Passing

An exciting repackage of Nella Larsen's classic novel, Passing, about two women crossing the color line, which firmly established her prominence among women writers of the Harlem Renaissance, along with a new introduction written by Kaitlyn Greenidge as part of the Modern Library's "Torchbearers" series.

Irene Redfield, the novel's protagonist, is a woman with an enviable life. She and her husband, Brian, a prominent physician, share a comfortable Harlem town house with their sons. Her work arranging charity balls that gather Harlem's elite creates a sense of purpose and respectability for Irene. But her hold on this world begins to slip the day she encounters Clare Kendry, a childhood friend with whom she had lost touch. Clare--light-skinned, beautiful, and charming--tells Irene how, after her father's death, she left behind the black neighborhood of her adolescence and began passing for white, hiding her true identity from everyone, including her racist husband. As Clare begins inserting herself into Irene's life, Irene is thrown into a panic, terrified of the consequences of Clare's dangerous behavior. And when Clare witnesses the vibrancy and energy of the community she left behind, her burning desire to come back threatens to shatter her careful deception. Brilliantly plotted and elegantly written, Passing offers a gripping psychological portrait of emotional extremity.

• Publisher: Random House Modern Library (May 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• Mass Market Paperback: 192 pages
• Paperback ISBN: 9780375758133
• ISBN-13: 9780375758133
• Item Weight: 5 ounces
• Dimensions: 5.14 "W x 8.00 "H x 0.49 "D