The African Child

The African Child
First English-language edition
AuthorCamara Laye
TranslatorJames Kirkup
LanguageFrench
GenreAutobiographical
PublisherPlon
Publication date
1953
Publication placeGuinea
Published in English
1954, Farrar, Straus & Giroux

The African Child (French: L'Enfant noir) is an autobiographical French novel by Camara Laye published in 1953.[1] It tells the story of a young African child, Baba, growing up in Guinea. The novel won the Prix Charles Veillon writing prize.

It was translated into English by James Kirkup and Ernest Jones and published in the United States by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 1954 as The Dark Child. In the United Kingdom, this translation was published under the title The African Child in 1959.[2]

  1. ^ Prima Birungi. "The African Child (by Camara Laye)". Africa Book Club. Archived from the original on 2017-07-22.
  2. ^ Birch, Dinah; Hooper, Katy (2013). The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. OUP Oxford. p. 108. ISBN 9780191036743. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2020.