Ruth First was a journalist and academic and, along with her husband Joe Slovo, strongly active in the anti-apartheid movement. She escaped South Africa in 1964. Her interests in politics and the struggle against apartheid are reflected in both novels, 117 Days and The Barrel of a Gun. In 1982, she was working at a university in Mozambique. She opened a letter bomb addressed to her by the South African security police which is where First was assassinated.
Gillian Slovo (father Joe Slovo, mother Ruth First) was educated in Britain where she has spent all her adult life.
Since Nelson Mandela's release she has made frequent visits to South Africa. She has written seven books.