Gordimer was born near Springs, Gauteng, an East Rand mining town outside Johannesburg. She was the second daughter of her parents. Her father, Isidore Gordimer, was a Lithuanian Jewishimmigrant watchmaker fro

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Gordimer studied for a year at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she mixed for the first time with fellow professionals across the

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The arrest of her best friend, Bettie du Toit, in 1960 and the Sharpeville massacrespurred Gordimer's entry into the anti-apartheid movement. Thereafter, she quickly became active in

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In 2006, Gordimer was attacked in her home by robbers, sparking outrage in the country. Gordimer apparently refused to move into a gated complex, against the advice of some friends.

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Gordimer achieved lasting international recognition for her works, most of which deal with political issues, as well as the "moral and psychological tensions of her racially divided home

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• W. H. Smith Commonwealth Literary Award for Friday's Footprint (1961)
• James Tait Black Memorial Prize for A Guest of Honour

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Gordimer died in her sleep on 13 July 2014 at the age of 90.

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