This Motherless Land

This Motherless Land (2024) is a novel by Anglo-Nigerian novelist Nikki May. As a retelling of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, it tells the story of Funke who, at the age of nine, loses her mother and brother in a car accident in Nigeria. She is sent to live with her mother’s sister in England, where she struggles to adapt to a life of change, dislocation, and unbelonging. She befriends her cousin, Liv, and the novel follows their journeys over the course of 20 years, exploring themes of Self-Identity Amid Cultural Dislocation, The Importance of Support in Surviving Trauma, and The Interplay Between Prejudice and Privilege.

This guide uses the 2024 1st US HarperCollins hardcover edition.

Content Warning: The source material features depictions of racism, sexual harassment and assault, suicidal ideation, substance use, pregnancy loss, death, self-harm, and child loss.

Plot Summary

Nine-year-old Funke Oyenuga lives in Lagos, Nigeria, with her mother, father, and younger brother, Femi. Her mother is a white woman from London while her father is a Black man from Nigeria. After their marriage, her mother was disowned by her family. Although Funke has never met her white family in England, she hears stories of their estate—The Ring—and their wealth.

One day, Funke’s mother, Lizzie, gets into a car accident. Although Funke survives, her mother and Femi die, leaving her father despondent. He wishes Funke had died instead of his only son. Lizzie’s friends arrange for Funke to move to The Ring to live with her family.

In London, 10-year-old Liv Stone excitedly prepares for Funke’s arrival. Her mother, Margot, is insistent that they can’t care for Funke, but Liv’s grandparents take responsibility for her. Liv assumes that Funke is going to be poor and uncivilized, so she commits to caring for her and treating her like a sister. When Funke arrives, her grandparents, aunt, and cousins insist on calling her “Kate”—her middle name. She is underwhelmed by England and The Ring, noting how drab and grey everything is and how poorly her family lives. 

Funke at first tries to hide as much as she can from the family, allowing Liv to speak for her and make decisions. She also faces barely-veiled racism and ignorance from her family. However, after an incident in which Liv saves her from the swimming pool, Funke speaks for the first time, insisting that her name is “Funke” and that she is smarter than all of them. Afterwards, Funke does her best to be polite and respectful, but it makes no difference, as Margot still treats her with disdain and her grandparents largely ignore her. Funke relents, changing her name to “Kate” and deciding that she is going to do everything she can to assimilate into the Stone family.

Eight years later, in 1986, Kate is in her last year of school. She works at The Ring helping Grandpa with his work. She is excited to start college in the fall to study medicine. Meanwhile, Liv has moved out of The Ring. She works at a retail shop and has begun to push back against her family. Liv longs to be a model. At the cinema one night, she runs into a man named Clinton who compliments her and insists that he wants to photograph her. She excitedly heads to The Ring to tell Kate.

Kate is ecstatic to receive perfect scores on her final exams, but her excitement is interrupted by the news that Grandpa has died. Margot and Grandma make funeral arrangements and insist that Kate and Liv come home to The Ring. Liv stays in the city an extra day to go to her photo shoot. At the studio, everything seems professional at first. However, the photographs become increasingly more uncomfortable until Liv is asked to pose nude. She reassures herself that it is normal and agrees.

Clinton later calls Liv and tells her that he will release her nude photos to the public unless she pays a ransom. Distraught, Liv goes to Kate for help, but Kate is adamant that the only money she has is for school. Kate tells her that Margot will help, but Liv gets angry. She secretly steals her mother’s pearl necklace and pawns it, then pays the ransom. Kate does her best to reach out to Liv, but Liv largely ignores her. On Kate’s 18th birthday, Liv hides the drawing that she made for her and instead gives her a generic card.

That night, Kate, Dominic, and Liv go to a ball. Liv gets extremely drunk and, without Kate knowing, takes drugs and slips pills into Kate’s drink. Dominic insists that he is going to drive them home even though he is also intoxicated. On the way, he crashes, severely injuring Liv. Dominic asks Kate to tell the police that she was driving, and she relents so that they can get an ambulance for Liv.

After Kate tells the police that she was driving, they take her down to the police station. They test her blood, finding traces of the drugs that Liv gave to her. Kate is released to Margot, who used her status to help Kate. However, when Margot sees Kate has a pearl necklace—her mother’s, which is identical to Margot’s—she assumes that Kate stole it. She speaks with the police privately, then angrily takes Kate to The Ring, leaving her there and giving her no information about Liv.

Over the next few days, Kate repeatedly calls the hospital to try to get information about Liv. Margot and Dominic are rarely home and, when they are, they refuse to speak to her. Finally, a police officer shows up at the door. Kate is now charged with stealing the necklace, illegal drugs, and driving under the influence. Kate tries to tell them the truth, but they refuse to listen to her. Instead, they offer her only one option: To return to Nigeria, as Margot is insistent that she leave.

Six years later, Kate has gone back to using the name Funke. Her father is remarried with two kids. Initially, she is disgusted by Lagos, but as time goes by she learns to love it again. She attends medical school and reconnects with her friends from childhood. She also realizes how much of her mother can be found in Lagos, in the places she attended and the people she helped over the years.

In London, Liv recovers, but she is never told the full truth about the accident. Her mother tells her that Kate chose to go back to Nigeria. Then, shortly after, she forges a letter from Kate’s father saying that she has died of malaria. As a result, Liv spirals into depression, using drugs and alcohol to cope with her grief. She repeatedly gets fired from jobs for being high or hungover. She lives alone and avoids The Ring. One night, Liv wakes up bleeding and in extreme pain. Her childhood friend, Jojo, takes her to the hospital. Liv discovers that she lost the pregnancy. Jojo insists that she go home to The Ring.

In Nigeria, Funke meets a man named Bola and they have a sexual relationship. She also has an emotional relationship with a man named Toks, who is gay but hides his sexuality through his relationship with Funke. Funke decides that she has the best of both worlds—able to have sex with Bola, while having the emotional support of Toks. However, Bola grows angry at her, leaving for school in Scotland and refusing to speak with her.

Funke and her friends go to the Olympics in Spain. Initially, Funke is afraid of leaving the country after her past experiences, but her friend Oyinkan reassures her. At the Olympics, Funke, Toks, Oyinkan, and their friends celebrate a Nigerian Bronze medal in a relay race. They are shown on television celebrating with the Nigerian flag.

Back at The Ring, Liv slowly reconnects with Grandma and considers how to get her life back together. When she watches the Olympics, she sees Funke celebrating. However, Grandma assures her that Funke is dead and that she is imagining things. Liv commits to rehab and relies on her art to cope with the loss of Kate.

In 1998, Liv has a new job at a daycare and is doing well. She meets a man named Kunle, whose daughter, Lola, goes to her daycare. They eventually start a relationship. Liv goes to Nigeria with him to visit his family. Margot is angry that Kunle is Black and distraught that Liv might learn what truly happened to Kate in Lagos.

In Lagos, Funke lives a comfortable life working in the medical field. She learns that Oyinkan has a cousin visiting with his daughter. Unbeknownst to Funke, Oyinkan’s cousin is Kunle and his girlfriend is Liv. They plan to meet them that Saturday at the beach.

During her week in Lagos, Liv is disenchanted by the city. Kunle and his family refuse to let her go around Lagos, insistent that she remain on her estate, and do not allow her to try Nigerian food or speak with any of the locals. She convinces her driver to let her visit LUTH—where Kate used to live—and the cemetery, but she is disappointed when she can’t find Kate’s old house or her grave. 

On Saturday, Liv goes to the beach with Kunle and the family. She sees “Kate” get off the boat and runs to her, shocked that she is alive, then faints on the beach. Funke is immediately angry at Liv, thinking that Liv lied about the accident and was partially responsible for Funke being sent back to Nigeria. She goes home and hides in her bedroom. Liv visits her and the two argue briefly, but eventually realize that Margot is largely responsible for everything.

After they visit Funke’s father, Liv learns that Funke was only given £10,000 when she was sent back to Nigeria. Margot claimed that she gave Funke £50,000—her entire inheritance from Grandpa. Liv tries to get Funke to return to The Ring to confront Margot, but Funke is adamant that she wants to be done with London. Liv returns to London and tells the family lawyer, Derek, what she has learned. Derek checks over Grandpa’s will and realizes that Kate is entitled to half the estate, and that Margot has likely stolen enough money that he can argue the entire estate goes to Kate.

In Lagos, Funke gets a package from Liv. In it are her favorite things from London, old photos of her parents and brother, and a copy of Grandpa’s will. After Oyinkan scolds her, Funke agrees to go back to London to help Liv and Grandma stop Margot.

Liv and Derek arrange a meeting with Margot. Funke realizes that she has experienced too much trauma with Margot to confront her. Instead, Liv and Derek present Margot with everything they have, accusing her of stealing from the estate and telling her that Funke will receive The Ring and Grandpa’s entire inheritance. Margot grows angry and then sobs, accusing Liv of choosing Funke over her, as Liv realizes just how pathetic and vindictive her mother truly is.

A few months later, Liv and Kunle get married at The Ring. Funke decides to stay in Nigeria but breaks up with Toks and gets engaged to Bola. They plan to open their own medical practice there. Their wedding will also be at The Ring the following year.