The Complete Fiction of Nella Larsen (Paperback)

Nella Larsen

ISBN 10: 0385721005 / ISBN 13: 9780385721004

Published by Random House USA Inc, New York, 2001

About this Item

Paperback. A remarkable volume that brings together the complete fiction of the author of Passing and Quicksand, one of the most gifted writers of the Harlem Renaissance."An original and hugely insightful writer."-The New York TimesThroughout her short but brilliant literary career, Nella Larsen wrote piercing dramas about the black middle class that featured sensitive, spirited heroines struggling to find a place where they belonged. Passing, Larsen's best-known work, is a disturbing story about the unraveling lives of two childhood friends, one of whom turns her back on her past and marries a white bigot. Just as disquieting is the portrait in Quicksand of Helga Crane, half black and half white, who is unable to escape her loneliness no matter where and with whom she lives. Race and marriage offer few securities here or in the other stories in this compulsively readable collection, rich in psychological complexity and imbued with a sense of place that brings Harlem vibrantly to life. In this collection, readers rediscover one of the most gifted writers of the Harlem Renaissance, whose career flamed brightly but briefly in the 1920s. Nella Larsen's subject is the struggle of sensitive, spirited heroines to find a place for themselves in a hostile world. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780385721004

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Complete Fiction of Nella Larsen (Paperback)
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc, New York
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385721005
• ISBN 13: 9780385721004
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

A remarkable volume that brings together the complete fiction of the author of Passing and Quicksand, one of the most gifted writers of the Harlem Renaissance. • "An original and hugely insightful writer." —The New York Times

Throughout her short but brilliant literary career, Nella Larsen wrote piercing dramas about the black middle class that featured sensitive, spirited heroines struggling to find a place where they belonged. Passing, Larsen’s best-known work, is a disturbing story about the unraveling lives of two childhood friends, one of whom turns her back on her past and marries a white bigot. Just as disquieting is the portrait in Quicksand of Helga Crane, half black and half white, who is unable to escape her loneliness no matter where and with whom she lives. Race and marriage offer few securities here or in the other stories in this compulsively readable collection, rich in psychological complexity and imbued with a sense of place that brings Harlem vibrantly to life.

About the Author

NELLA LARSEN (1891-1964) was the author of two novels, Quicksand and Passing, and several short stories. She received a Guggenheim fellowship to write a third novel in 1930 but, unable to find a publisher for it, she disappeared from the literary scene and worked as a nurse. Larsen died in New York City in 1964.