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"Written in 1929 at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, Plum Bun is the story of Angela Murray, a young black girl who discovers she can pass for white. After the death of her parents, Angela moves to New York to escape the racism she believes is her only obstacle to opportunity. What she soon discovers is that being a woman has its own burdens that don't fade with the color of one's skin, and that love and marriage might not offer her salvation"--
List of contents
Foreword by Morgan Jerkins
Home
Market
Plum Bun
Home Again
Market Is Done
Afterword by Deborah McDowell
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading
About the author
Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882-1961) was a poet, essayist, novelist, and educator. Though often overlooked, she was a central figure in shaping the Harlem Renaissance. Fauset served as the literary editor of the NAACP’s magazine,
The Crisis, from 1919 to 1926 where she published the works of writers such as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Nella Larsen. Fauset published four novels, including
There is Confusion and
The Chinaberry Tree.
Summary
For readers of The Vanishing Half, a hidden gem from the Harlem Renaissance about a young Black woman’s journey toward self-acceptance while passing as white in 1920s New York City.
Originally published in 1929 at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, Plum Bun is the story of Angela Murray, a young Black woman of mixed heritage who uses the advantages of her lighter skin to escaper her own life. Beginning with a childhood in her Black middle class Philadelphia neighborhood, Angela dreams of being a renowned painter. She believes she will only achieve this through whiteness and being a part of white society. Bestowed with the light skin of her mother, while her sister Virginia’s darker complexion resembles that of their father’s, Angela refuses to accept a life dictated by the limitations that come with her race and gender.
Leaving behind her family and identity, Angela escapes to a roaring New York City where she befriends the art elites and presents herself as a white woman. Thrust into a world of seduction, betrayal, love, lust, and heartbreak, Angela soon discovers that to find true fulfillment within herself, she must accept and embrace her own identity—both her race and gender. Written with meticulous care and appreciation for the complicated nature of her characters, while also highlighting the beauty of every day Black life, Jessie Redmon Fauset’s Plum Bun raises important questions to inspire new readers.
