Several current high profile cases – think Oscar Pistorius and Shrien Dewani – have raised awareness about a phenomenon dubbed IPV (Intimate Partner Violence).

However, most people regard these tragedies as aberrations. The “other kind” of IPV – the kind that involves long-term abuse - is generally regarded as being confined to South Africa’s deprived communities. We all “know” that incest, wife battering, rape and general abuse are a consequence of poverty, overcrowding, lack of education and poor social infrastructure. Things “like that” just don’t happen in the leafy suburbs – and certainly not within the close-knit, Jewish community. Do they?

In A Beautiful Family, Marilyn Cohen de Villiers’ hard hitting, fast paced, easy-to-read family saga takes readers behind the facade of the beautiful, wealthy, admired Silvermans and into the psyche of the abused as well as the abuser. The novel also examines the reaction of the community to the realisation that “one of us” could do “things like that”.

Set against the backdrop of South Africa’s march to democracy and beyond, the novel spans 40 years and three countries. The story is recounted through the flawed perspectives of seven characters: Brenda and Alan Silverman and their children Yair and Aviva; as well as anti-Apartheid activist Annette Davies; British millionaire Ben Shapiro; and Johannesburg newspaper reporter Tracy Jacobs.

For more information about A Beautiful Family, visit the author’s Facebook page or blog/. The website, www.marilyncohendevilliers.co.za is still under construction.

Published by Reach Publishers, A Beautiful Family is set to hit bookshelves in July. It will also be available from www.megabooks.co.za.

About Marilyn Cohen de Villiers

Marilyn Cohen de Villiers was born and raised in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, the youngest daughter of an extraordinarily ordinary, happy, stable, traditional (rather than observant) Jewish family. After matriculating at Northview High School, she went to Rhodes University in Grahamstown where she completed a B. Journalism degree. This was followed by an English Honours degree (first class), also at Rhodes.

She started her career as a reporter on a daily newspaper at the dawning of the turbulent 1980s. During this period, she interviewed, among others, Frank Sinatra, Jeffrey Archer, Eugene Terre’blanche and Desmond Tutu. She caught crocodiles; avoided rocks and tear smoke canisters in various South African townships; stayed awake through interminable city council meetings and criminal and civil court cases - and learned to interpret balance sheets and understand economic jargon. She also married - and 31 years later remains happily married to - her news editor (now retired), Poen de Villiers.

After the birth of their two daughters, De Villiers ‘crossed over’ into Public Relations. Her writing - articles, media releases, opinion and thought leadership pieces and so on – continues to be published regularly in newspapers and other media, usually under someone else’s by-line.

The unexpected death of a childhood friend and colleague in 2011 spurred her to take stock of her life. A few months later, she started writing A Beautiful Family. She is now working hard on her second novel, When Times Fails.