New from Commonwealth Prize Winner Marié Heese: The Colour of Power

by Chris on May 19th, 2011

A new book from the pen of Marié Heese, winner of the 2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa Region Awards) for The Double Crown:

The Power of Colour is an unputdownable novel about the Empress Theodora, considered by many the most influential and powerful woman in the history of the Byzantine Empire. The reader follows her journey from her humble beginnings, the loss of her father, the compromises she must make between her personal sense of honour, faith and survival, and we watch with fascination as this strong woman fights her way through the ranks, from public entertainer and high-class prostitute to empress, to rule alongside her husband, Emperor Justinian. Heese unwinds a story of immense intrigue and historical detail. Her previous novel, The Double Crown, won the Commonwealth Prize (Best Book: Africa) 2010.

Once again we are reminded that power tends to corrupt (and absolute power corrupts absolutely). And significantly, the colour of power is not the purple of royal robes, it is the colour of blood …

About the author

Marié Heese was born in Cape Town on September 27, 1942. She went to school in Cape Town and studied English and political philosophy at the University of Stellenbosch. She also obtained a diploma in drama at the Academy for Drama, also in Stellenbosch. She taught, among others, at Empangeni High School and Richards Bay High in KwaZulu-Natal. Marié lectured at the Universities of Durban-Westville, Zululand, Pretoria and Unisa.

Marié is best known for her first book, Die uurwerk kantel, which was published in 1976. She is the daughter of the well-known author Audrey Blignault who died in 2008. In 2009 Audrey Blignault: Uit die dagboek van ’n vrou, which was compiled by Marié, was published. The subject of Marié’s historical novel, The Double Crown: Secret Writings of the Female Pharaoh (2009), is Hatshepsut, who ruled over ancient Egypt for more than two decades. This book won the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa Region Awards) in 2010.

Marié is married to Chris Heese. They live in Stilbaai and the Little Karoo.

Book details