131: Nikki May (This Motherless Land)

About this episode

Charlie and Nikki May discuss her life experiences and the inspirations behind her book 'This Motherless Land'.

Charlie and Nikki May (This Motherless Land) discuss her childhood in Lagos and moving to England, various ways Nikki's story changed over time (quite a lot!), the Nigerian women's relay team of 1992, and the upcoming TV adaptations of both This Motherless Land and Wahala. Please note that there is some swearing in this episode. General references: About the Nigerian Women's Relay team win at the 1992 Olympics Rocks (2019) Nikki made the shortlist of the Nigerian Prize for Literature Books mentioned by name or extensively: Enid Blyton: The Famous Five (series) Jane Austen: Pride And Prejudice Jane Austen: Emma Jane Austen: Mansfield Park Nikki May: Wahala Nikki May: This Motherless Land Release details: recorded 29th July 2025; published 27th October 2025 Where to find Nikki online: Website || Instagram Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 01:50 Being inspired by Jane Austen and Mansfield Park and introducing the way that the book is inspired by Nikki's own life 05:27 Expanding on how this book is inspired by Nikki's childhood in Lagos, Nigeria, and later move to England 08:52 About Nikki's brother, to whom This Motherless Land is dedicated…

People in this episode

Host: Charlie Place

Guest: Nikki May

Topics covered

• Nigerian culture
• literature
• personal narrative
• adaptations
• Olympics
• childhood experiences

Keywords

• Nikki May
• This Motherless Land
• Lagos
• England
• Nigerian women's relay team
• Jane Austen
• literature

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: This Motherless Land, Wahala, Pride And Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park, The Famous Five

Places: Lagos, England

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