Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray (Hardcover) (PREORDER)

Fiction - Historical - African American & Black

RELEASE DATE: 2/4/2025 (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER'S WAREHOUSE AND ARRIVE 1-2 DAYS AFTER THE RELEASE DATE)

“A page turner and history lesson at once, Harlem Rhapsody reminds us that our stories are our generational wealth— this book and the real lives that inspired it.”—Tayari Jones, New York Times bestselling author of An American Marriage (Oprah’s Book Club Pick)

She found the literary voices that would inspire the world…. 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.
 
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.
 
W. E. B. Du Bois, the founder of The Crisis, is not only Jessie’s boss, he’s 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 Jessie’s leadership, The Crisis thrives…every African American writer in the country wants their work published there.
 
When her first novel is released to great acclaim, it’s 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, she’ll discover the high cost of her unparalleled success.

AUTHOR BIO: 

Victoria Christopher Murray is a New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including The Personal Librarian, a Good Morning America book club pick, and The First Ladies, Target's 2023 Book of the Year, both of which she coauthored with Marie Benedict. She is a NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Literary Work for her novel Stand Your Ground, which was also a Library Journal Best Book of the Year. She holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.

"Murray's meticulous research brings this exciting period in American literary and artistic history into the spotlight and sheds a welcome light on an important and intriguing figure whose influence often goes unmentioned."
-- Booklist (starred review)

"A winning portrait of Harlem Renaissance figure Jessie Redmon Fauset... Historical fiction fans will want to snatch this up."
--Publishers Weekly

"An engaging account of an underappreciated yet pivotal figure in literary history."
-- Library Journal

"A celebration of a woman who worked behind the scenes."
-- Kirkus

"The Harlem Renaissance springs vibrantly to life in the talented hands of Victoria Christopher Murray, who shines a brilliant and long-overdue light on powerhouse civil rights activist and literary sensation Jessie Redmon Fauset. Harlem Rhapsody is one of the best books of the year!"
-- Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Briar Club

"Major kudos to Murray for resurrecting the memory of Jessie Redmon Fauset, the strong-willed literary editor who discovered and encouraged the great writers of the Harlem Renaissance...An exquisite rendering of Fauset's struggles and triumphs as a woman and an artist. Not to be missed."
-- Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Queen

"With Murray's exquisite storytelling, Jessie Redmon Fauset bursts off the page... Harlem Rhapsody is a love story to the creative life, to a woman's resolve, and to the legacy Jessie Redmon Fauset carved in a time of struggle and brilliance."
-- Patti Callahan Henry , New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea

"A strong contender for the best book I've read all year. This is a tale of love, of literature, of a time when a woman, despite racism and sexism, continued to fight for her place in the world, a place she deserved more than anyone. What a magnificent novel; it belongs on everyone's bookshelves ."
-- Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Orphan

"Murray's rich prose and vivid historical detail immerses the reader in the Harlem Renaissance and offers an intimate look into the personal and professional life of a literary icon who created an unforgettable legacy. A must-read!"
-- Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of The House on Biscayne Ba