Bessie Emery Hea (1937-1986) is usually considered Botswana's most important writer. She was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, the child of a wealthy white South African woman and a black servant when interracial relationships were illegal in South Africa. Her mother was apparently mentally ill; the exact circumstances are disputed but it should be noted that some comments by Bessie Head, which are often quoted as if straight autobiography, are in fact from fictionalized settings.