This Motherless Land cover art

This Motherless Land

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

This Motherless Land

By: Nikki May
Narrated by: Weruche Opia, Florence Howard
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

When Funke’s mother dies in a tragic accident in Lagos, she’s sent to live with her maternal family in England. Traumatised by grief and against a backdrop of condescension and mild neglect, conformist Funke strives to fit in, determined to become one of them.

Free-spirited Liv has always wanted to break free of her joyless family, resolved to be nothing like them. Fiercely protective of Funke, she at last has a purpose. And an ally. The two cousins give each other what they need most: love.

But the past casts long shadows and the choices made by their mothers haunt Funke and Liv, shaping the trajectory of their adult lives. Can they escape their legacy?

Witty, warm, hugely entertaining, This Motherless Land bridges three decades and two continents, delving into the thorny territories of race and culture and belonging. At its heart is a story about love and how it can make the difference between surviving and thriving.

'Beautiful, bold and addictive' DAISY BUCHANAN

'A vibrant coming-of-age story that explores love, longing and belonging in a multi-cultural family' CHARMAINE WILKERSON, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake

©2024 Nikki May (P)2024 Penguin Audio

 African American Black Creators Coming of Age Family Life Genre Fiction Heartfelt Witty Tear-jerking

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Parlour Wife cover art
The Son of the House cover art
The Marriage Monitoring Aunties’ Association cover art
The Secrets Between Us cover art
The Lost Letters of Evelyn Wright cover art
Water Baby cover art
Disobedient cover art

Critic reviews

A wonderfully nostalgic and moving novel about family, identity and belonging . . . This decades-spanning story is a compelling tour de force.
A spirited modern retelling of Mansfield Park set in Lagos and Somerset . . . Page-turning and cinematic
[A] warm, engaging retelling of Mansfield Park . . . a novel that celebrates the transformative power of friendship, love and home
A clever, fresh retelling of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, focusing on identity and family
Utterly captivating - this book is beautiful, bold and addictive. I could read Nikki May’s words forever. I felt bereft when I got to the end; I didn’t want to leave Funke and Liv. This novel crackles with electricity and pulses with love. For me, May is a must-read author, and I think this is a book that readers will be falling in love with for years to come. She’s one of the absolute best storytellers writing right now.
A spirited exploration of culture and kinship--of how we belong, and to whom
A vibrant coming-of-age story
A gripping and poignant family saga that illuminates the lasting bond between two extraordinary cousins. I was completely immersed in this entrancing story
A proper, epic, family saga. The tale of Liv and Funke was utterly absorbing and I was obsessed. Nikki has written a classic. I loved it.
THIS MOTHERLESS LAND takes Nikki May's writing to new heights. It's a novel about so many things - identity, belonging and acceptance; sisterhood, family and forgiveness - all wrapped up in the most compulsive and moving story. Funke and Liv gripped me from the start and didn't let go - their bond proves, across continents and decades, through adversity, prejudices and sacrifice, that love has the power to save a life again and again. Deeply emotional and wildly entertaining, this is a novel to treasure
All stars
Most relevant

What a fabulous book, Thé two main characters Liv and Funke were just fabulous what life threw at them from love, jealousy, racism, lies and generally messed up families this all made an amazing story

The narration was spot on and especially I loved putting my ears in and immersing myself in Nigeria

Wonderful boo, I will definitely be looking for more work by this author.

Loved it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved this book, made so good from having separate voice actors for the characters. Really allowed you to delve into each one individually. Brilliantly written and had my emotions up and down!!

Amazing Listen!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The moment that I found another book by Nikki May I rushed to read it and I was not disappointed. My heart lurched in different directions a few times throughout following individual characters. I really enjoyed the narration which transported me to within each scene. Loved it.

Engaging story, great narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Absolutely adored this book from the very start. Truly remarkable writing and so beautifully narrated! The two main characters were captivating. Highly recommend!

Outstanding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I could not stop listening! Not great when you listen to audiobooks to help you fall asleep but you become so invested in the story that you don’t want to sleep! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Loved it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews