About this item
Highlights
- There Is Confusion (1924) is a novel by Jessie Redmon Fauset.
- Author(s): Jessie Redmon Fauset
- 224 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, African American
- Series Name: Black Narratives
Description
About the Book
Set in early twentieth-century New York City, There Is Confusion tells the story of Joanna Marshall, a talented dancer willing to sacrifice everything for success; Maggie Ellersley, an extraordinarily beautiful girl determined to leave her working-class background behind; and Peter Bye, a clever would-be surgeon who is driven by his love for Joanna. As children, Maggie, Joanna, and Peter support each other's dreams. But when romance threatens to change the balance of their friendship, Joanna makes two irrevocable decisions--and sets off a chain of events that wreaks havoc with all of their lives. First published to immense critical acclaim in 1924, written with an Austen-like eye for social dynamics and insight into the lives of black women that is reminiscent of Nella Larsen, There Is Confusion is an unjustly forgotten classic about color consciousness, the rise of the black middle class, and the struggle for equality.Book Synopsis
There Is Confusion (1924) is a novel by Jessie Redmon Fauset. Published to resounding acclaim from such critics as Alain Locke and Montgomery Gregory, There Is Confusion was largely forgotten by the 1930s as the Great Depression and the Second World War shifted national attention away from the writers and artists whose vision defined the Harlem Renaissance. Rediscovered by scholars in the late twentieth century, There Is Confusion is seen as a feminist masterpiece on par with the best of Jane Austen and Edith Wharton. Set in Philadelphia and Harlem, Fauset's novel traces the lives of three African Americans from childhood to adulthood while situating their experience in the cultural shifts of the early twentieth century. Joanna Marshall is a dancer who longs for recognition. Maggie Ellersley is a beautiful girl who detests her working-class roots. Peter Bye is an ambitious student who hopes to become a surgeon. As they grow up together, their shared dreams are tarnished by romance and competition. As economic opportunity reshapes the African American community, the three friends must redefine their relationships and desires. Moving and plainspoken, There Is Confusion is a novel grounded in history that manages a delicate balance between the personal and the political without losing sight of the characters who live Fauset's vision. This edition of Jessie Redmon Fauset's There Is Confusion is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.
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From the Back Cover
Joanna, Maggie, and Peter grow up fostering one another's dreams. Despite their diverse interests, they find unity in their shared experience of a rapidly changing culture. As more African Americans enter a growing middle class, a conflict between tradition and modernity ensues that redefines romance and ambition for generations to come. There Is Confusion is a novel by Jessie Redmon Fauset.