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Quicksand & Passing
Series: Serpent's Tail Classics
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 4,588 ratings, 233 reviews)
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
A classic of women's literature in a new, elegant edition.
A classic of women's literature in a new, elegant edition
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
A writer of the Harlem Renaissance, Nella Larsen wrote just two novels, published here, and a handful of short stories. Critically acclaimed, both speak powerfully of the contradictions and restrictions experienced by black women at that time.
Quicksand, written in 1928, is an autobiographical novel about Helga Crane, a mixed race woman caught between fulfilling her desires and gaining respectability in her middle-class neighbourhood.
Written a year later, Passing tells the story of two childhood friends, Clare and Irene, both light-skinned enough to pass as white. Reconnecting in adulthood, Clare has chosen to live as a white woman, while Irene embraces black culture and has an important role in her community.
Nella Larsen's novels are moving, characterful, and important books. She pioneered writing about the conflicts of sexuality, race, and the secret suffering of women in the early twentieth century.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Nella Larsen's Quicksand and Passing have received praise for their vivid exploration of the black middle class's interior dramas in Harlem, with The New York Times noting their insightful nature. Alice Walker found them absorbing and fascinating, while Hazel Carby from Yale highlighted Quicksand's challenge to traditional romance narratives. Maya Angelou described discovering Larsen's work as a delightful and guilt-free pleasure, and The Irish Times recognised them as precious and unusual works.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781846687853
Publisher: Profile Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 22 May 2014
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Serpent's Tail
Edition: Main - Classic edition
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 18.0mm
Width: 128.0mm
Height: 196.0mm
Weight: 204g
Pages: 256
About the Author
Nella Larsen was born in Chicago in 1893 to a Danish mother and a West Indian father. She began writing during the Harlem Renaissance, a period during which black artists, writers, and musicians were prominent in the New York art scene. The success of Quicksand and Passing made Nella Larsen one of the most f.ted woman writers of her generation. She died in 1964 in obscurity.
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Quicksand & Passing
A beautifully designed series that pays homage to the essential books of the most important and revolutionary Black arts movements in modern history. VINTAGE CLASSICS' HARLEM RENAISSANCE SERIES Celebrating the finest works of the Harlem Renaissance, one of the most important Black arts movements in modern history. 'She could neither conform nor be happy in her unconformity.' Nella Larsen wrote...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Passing
Introducing Little Clothbound Classics - irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. Clare Kendry, elegant, fair-skinned and ambitious, is married to a white man who is unaware of her African-American heritage. When she reunites with childhood friend Irene, who has not hidden her origins, both women are...Hardback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Quicksand
Quicksand by Nella Larsen is a powerful first novel that evocatively portrays the racial and gender restrictions that can mark a life. Born to a white mother and an absent black father, and despised for her dark skin, Helga Crane has long had to fend for herself. As a young woman, Helga teaches at an all-black school in the South,...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Pre-orderPassing
Experience a BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Nella Larsen and her devastating masterpiece of two women navigating a friendship in a racially divided world. The classic 1920s story of a friendship torn apart, Passing is Nella Larsen's devastating masterpiece. Irene Redfield is living a life of careful balance in Harlem when a chance encounter draws her back into the orbit of Clare...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableOut 20 Oct 2026Pre-order
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