Author: Cynthia McLeod
Alternate names: C. MacLeod
Born: 4 October 1936
Bio: Cynthia Henri McLeod (née Ferrier) is a Surinamese novelist known for her historic novels and whose debut novel instantly made her one of the most prominent authors of Suriname. McLeod was born in Paramaribo as Cynthia Ferrier; she is the daughter of Johan Ferrier, the first President of Suriname. McLeod completed her secondary school education in Suriname and continued her education in the Netherlands, where she become a teacher in Child Care and Education. As a teacher, she participated in a project for education renewal, and wrote a number of stories for children which were published in the series *Van Hier en daar en Overal*.

In 1962, she and her husband, Dr. Donald McLeod, went to Suriname, where McLeod studied for a teaching degree in Dutch language and Dutch literature, which she taught in pre-university education in Paramaribo from 1969-78. In 1986 the McLeods returned to Suriname and in 1987 her debut novel *Hoe duur was de suiker?* was published. The novel was later turned into a movie with the same name, and broadcast as a mini series. She published other historical novels, such as *Herinneringen aan Mariënburg*. McLeod also wrote books for children. The most important are *Lafu* (1992) and *Toen het vakantie was* (1999).

McLeod studied the life of Elisabeth Samson, a free black woman whose name occurs prominently in historical works on Suriname because she wanted to marry a white man (which was forbidden in the colony Suriname during the first half of the 18th century). The results of this research were first published as a study by the Faculty of Cultural Anthropology of the University of Utrecht. For the next eight years McLeod studied the social structure and life of that period, which allowed her to position Elisabeth as a rich free black person in this society dominated by prejudices and white supremacy. She then wrote the novel *The Free Negress Elisabeth*.

Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_McLeod)