Helen Suzman: Bright Star in a Dark Chamber (English Edition) Author: Robin Renwick (Lord Renwick of Clifton)
Helen Suzman: Bright Star in a Dark Chamber
An Authoritative and Affectionate Portrait of South Africa’s Relentless Parliamentary Voice of Conscience
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: Helen Suzman: Bright Star in a Dark Chamber (English Edition)
- Author: Robin Renwick (Lord Renwick of Clifton)
- Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers, Johannesburg / Cape Town
- Publication Date: 2014 (First Edition)
- ISBN-13: 9781868426102
- Edition Details: First Edition, First Printing. Standard Release.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium full-cloth hardcover boards with its matching pictorial paper dust jacket.
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), 148 pages. Enriched with select historical archive materials, unique correspondence logs, and political data entries.
- Language: English text.
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Used - Very Good Plus (VG+)
- Exterior / Boards: The original publisher's cloth boards are beautifully square, exceptionally flat, and structurally rigid. Free of corner bumping or notable fabric scuffing. Gilt and ink text elements along the spine are crisp and bright.
- Interior: The 148-page text block is robustly bound, tight, and pristine. Internal pages are clean, bright white, and completely free of dog-ears, text highlighting, owner signatures, or dealer ink markings. A highly presentable collector's copy.
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The Dust Jacket: Used - Very Good Plus (VG+)
- Condition details: The original pictorial paper dust jacket is in superb condition, displaying only microscopic surface shelf friction and no significant fading, chipping, or tears along the extremities.
- Preservation: The dust jacket has now been professionally stabilized and protected with a brand-new, archival-grade clear plastic cover to safeguard it against future handling wear.
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published in 2014 by Jonathan Ball, Helen Suzman: Bright Star in a Dark Chamber stands as an intimate, expert account of the extraordinary parliamentarian who served as South Africa's primary legislative voice of conscience during the absolute darkest eras of apartheid. For thirteen solo years in the 1960s and 1970s, Suzman stood entirely alone in a highly hostile, male-dominated parliament as the sole representative unequivocally fighting minority rule.
Written by former British Ambassador Robin Renwick, who formed a deep personal friendship with Suzman during the high-stakes transition period of the late 1980s, this biography relies on unprecedented access to her personal papers and unpublished correspondence with Nelson Mandela. Renwick highlights her razor-sharp wit, her systematic questioning of National Party ministers, and her intrepid defense of human rights, political prisoners, and the rule of law. Famously described by Chief Albert Luthuli as a "bright star in a dark chamber," Suzman's legacy is captured here as an essential, high-value used collectible book for any serious library of Africana political history and human rights biography.
Author Profile: Robin Renwick
Robin Renwick (Lord Renwick of Clifton) is a highly distinguished British diplomat, author, and crossbench peer in the House of Lords. He served as a principal adviser during the historic 1979 Lancaster House negotiations and went on to serve as the British Ambassador to South Africa from 1987 to 1991, playing a critical, close-quarters role as a diplomatic intermediary leading directly to the release of Nelson Mandela and the dismantling of apartheid. He later served as the British Ambassador to the United States. Renwick's deep, first-hand understanding of South African political transitions underpins his acclaimed biographical and historical bibliography, which includes Mission to South Africa, The End of Apartheid, and How to Steal a Country.
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