Both in her personal life and in her literature, Doris Lessing broke the rules. Born in Iran to a critical mother and a father who was shell-shocked during the First World War, she was brought up in Rhodesia. Marrying and divorcing twice, she moved with one of her children to Britain, with little more than an unpublished novel in her suitcase. An ardent Communist before and during the Second World War - when she was married to a German - she distanced herself from the movement long before Communism's attraction faded for others.
Always prolific, Lessing continued to explore uncharted territory with her series of science-fiction novels, further unsettling the literary world when her work was submitted under a pseudonym.
Based on numerous interviews and sources, this book is a timely portrait of a fascinating woman.
