The Spider King's Daughter

Set in Lagos, The Spider King's Daughter follows 17-year-old Abike Johnson, the favorite child of Olumide Johnson, a wealthy tycoon with business interests in oil and music. Abike enters an unlikely and tentative romance with a roadside ice cream hawker, a relationship that challenges the rigid social class prejudices of Nigerian society. The narrative focuses on the tension between their disparate backgrounds and the revelations from the past that threaten their bond. Some analysis suggests that the relational dynamics in the novel serve as a feminist critique of patriarchal family structures and attitudes.

Chibundu Onuzo was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1991 as the youngest of four children. She graduated with a degree in history from King's College London and pursued an MSc in Public Policy at University College London. Onuzo began writing her debut novel at age 17 and was published by Faber & Faber at 21, which made her the youngest female author ever signed by the publisher. Her work has received significant recognition, including winning the Betty Trask Award and being shortlisted for both the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Commonwealth Book Prize.