The Slave Girl (1997), by Buchi Emecheta, as the title suggests, is about a young slave girl living in and dealing with Nigerian culture in the early part of the twentieth century. She is eventually freed when a man purchases her as a bride. Her freedom is in concept only, as she becomes her husband's property.

Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood (1979) takes place in Lagos, Nigeria. It is a story that continues along the same lines as Emecheta's The Bride Price (1976). It tells the story of the suffering of women in a male dominated culture caught in the clash of change as Nigeria works toward independence. Emecheta's own move toward unorthodox female characters intensifies in this novel.

Jamaica Kincaid, who grew up in the Caribbean, writes a story about a 19 year old young woman who must leave her island homeland...