The Autobiography of an African Princess [Paperback]

This critical edition of Princess Fatima Massaquoi's memoirs begins with her birth in southern Sierra Leone, continues through her childhood in Liberia, moves on to Hamburg, Germany, where she lived and experienced the rise of the Nazi movement, and ends with her life in the United States.Foreword by Hans Massaquoi 1. My Birthplace, Ethnicity and Parents 2. My Birth and Customs about Childbirth in the Gallinas Country 3. Life and Customs in the Bali (Bari) country of Sierra Leone. 4. Life and Customs in the Vai Country of Liberia 5. On Beauty and Aspects of Vai Social Organization 6. Life in Monrovia 7. School Begins at Julie C. Emery Hall 8. More on Life at the Mission School 9. I Bid Farewell to Liberia 10. I Arrive in Germany 11. I Meet a Nazi & and More on the Work of the Consulate-General 12. Hard Times, 'isms' and School 13. Christmas and School Trips in Germany 14. The 'Invincibles' and My Departure for Switzerland 15. L'Ecole Superieure et Secondaire (Switzerland) and Rough Times on My Return to Germany 16. Departure for America 17. Welcome for a 'Savage' at Lane College and Death of Father 18. The Fisk University Saga 19. Goodbye Friends  You Shall Be Hearing from Me

A truly fascinating autobiography of arguably the most intriguing woman in Liberia in the first half of the twentieth century, supplying a rich mine of information on the Vai, on early Liberia, the power elite, and race relations in three countries Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. Superbly edited by three competent hands, Fatima Massaquoi comes through as well-bred, royal, regal, and majestic. This is a book to teach students about the transformative powers of nationalism, transnationalism, and cosmopolitanism. - Toyin Falola, author of a Mouth Sweeter Than Salt: An African Memoir

Vivian Seton, Konrad Tuchscherer, and Arthur Abraham have given us a great gift: a memoir of a fascinating woman who was a lively and perceptive observer of a critical period lã¶