Author: VictoriaChristopher Murray

Publisher: Berkley

ISBN: 9780593638484

(Editorial note: I usedthe word "Negro" in this review, because that was the wordthe author used all throughout her book and how Black people referredto themselves in the early 20th century. In no way, shape, or form doI condone using words in a derogatory or offensive manner. However, Ido think it's important to use them correctly within historicalcontext, which is why I've used it in my review. If I was speaking toa Black person or about Black writers, artists, or Black people ingeneral in current times, I would use the term "Black" or"African-American.")

A young woman moves to NewYork for a new job and to make her writing dreams come true. Whatbegins as a simple job turns into a major turning point in a movementthat will eventually give the country some of its most importantwriters. 

Author Victoria Christopher Murray introduces readers to acrucial historical figure in our nation’s development of keyauthors in a book that feels more like a textbook at times in thenovel Harlem Rhapsody.

It's 1919, and JessieRedmon Fauset gets off the train in New York City from Philadelphiawith her mother and a trunk full of dreams in tow. She’s here atthe behest of Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the forerunners of civilrights for Black people in the 20th century. 

Will, as she calls him,has created the position of literary editor for Jessie at The Crisis,the magazine he founded that has quickly become a megaphone for Negrovoices in their time. She’s also in New York because she and Willare in love, despite his status as a married man and herdetermination never to become attached to anyone in that way.

Yet she is attached. WhenJessie isn’t taking in the sights and sounds of her new home inHarlem, she’s working on The Crisis and spending all of her time,work and personal, with Will. Jessie’s mother doesn’t approve atall. 

She warns Jessie time and again that remaining so strongly tiedto a married man can only bring heartache for Jessie eventually, andin her head Jessie knows her mother is right. Her heart, however, hasits own resolve and won’t let Will go. 

It doesn’t help that Willseeks her out in their free time for stolen nights together.

Even with the strong drawof Will, though, soon enough Jessie starts to find her feet in Harlemand her new job all on her own. She’s eager to nurture and guidenew writers as she helps them prepare for publication in The Crisis. 

The magazine has a strong subscription base, and Jessie is determinedto further solidify the publication’s hold. Racism, while lesspronounced in New York, is still rampant everywhere. 

The Crisis actsas a voice for so many across the country who feel like theirs hasbeen stolen from them because of the color of their skin.

Along with acting aseditor, Jessie has dreams of releasing her own novel. She spends hertime trying to balance her writing time, networking with otherpublishers, discovering new writers, and her affair with 

Will in awhirlwind life. It isn’t until she finally achieves her dream thatshe understands she hasn’t just been guiding new writers on theirway to lifelong success; she’s been ushering in a movement.

Author VictoriaChristopher Murray tells the story of a little-known figure whodiscovered some of the most critically-acclaimed Black authors of alltime: Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, and Countee Cullen, among others. 

The story of Jessie Redmon Fauset, like so many other women inhistory, has receded to the background of more prominent figures,like W.E.B. Du Bois. Yet as Murray proves, people like Jessie need tobe highlighted, celebrated, and remembered. In that regard, the bookdeserves high praise.

However, the novel attimes reads less like “historical fiction” and more like ahistory textbook. Murray’s eagerness to share Jessie RedmonFauset’s accomplishments gives all of them equal importance, whichmakes the book proceed on a lateral line rather than building to aclear climax. 

Without anything other than Jessie’s affair with DuBois and the occasional conflicts between them, the book losescohesion at times.

As the author explains inher note in the back of the book, she intentionally devotes a greatdeal of time and story real estate to the affair Jessie had withW.E.B. Du Bois. 

The relationship drew the ire of many of theircontemporaries, and the reported treatment Du Bois gave Fauset willsurprise and even disappoint some readers. 

The man responsible for somany major civil rights actions, including the founding of the NAACP,was, in the author’s words, “misogynistic and elitist,” and shewrites him in many scenes through that lens.

The writing aside, readerswill appreciate learning more about this woman who stood her groundand chose to chart her own path in a time when women were activelyencouraged to focus on hearth and home. 

Those who enjoy learningabout less well-known figures in history will want to check this out.I recommend readers Bookmark Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria ChristopherMurray.