She Came to Stay by Simone de Beauvoir was originally published in France in 1943 as L’Invitee. The autobiographical, philosophical novel was based on de Beauvoir’s open relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre, and takes place just before and during World War II.
The novel’s main character, Françoise, is based on de Beauvoir herself, and Pierre is a thinly veiled Sartre. A younger woman, Xaviere, enters their lives as they form a ménage a trois. Xaviere is a mash-up of sisters Olga and Wanda Kosakiewicz. Read More→
Comedy, American Style by Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882 – 1961) was the last novel by this influential author, poet, and editor associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Published in 1933, the title is completely ironic; this story is, if anything, more of a tragedy.
In this story, Jessie Fauset explores themes of racial identity, self-hatred, and the concept of “passing” in the deeply biased American culture. The main character, Olivia Cary, is a domineering mother who wants her children to pass as white, which leads to to dire consequences for the family. Read More→
Quicksand (1928) was the first novel by by Nella Larsen, an author associated with the Harlem Renaissance. A story with autobiographical elements, it was generally well received, though not a big seller.
Helga Crane, the main character, like Nella Larsen, is the mixed-race daughter of a white Danish mother and a black father.
The plot takes her back and forth from Denmark, “Naxos” (a thinly veiled version of the Tuskegee Institute, where Larsen worked briefly), and Harlem. Wherever Helga goes, she fails to find a community in which she can be comfortable with who she is. Read More→
Nella Larsen (April 13, 1891 – March 30, 1964), born Nellie Walker in Chicago was an American author associated with the Harlem Renaissance movement. Her body of writing was modest, but she was considered a respected voice of her time.
Larsen was the first woman of color to graduate from library school and to receive the Guggenheim Fellowship for creative writing. The theme of her life, and in effect, her work, was a sense of never belonging — not to any community, nor even to an immediate family. Read More→
Astrid Lindgren (1907 – 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays, best known for her children’s book series featuring the independent and strong character Pippi Longstocking.
As of January 2017, Lindgren was the world’s eighteenth most-translated author, and the fourth most-translated children’s book writer. Her books have sold roughly 144 million copies worldwide.
When her daughter Karin was seven years old and recovering from pneumonia, she asked her mother to tell her a story about “Pippi Longstocking.” From that spark, a literary star was born, ultimately changing Astrid Lindgren’s life forever. Read More→
Phillis Wheatley (ca 1753 – December 5, 1784), born in Senegal/Gambia, Africa, was one of the first women to be published in colonial America. She was also the first person in the U.S. to have a book of poetry published while enslaved.
Phillis was kidnapped as part of the slave trade as a young child and brought to North America, where she arrived on July 11, 1761. She arrived on a schooner, The Phillis, undoubtedly the source of her name.
Later, she was described as “a slender, frail female child, supposed to have been about seven years old at the time, from the circumstances of shedding her front teeth.” Read More→
Mary McCarthy (June 21, 1912 – October 25, 1989) was an American novelist, political activist, and critic. Born in Seattle, Washington, she endured a difficult childhood but overcame it to become a woman of strength and determination.
She began her writing career as a critic and gained admiration for her honest observations on culture and politics. In 1942 she published her first novel, The Company She Keeps, about a young woman’s college education, and subsequent foray into New York City social circles.
The Group (1963) was her most commercially successful novel — it sat on the New York Times bestseller list for two years and was made into a film that was more popular with audiences than critics. Read More→
Dorothy West (June 2, 1907 – August 16, 1998) was an American author and editor associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Boston, she started writing as a child and began receiving accolades and awards while still in her teens.
Her writing is admired for its nuanced views of middle and upper middle-class African-American communities and how it comments on gender, class, and social structure through storytelling. Read More→
