Clare Kendry has severed all ties with her past in this classic novel by Nella Larsen. The story follows Clare, who hides her African background from her white husband, and her reunion with her childhood friend Irene, who does not conceal her origins. Confronted with this, both women are forced to critically examine their lives and relationships.
This edition belongs to The Penguin English Library, a collection of high-quality fiction from the eighteenth century to after the Second World War.
Description
Clare Kendry has severed all ties with her past. Elegant, fair-skinned and ambitious, she is married to a white man unaware of her African-American heritage. Upon reconnecting with her childhood friend Irene, who openly embraces her origins, both women face the challenge of reassessing their marriages and hidden fears. Nella Larsen’s sharp-witted and psychologically nuanced story about identity and conflicts made her a prominent voice within the Harlem Renaissance.
The Penguin English Library - collections of leading English fiction from the eighteenth century to just after the Second World War.
Promotional information
A classic work on American racial tensions, now available in the Penguin English Library.
Product specifications
- Author: Nella Larsen
- Series: The Penguin English Library
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
- Imprint: Penguin Classics
- Binding type: B-format paperback
- Publication date: 2020-10-01
- Number of pages: 128
- ISBN: 9780241472712
- Theme: Classic fiction: literary and general
- BISAC: FICTION / Classics
About the author
Nella Larsen (1891-1964) was an American novelist and influential figure in the Harlem Renaissance. She lived in Chicago, Nashville, Denmark and New York, where she worked as a nurse and a librarian. With her novels Quicksand (1928) and Passing (1929) she achieved an enduring status as one of the most important Black women writers in American literary history.