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Ticey G. (Andover, KS)
Intriguing & Educational Historical Fiction
To me, the sign of a good historical fiction novel is when I can't wait to Google and learn more about the characters and this one fits the bill. I'll admit I'm not a huge fan of poetry so I had never heard of Jessie Redmon Fauset (or some of the poets she "births" throughout the story, but I'm so glad I now know her story and the impact she had on the Harlem Renaissance. What a truly spectacular and important woman of history.
Fans of historical fiction will enjoy this and it would make for a great book club discussion as well! There's so much to unpack.
Jennie_W
Harlem Rhapsody
This was an enjoyable read. Jessie Redmon Fauset is not somebody I had been familiar with before this and am glad to have learned about her. The Harlem Renaissance was an important time in our history bringing us several prolific writers, artists, musicians and performers. It is always heartening to read about strong women, especially women of color, and this story brought to life the emotions, struggles and family life of Ms. Fauset in a way that takes makes you feel as if you are there with her. It touches on the suffragette movement, the NAACP, black culture and much more. Overall, an enjoyable read with much historical research.
Julie_P
Harlem Rhapsody, by Victoria Christopher Murray
As in The Personal Librarian, co-written with Marie Benedict, Murray brings to light an accomplished young woman who was responsible for encouraging many young black writers at a time (1912) when getting their work known was a difficult endeavor. Jessie Redmon Fauset
is herself a talented writer who has just been appointed to the position of literary editor by W.E.B. Dubois for a NAACP-sponsored magazine at a time when black women editors were unheard of. She has also embarked on an affair with him, a married man and father, a relationship that she tries unsuccessfully to keep private. Murray writes equally about the affair and the young writers that Jess mentors, including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and others. The author tries hard, perhaps too hard, to educate readers about Jessie and her accomplishments; at times it seems too much, and the novel begins to drag. Murray sheds light on the character of Dubois - he seems above all else dedicated to the improvement of the Negro race, at times to the detriment of his relationships.The reader is left to question his and Jessie's long standing, on-again, off-again affair as to whether Dubois took advantage of her or truly loved her. All told, Murray is successful in bringing to light a previously unknown black woman of considerable talent.
Jill_D1
A Worthwhile Historical Novel
I received a pre publication copy of Victoria Christopher"s latest novel Harlem Rhapsody. It tells the story of Jessie Redmon Fauset, the literary editor of The NAACP's magazine, The Crisis, from 1919-1925. While Harlem Rhapsody is historical fiction, Miss Fauset's accomplishments are not. In an era where women, especially black women, had limited rights and limited access to education, she was a Cornell graduate, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and an accomplished writer and poet. She nurtured major poets and writers including Countee Cullen, Nella Larson, Jean Toomer and Langston Hughes, who called her the midwife of the Harlem Renaissance. She also rubbed shoulders with Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters, Marcus Garvey, and Charles MacKay. It was enlightening to learn about her world.
This novel is also a love story of sorts. She was appointed the literary editor of The Crisis by W.E.B. Dubois, the civil rights icon, her mentor and her lover, He is a monumental historical figure and very impactful on Miss Fauset's trajectory. However, I would have preferred more history and less relationship. The love story detracts from this woman, seemingly lost to history, and overshadows her individual achievements.
It was interesting to learn that Ms. Murray had only recently learned about Miss Fauset. I am glad that she decided to discover the renaissance life of Jesse Redmone Fauset and share it with us. I recommend this novel to those interested in history, women's history, the Harlem Renaissance, United States history, and black history. For me, it was a welcome education.
Claire M. (New York, NY)
Harlem Rhapsody
I've read quite a few books by Black authors of that era but hadn't heard of Jessie Fauset and now she's having a moment. Murray, whom I'd not heard of either, has brought Jessie to life and effectively brought out her importance to the Renaissance. There were parts I thought were soap opera but really it's a Romance novel. I did learn some interesting things about Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, and W.E.B. Du bois. Perhaps I was expecting a different approach but this should get people interested in Jessie and the enormous impact she had on the movement.
Cheryl_Winter
Harlem Renaissance
I really enjoyed this book. I did not know this part of history, the publishing world, the struggle to be black along with being a woman. This is based on the life Jesse Redmon Fauset. She becomes the literary editor of the black magazine The Crisis. Jesse is determined to make the magazine the best there is by finding young black talent and soon every black writer in America wants to be published in her magazine. She is having an affair with her editor, the founder of the magazine. She doesn't want marriage or children. My only criticism was the author used so many words I had to look up as I was not familiar with them. It disrupted the flow of the story.
Labmom55
Too much romance
I have read both books that Victoria Christopher Murray wrote with Marie Benedict, but this is the first solo effort of hers that I’ve read. Unfortunately, I wasn’t totally impressed.
I love historical fiction that introduces me to people I wasn’t aware of. Jessie Fauset definitely is someone I’m glad I “got to know”. A brilliant woman, she became the literary editor of The Crisis, the preeminently black magazine of the early 20th Century. In that position, she came into contact with many of the black writers of the day, including a young Langston Hughes. In fact, Hughes called her “the literary midwife” of the New Negro Movement. I enjoyed the chapters that focused on the magazine and her work there. This was a poignant reminder that in earlier days, poetry held a much more esteemed position than it does today.
She was also the mistress of W.E.B. Du Bois. While I recognize it was a big part of her life, I would have liked a lot less emphasis on their affair. This reads like a romance novel. It felt like half the book either involved their time together or her thinking about their romance. And then another whole section involved how upset her family was about the affair. Du Bois comes across as one more important man with “a zipper problem” as my mother would say. In her Author’s Note, Murray indicated she struggled with how much focus to place on the affair. I believe she could have gotten her point across, which was that without the affair, she would never have had her job and discovered so many of these young authors, without spending so much time on their time together.
My thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for an advance copy of this book.
Linda_J
Harlem Rhapsody
I was eager to read this book by Victoria Christopher Murray since I truly loved "The Personal Librarian" which she co-wrote. Although interesting and educational, this book did not live up to my expectations.o I was not aware of Jessie Rodman Fauset and her influence on writers of the Harlem Renaissance whom I do know about (Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and even Zora Neale Huston). Even though the chapters were relatively short, I wasn't glued to the book. I could and did put it down for longer periods of time than are usual for me. I WILL still look forward to Ms. Murray's next book and I will look for Jessie Rodman Fauset's books and poetry to familiarize myself with her work.
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