Barberton is a small town in South Africa. The prisoners are all black, because in those days the prisons were segregated by color, although the prison officers are all white.

The rest of the people that he comes in contact with are mostly white – Hoppie, the professor, everybody in the boarding school, Mevrou (missus, which denotes a married woman), the librarian with whom he corresponded, etc.

Enjoy the book! and then read the follow up called “Tandia”

http://www.longitudebooks.com/find/p/1330/mcms.html

http://www.ciao.co.uk/The_Power_of_One_Bryce_Courtenay__5324727

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/printed-books/the-power-of-one-bryce-courtenay/1026027/