HARLEM RHAPSODY - Victoria Christopher Murray
Random House/Berkley
BUY
Cheryl McNeil (A++)
FICTION (Historical)

REVIEW: HARLEM RHAPSODY is more than the New York Times best-selling author, Victoria Christopher Murray’s latest work of historical fiction. It’s a passion project. The book opens with Jessie Redmon Fauset’s arrival in New York in 1919 to become the Literary Editor of the NAACP magazine, The Crisis. She had been a high school teacher in D.C. and a contributing writer for the magazine. Her ‘bonus’ mother agreed to accompany her to the big city, where her sister and brother-in-law already lived. In the opening pages it is evident that she and Dr. W.E.B Dubois share a special relationship that her ‘bonus’ mother does not like due to their age difference, and the fact that he is a married man.
In addition to Fauset and Dr. Dubois’ professional and personal relationship, Ms. Murray explores Miss Fauset’s mentorships of young poets and authors and how she is a critical figure at the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance. She edited the works of Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Jean Toomer, just to name a few. Ms. Murray eloquently captures what could have been the burdens that have been placed on the characters’ shoulders like Langston Hughes balancing his passion vs. the education and career his father has selected for him. She also captures the frustrations that Sadie Tanner Mossell must have experienced by having her PhD, but not able to find a suitable position that matched her education. We also learn how important Miss Fauset was not only to The Crisis and the NAACP, but to the entire creative community.
Writing about Ms. Fauset and Dr. Dubois’ affair could be considered a difficult topic to explore. It is, however, historically accurate by many accounts. An interesting and ironic concept is how Ms. Fauset came to know Dr. Dubois’ work. She receives The Souls of Black Folk from her father when she is in college and would often discusses books with him. Her relationship with Dr. Dubois starts out in a similar way and evolved from there.
Facts anchor this fictional story. Ms. Murray addresses the atrocities of lynching, the Tulsa massacre and Rosewood. She also captures key events during the time, like the important speech that Fauset gave at the League of Nations on behalf of the NAACP and her becoming an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta. There are interesting debates throughout the story about what is considered progress and the different ways that black people view themselves.
I thoroughly enjoyed HARLEM RHAPSODY and how Ms. Murray uses music from the period and the lines from her mentees poems to breathe life into this amazing story. HARLEM RHAPSODY has earned the Award of Excellence, and I highly recommend this important book!
4th February 2025 | romcol@gmail.com
Award of Excellence