OBF 2025: Wamuwi Mbao interviews Foluso Agbaje (The Parlour Wife)

Loading player...
Pagecast was at the 2025 Open Book Festival, where we spoke with authors about their writing journeys and the stories they share with readers. In this first episode, Wamuwi Mbao interviews Foluso Agbaje about her moving novel, The Parlour Wife.

Set in Lagos in 1939 during the start of World War Two, the story follows Kehinde, who must leave her dreams of writing to become the third wife of Mr Ogunjobi. Kehinde finds purpose selling snacks and later joining the Lagos Market Women’s Association, fighting the British for women’s rights. But if her husband discovers her defiance, she risks being abandoned. Can Kehinde find the courage to fight for herself and other women, or will she remain trapped as a parlour wife?

Thank you to our furniture sponsor, Zorora:
https://zororasofas.co.za/

#PagecastPodcast #OpenBookFestival #SouthAfricanBooks #AfricanLiterature #FolusoAgbaje #TheParlourWife #LagosStories #WomenWriters #HistoricalFiction #BookInterviews #BookPodcast
10 Sep 2025 English South Africa Books · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

Haram by Zubayr Charles (with Shana Fife)

In this episode of Pagecast, Shana Fife interviews Zubayr Charles about his unflinching debut novel, Haram. About the book: As a young man in a close-knit Muslim community in Woodstock, Muhammad used to feel trapped between who he was and who he was expected to be. But then he met…
13 Apr 26 min

One Word by Pepe Marais (with Khaya Dlanga)

This week on Pagecast, Khaya Dlanga interviews Pepe Marais about his book, One Word. About the book: One Word reveals the transformative power of discovering and embedding your organisation’s true purpose – captured in a single word. In this thought-provoking and practical guide, based on the author's doctoral research and…
30 Mar 43 min

PAGECAST: The Wildest Beauty by Michiel Heyns (with Shaun de Waal)

This week on Pagecast, Shaun de Waal sits down with acclaimed author Michiel Heyns to discuss his new novel, The Wildest Beauty. Danny Marais is the twin brother of the beautiful, talented Charlie. The Wildest Beauty is a remarkable novel, an account of their early childhood to their eventual enlistment…
15 Mar 32 min