The year is 1919 and Jessie Redmon Fauset arrives in Harlem to live her dream. Jessie is a high school teacher from Washington DC. She has just been named the literary editor of The Crisis. Jessie is the first Black woman to hold this position at such an influential magazine. Jessie makes such an impact at the magazine that most Black writers want their work featured in it. But a secret affair could jeopardize it all. W.E.B. Du Bois is the founder of The Crisis and is Jessie’s boss. He is also her lover. There is nothing that can keep them away from each other. But at what cost?
Harlem Rhapsody gives us an introduction into not only to the Harlem Renaissance but to Jessie Redmon Fauset. Victoria Christopher Murray does an excellent job of bringing Jessie’s story to life. Christopher Murray also handled Jessie and W.E.B. Du Bois shocking affair very delicately. The most interesting part of this story is how Jessie discovered so many authors of the Harlem Renaissance like Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Nella Larsen. You can picture the sights, sounds, and fashion of Harlem during that time in history. Harlem Rhapsody is a wonderful ode to the Harlem Renaissance and to the writers who shaped it.
Reviewed by Radiah Hubbert
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