assault of British colonialism to what happened next, to a sideswipe at contemporary Zambia, and she's done it with literal grace" - Alexandra Fuller, author of Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
“The Lions' Den is a brave and scathing probe of Zambia's justice system. The language is precise, the plot, tantalisingly tense, and the protagonist is more courageous than the spare prose suggests. Grace is complex and compelling, naïve but with her heart in the right place––the perfect advocate for all the Bessys of Zambia that go undefended.
What lingers with me most, though, is the author's talent for blending nostalgia with the truth. Iris conveys hope even in the face of devastation and does the necessary work of shedding light on what continues to be an invisible part of the human rights advocacy movement in Zambia.”
–Mubanga Kalimamukwento, award-winning author of Obligations to the Wounded and The Mourning Bird
"The themes of this compelling story (set in 90s Zambia) --the malign forces of intolerance and ignorance, the blind fear of the other--are still sadly extant in many parts of today’s world. The Lions' Den is a brave and neccessary book.
The two protagonists Grace and Bessie are powerfully drawn creations and propel this page turner to its profound conclusion. An impressive debut." --Gabriel Byrne, Actor and Author of Walking with Ghosts
"A vibrant and pacey legal thriller with a big-hearted heroine you’ll be rooting for from the very first page." —Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train
"Searingly well-crafted… Humbling, illuminating and enrapturing!" —Rick Cosnett
Her client is young Willbess ‘Bessy’ Mulenga, who has been arrested for offences ‘against nature’. Bessy works in a men-only bar, loves to dance, to wear dresses and live freely. But in 1990’s Zambia, following your own identity can get you beaten, jailed or even worse.
Grace is determined to get Bessy out of custody. Then her terrified, bruised client goes missing without a trace. She knows something bad has happened, and that someone is trying to cover it up. Along with the most unlikely group of allies, Grace must take on powerful enemies at the highest levels – even risk her own safety – to get to the truth. The whole truth.
A debut novel that soars with passion and humanity, Lion’s Den is a moving story of prejudice, corruption, courage and solidarity. It shows us that no cause is ever a lost one. "Iris Mwanza’s first novel is an evocative journey into the sinister side of Zambia, a country which tries to tell you who to love, a journey into forced marriage and homophobia" - Peter Godwin, author of Mukiwa
"A smash of a debut . . . Iris Mwanza has taken it all on, from the original reverberating assault of British colonialism to what happened next, to a sideswipe at contemporary Zambia, and she's done it with literal grace" - Alexandra Fuller, author of Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
“The Lions' Den is a brave and scathing probe of Zambia's justice system. The language is precise, the plot, tantalisingly tense, and the protagonist is more courageous than the spare prose suggests. Grace is complex and compelling, naïve but with her heart in the right place––the perfect advocate for all the Bessys of Zambia that go undefended.
What lingers with me most, though, is the author's talent for blending nostalgia with the truth. Iris conveys hope even in the face of devastation and does the necessary work of shedding light on what continues to be an invisible part of the human rights advocacy movement in Zambia.”
–Mubanga Kalimamukwento, award-winning author of Obligations to the Wounded and The Mourning Bird
"The themes of this compelling story (set in 90s Zambia) --the malign forces of intolerance and ignorance, the blind fear of the other--are still sadly extant in many parts of today’s world. The Lions' Den is a brave and neccessary book.
The two protagonists Grace and Bessie are powerfully drawn creations and propel this page turner to its profound conclusion. An impressive debut." --Gabriel Byrne, Actor and Author of Walking with Ghosts
"A vibrant and pacey legal thriller with a big-hearted heroine you’ll be rooting for from the very first page." —Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train
"Searingly well-crafted… Humbling, illuminating and enrapturing!" —Rick Cosnett