Since today is the last day of Black History Month, I thought I’d wrap up with one more historical fiction recommendation.
I’ve always said that the mark of a great historical fiction novel is if, after reading it, you head online to learn more about the characters. HARLEM RHAPSODY not only had me Googling for info, but inspired my husband and me to add a book to my TBR. (PASSING by Nella Larsen*).
I’d heard about the Harlem Renaissance, but only in passing. I knew very little about the writers of the time beyond Langston Hughes and Zora Neal Hurston. Therefore, I’m grateful to Victoria Christopher Murray for bringing this period to life and educating me about the many talented writers who should have – but weren’t – taught in school. I’m even more grateful for her introducing me to Jessie Redmond Fauset, the author and literary mentor who taught these writers and introduced them to the world.
Unlike so many historical biographies that insist on spanning a person’s entire life, Murray wisely focuses on the years 1919-1926, the years Fauset worked as the literary editor at The Crisis, the magazine published by W.E.B. Du Bois and the NAACP. Not coincidentally, these are also the year’s Fauset was rumored to be having an affair with Du Bois. By concentrating on a narrow segment of Fauset’s life, Murray is able to take what could have been an episodic novel and turn it into a story with tension and character growth. Readers witness Fauset’s growth from smart and talented (but starry-eyed) acolyte to a woman of influence. Maybe it’s because I didn’t know much about Fauset’s history, but I found myself eager to learn where her ambitions would take her.
What impressed me the most, however, is how Murray avoided the trap that affects so many historical biographers, and that is she didn’t shy away from painting Fauset and W.E.B. Du Bois as flawed human beings. I could see where it would be tempting to gloss over their failings – especially with someone like Du Bois, who accomplished so much and did so much for the Black community, but Murray doesn’t. Her Du Bois is simultaneously brilliant and arrogant. She also does a great job of showing the misogyny of the era as the patriarchy often thwarted Fauset’s ambition.
If you like strong female protagonists and want to learn more about the Harlem Renaissance, you should read this book.
*After reading Nella Larsen’s sad life story, I hope Murray uses her talents to tell her tale next.
