Major critical works on creative literature have paid inadequate attention to women, perpetuating a male-dominated viewpoint. This work from a woman academic who has made a particular study of women writers' self-perceptions and the representation of heroines in African fiction, examines the dilemma of the woman as a writer and protagonist in contemporary African fiction. The socio-cultural perception of women and the dominant factors that encourage problems or crises in their lives, are the central concerns. The works of a number of major African writers in particular are examined: Buchi Emecheta, Bessie Head, Flora Nwapa and Grace Ogot; and male writers Peter Abraham, Cyprian Ekwensi, Alex la Guma, Ngugi wa Thiong'o and Ousmane Sembene.