A rediscovered classic about how racism and sexism tests the spirit, ambition, and character of three children growing up in Hell’s Kitchen and Harlem, from the literary editor of The Crisis, the official magazine of the NAACP With an introduction by New York Times bestselling author Morgan Jerkins Set in early-twentieth-century New York City, There Is Confusion tells the story of three Black children: Joanna Marshall, a talented dancer willing to sacrifice everything for success; Maggie Ellersley, an extraordinarily beautiful girl determined to leave her working-class background behind; and Peter Bye, a clever would-be surgeon who is driven by his love for Joanna. As children, Maggie, Joanna, and Peter support one another’s dreams, but as young adults,romance threatens to upset the balance of their friendship. One afternoon, Joanna makes two irrevocable decisions—and sets off a chain of events that wreaks havoc with all of their lives. First published to immense critical acclaim in 1924, written with an Austen-like eye for social dynamics, There Is Confusion is an unjustly forgotten classic that celebrates Black ambition, love, and the struggle for equality. The Modern Library Torchbearers series features women who wrote on their own terms, with boldness, creativity, and a spirit of resistance.

Jessie Redmon Fauset’s varied and extensive body of literary art encompassed the entire era of the Harlem Renaissance—and beyond. She produced the most essays and novels of any African American woman of the time and was a prolific writer of short stories, essays, and poems for adults and children. As a writer, editor, mentor, and diplomat, Fauset was an essential, unwavering, and unsung force of the Harlem Renaissance. This volume celebrates Fauset’s exceptional and often overlooked talent as a writer with the first complete collection of her short fiction, poems, and personal essays published in Harlem Renaissance periodicals, anthologies, and literary journals. It includes all of the original illustrations! From the astounding gamut of Fauset’s writing, this is a collection of her most imaginative work. Her short stories are precursors to her four popular novels, addressing racial identity, self-esteem, gender restraints, class conflicts, and institutional racism. Her poetry is timeless. Her expressive first-person narratives offer insights into the life and times of an extraordinary writer and visionary. Fauset grew up in Philadelphia and was among the first Black women to graduate from Cornell. While teaching at the prestigious Dunbar High School, she contributed essays, stories, poems, and reviews to The Crisis, a prestigious African American periodical. At the invitation of W.E.B. Du Bois, she became its Literary Editor. During her long and active tenure, Fauset fostered and published many Harlem Renaissance greats, including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude McKay. Fauset co-founded and edited The Brownies’ Book, a magazine designed to entertain and empower African American children, and was one of its main contributors. In his memoir, Langston Hughes commends Fauset as one of the three “midwives” of the Harlem Renaissance.

This is the first complete collection of Jessie Redmon Fauset’s Harlem Renaissance poems, which invites readers to absorb the true breadth and depth of Fauset’s insightful and relevant poetry. Her beautiful and accessible poems are as profound and moving today as they were a hundred years ago. Fauset's novels and short stories addressed themes of racial identity, gender restraints, class conflicts, and institutional racism. Her fiction opens a door to her inner self. Through her poetry, she brings us even closer to her heart with more intimate expressions of beauty, love, anger, pain, and playfulness. “La Vie C’est La Vie” expresses unrequited love. “Oriflamme” is a powerful and personal indictment of slavery. Fauset contributed many fun and adventurous poems for children to The Brownies’ Book. Jessie Fauset was published more than any other African American woman of the Harlem Renaissance. Her poetry appeared consistently in anthologies and periodicals. And yet her accomplishments as a literary artist have been largely overlooked. Today, Fauset’s writing is being reexamined and applauded. As the Literary Editor of The Crisis, the largest African American periodical of the era, Fauset discovered and cultivated writers, including Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. Fauset was the Literary Editor of The Brownies’ Book, the first magazine dedicated to entertaining and empowering African American children. For more than two decades, Fauset shared influential articles, essays, and reviews, and worked tirelessly as an activist for race and gender equality. Includes an Introduction with Fauset's biography and insights into her poetry.

Jane Austen meets the Harlem Renaissance in this novel of three young, ambitious Black Americans striving for love and success in the big city. Set in 1920s New York City, There Is Confusion tells the story of three friends who grew up supporting one another's dreams. But now that they are young adults, things are not so simple . . . First, there is Maggie Ellersley, who is eager to marry up and be free of her blue-collar background. Then, there is Peter Bye, an intelligent aspiring surgeon motivated by his love for Joanna Marshall. Joanna is a talented and driven dancer, who is about to make a decision that will change all their lives . . . Originally published in 1924, There Is Confusion received critical acclaim for its portrayal of middle-class Black America. Author Jessie Redmon Fauset served as literary editor of the NAACP's official magazine, The Crisis, from 1919 to 1926 and fostered the careers of such Harlem Renaissance authors as Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, and Langston Hughes. "An important book." -The New York Times Read less

Angela is beautiful, talented, ambitious, and Black. When she leaves the confines of her family and Philadelphia for the artistic life in Greenwich Village, she makes the choice to enjoy all of the advantages that come with being perceived as white. But being a white woman still means being a woman, and Angela soon finds that navigating love, career, and friends won't be easy on her own. This coming-of-age novel takes a frank look at love and identity and asks, what do we give up and what do we gain when we let the perceptions of others shape who we are?

A rediscovered classic from the Harlem Renaissance about a young Black woman’s journey passing as white in 1920s New York City and her quest for self-acceptance—with an introduction by Glory Edim, founder and author of Well-Read Black Girl. Jessie Redmon Fauset is one of the literary titans and foremost tastemakers of the Harlem Renaissance—hired by W. E. B. Du Bois to edit The Crisis, she helped popularize writers like Nella Larsen, Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, amongst countless others. And yet, her own work has been largely underread in the twenty-first century. Written in 1929, at the height of the Harlem renaissance, Fauset’s celebrated second novel tells the story of Angela Murray. Growing up in a Black middle-class Philadelphia neighborhood, Angela has always dreamed of becoming a painter. But the profession is largely reserved for white society. So when Angela’s parents prematurely pass away, she moves to roaring New York City, where she befriends elite artists and presents herself as a white woman. While her sister Virginia’s complexion resembles that of their father’s, Angela’s is lighter, like her mother’s, and passing, she believes, is the only way she’ll ever achieve success. Virginia, meanwhile, refuses to bow to racist pressures, and stays in Philadelphia to embrace her heritage with pride. Each time Angela thinks she’s found artistic, professional, and romantic fulfillment, her ethnicity gets exposed and she finds herself stripped of everything she cares about. As she navigates a world of seduction, betrayal, lust, and heartbreak, she’s forced to consider: What does it mean to find genuine success in a society marred by injustice? Fauset’s “novel without morals” never passes judgement and stays teeming with tenderness. Full of moments that underline the joy of every day Black life, Plum Bun is a pertinent meditation on art, identity, and what it means to find community—as relevant today as ever before.

A novel of illegitimacy and identity in a small black community.

This ironically titled tale by an influential figure in African-American literature explores the tragic effects of color prejudice and self-hatred. Jessie Redmon Fauset's 1933 novel paints a haunting portrait of internalized racism with its depiction of a domineering mother whose determination for her children to pass as white leads to devastating results for the entire family. African-American editor, poet, essayist, and novelist Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882-1961) was a prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance. An editor of the NAACP magazine The Crisis, she was also an editor and co-author of the African-American children's magazine, The Brownies' Book. Her fourth and final novel, Comedy: American Style, features vivid characterizations and enduring themes that continue to resonate with modern readers.

This ironically titled tale by an influential figure in African-American literature explores the tragic effects of color prejudice and self-hatred. Jessie Redmon Fauset's 1933 novel paints a haunting portrait of internalized racism with its depiction of a domineering mother whose determination for her children to pass as white leads to devastating results for the entire family. African-American editor, poet, essayist, and novelist Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882-1961) was a prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance. An editor of the NAACP magazine The Crisis, she was also an editor and co-author of the African-American children's magazine, The Brownies' Book. Her fourth and final novel, Comedy: American Style, features vivid characterizations and enduring themes that continue to resonate with modern readers.

Adultery, incest, and questions of racial identity simmer beneath the tranquil surface of suburban life in this novel, set in a small New Jersey town of the early 1900s. Lovely young Laurentine is obsessed with her "bad blood," inherited from a common-law interracial union. Proud and independent, she longs for the respectability of a conventional marriage. Laurentine's vivacious and self-confident cousin, Melissa, also aspires to "marry up." But a family secret shadows Melissa's dreams and ambitions as she approaches an explosive revelation. African-American editor, poet, essayist, and novelist Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882-1961) was a prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance. An editor of the NAACP magazine The Crisis, she was also an editor and co-author of the African-American children's magazine, The Brownies' Book. Her third novel, The Chinaberry Tree, draws upon elements of Greek tragedy in its powerful depiction of interracial love and marriage. The tale also offers a modern perspective on the struggle of its African-American heroines toward self-knowledge.