Peter Abrahams

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There are several notable individuals named Peter Abrahams For the crime fiction novelist see Peter Abrahams (crime fiction).
Peter Abrahams photo taken by Carl Van Vechten, 1955
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Peter Abrahams photo taken by Carl Van Vechten, 1955

Peter Abrahams (born March 3, 1919) is a South African novelist.

He was born in the poor township of Vrededorp, but left South Africa in 1939, working first as a sailor, and then as a journalist in London before settling in Jamaica in 1956. One of South Africa's most prominent black writers, his work deals with political and social issues, especially with racism. His novel, Mine Boy (1946), one of the first works to bring him to critical attention, and his memoir Tell Freedom (1954) deal in part with apartheid. His other works include the story collection Dark Testament (1942) and the novels A Wreath for Udomo (1956), A Night of Their Own (1965), the Jamaica-set This Island Now (1966, the only one of his novels not set in Africa) and The View from Coyaba (1985).