âA page turner and history lesson at once, Harlem Rhapsody reminds us that our stories are our generational wealthâ this book and the real lives that inspired it.ââTayari Jones, New York Times bestselling author of An American Marriage (Oprahâs Book Club Pick)
She found the literary voices that would inspire the worldâĻ. The extraordinary story of the woman who ignited the Harlem Renaissance, written by Victoria Christopher Murray, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Personal Librarian.
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In 1919, a high school teacher from Washington, D.C arrives in Harlem excited to realize her lifelong dream. Jessie Redmon Fauset has been named the literary editor of The Crisis. The first Black woman to hold this position at a preeminent Negro magazine, Jessie is poised to achieve literary greatness. But she holds a secret that jeopardizes it all.
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W. E. B. Du Bois, the founder of The Crisis, is not only Jessieâs boss, heâs her lover. And neither his wife, nor their fourteen-year-age difference can keep the two apart. Amidst rumors of their tumultuous affair, Jessie is determined to prove herself. She attacks the challenge of discovering young writers with fervor, finding sixteen-year-old Countee Cullen, seventeen-year-old Langston Hughes, and Nella Larsen, who becomes one of her best friends. Under Jessieâs leadership, The Crisis thrivesâĻevery African American writer in the country wants their work published there.
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When her first novel is released to great acclaim, itâs clear that Jessie is at the heart of a renaissance in Black music, theater, and the arts. She has shaped a generation of literary legends, but as she strives to preserve her legacy, sheâll discover the high cost of her unparalleled success.