Name: The Chinaberry Tree
Brand: Union Square & Co.
SKU: 9781454973300
Price: 17.99 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9781454973300

By Jessie Redmon Fauset

On Sale: Jul 13, 2027
Page Count: 320 pages
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
ISBN-13: 9781454973300

$17.99

$23.99 CAD

Format

Format:

Trade Paperback $17.99 $23.99 CAD
ebook $11.99 $15.99 CAD

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Jessie Redmon Fauset’s searing novel of “respectability” among the 20th century African-American middle class, newly reissued for Union Square & Co.’s Herald Classics line.

Set in a small, suburban town in early 1900s New Jersey, The Chinaberry Tree follows Laurentine, a young woman struggling to overcome her “bad blood” inherited from her mother’s illicit interracial union. Proud and independent, she feels the only way to gain respectability is through marriage with a decent man. Her plans are uprooted by the arrival of her tenacious, overly-confident cousin Melissa, who also aspires to “marry up” in life. However, as family secrets and new revelations come to light with explosive consequences, both women must redefine “respectable” for themselves, as they find their own sense of identity.

Featuring a new introduction, this reissue of a marginalized author’s masterpiece is an essential but overlooked classic.

Genre:

Fiction Classics

Series:

Herald Classics

Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882–1961) was a novelist, editor, essayist, and poet. She was a notable figure of the Harlem Renaissance, working as editor of the NAACP magazine, The Crisis, as well as editor and co-author of the Black children's magazine, The Brownies' Book. She published four novels depicting realistic portrayals of Black life in America including There is Confusion (1924) and The Chinaberry Tree (1931). She is also known for discovering and mentoring other prominent Black writers including Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, and Countee Cullen.

Jessie Redmon Fauset

About the Author

Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882–1961) was a novelist, editor, essayist, and poet. She was a notable figure of the Harlem Renaissance, working as editor of the NAACP magazine, The Crisis, as well as editor and co-author of the Black children’s magazine, The Brownies’ Book. She published four novels depicting realistic portrayals of Black life in America including There is Confusion (1924) and The Chinaberry Tree (1931). She is also known for discovering and mentoring other prominent Black writers including Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, and Countee Cullen.

Learn more about this author