Barbara Trapido, born 1941 as Barbara Schuddeboom, is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

ist. Born in Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

 and growing up in Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

 she studied at the University of Natal

University of Natal

The University of Natal was a university in Natal, and later KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, that is now part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It was founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg, and expanded to include a campus in Durban in 1931. In 1947, the university...

 gaining a BA in 1963 before emigrating to London. After many years teaching she became a full time writer in 1970.

Trapido has published six novels, three of which have been nominated for the Whitbread Prize. Her semi-autobiographical Frankie & Stankie, one of those shortlisted

2003 Whitbread Awards

-Children's Book:Winner:*David Almond, The Fire-EatersShortlist:*Catherine Fisher, The Oracle*Michael Morpurgo, Private Peaceful*Jeanne Willis, Naked Without a Hat-First Novel:Winner:*DBC Pierre, Vernon God LittleShortlist:...

, which deals with growing up white under apartheid, gained a great deal of critical attention, most of it favourable. It was also longlisted for the Booker prize.

At a literary event in Abingdon

Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...

 in March 2008, Barbara read extracts from an as yet unpublished 7th novel.

Barbara Trapido lives with her family in Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

 and some of her books have Oxford connections.

Reviews

• Frankie & Stankie, Observer newspaper
• Frankie & Stankie, Telegraph newspaper
• Sex & Stravinsky, The Independent newspaper

External links

• Barbara Trapido: Biography and critical perspective from the British Council
  British Council
  The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
  
  .
• "The awkward squad". Trapido writes about the process of creating a novel in The Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
  
  newspaper.