Passing and the Rise of the African American Novel

Passing and the Rise of the African American Novel is a groundbreaking reconsideration of a long-misjudged body of American literature. Focusing on the trope of passing - black characters light skinned enough to pass for white - M. Giulia Fabi shows how early African American authors such as William Wells Brown, Frank J. Webb, Frances E. W. Harper, and Charles W. Chesnutt transformed traditional representations of blackness and used passing to celebrate a distinctive African American history, culture, and worldview. They created a body of work that laid the foundation for the Harlem Renaissance and changed the course of American letters.

"This compact study opens up interesting and original perspectives on the theme of passing in early African American fiction and the subsequent critical estimate of it. Thoroughly researched and well executed, it is a valuable contribution to the ongoing scholarly discourse on the literature of passing." -- William Andrews, author of Classic Fiction of the Harlem Renaissance

"Fabi is a splendid close reader who provides fresh interpretations of more- and less-canonical texts in the African American literary tradition. Her ability to put familiar and underread texts in conversation with each other and with later works by black writers makes this study most useful to students and scholars of American and African American literature." -- Valerie Smith, author of Self-Discovery and Authority in Afro-American Narrative