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Jonny Steinberg, Senior lecturer in African Studies, Yale University

Winnie and Nelson: new book paints a deeply human portrait of the Mandela marriage and South Africa's struggle

Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela at home in 1990. Robert Botha/Business Day/Gallo Images via Getty Images

A powerful new book on Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has just been published. Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage is at once a double biography of South Africa’s two famous liberation leaders and a historical love story about their personal lives. Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years during apartheid and went on to become the country’s first democratic president. For her part Madikizela-Mandela was persecuted relentlessly by the white minority government as she organised the resistance. After democracy the couple divorced. Jonny Steinberg, political scientist and award-winning author, answers six questions about his book.

What’s the premise of the book?

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