Audiobooks by Nella Larsen

"Step into the complex world of race, identity, and societal expectations with Passing by Nella Larsen, a groundbreaking work of the Harlem Renaissance. This audiobook masterfully captures the tension and intrigue of Larsen's exploration of identity, privilege, and the fragile boundaries we construct in our lives. The story follows Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry, two childhood friends who reconnect as adults in 1920s New York. While both women are light-skinned African Americans, Clare has chosen to 'pass' as white, fully immersing herself in a world of privilege and secrecy. As their lives become increasingly entwined, the choices they’ve made ignite questions of loyalty, deception, and belonging. Larsen’s prose is rich, subtle, and evocative, offering a profound examination of the social and emotional costs of racial passing. The audiobook’s expert narration enhances the novel’s atmosphere, drawing listeners into the nuanced emotions and complexities of the characters. Perfect for those interested in classic literature, cultural history, or stories of self-discovery, Passing remains a timeless and thought-provoking exploration of identity and race in America. Start listening to Passing today and experience the brilliance of Nella Larsen’s unforgettable tale!"

Nella Larsen (Author), Oliver Thompson (Narrator)

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70+ Anthology. African American literature. Novels and short stories. Poetry. Non-fiction. Essays:

"African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of enslaved people narratives, African-American literature was dominated by autobiographical spiritual narratives. The genre known as slave narratives in the 19th century were accounts by people who had generally escaped from slavery, about their journeys to freedom and ways they claimed their lives. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s was a great period of flowering in literature and the arts, influenced both by writers who came North in the Great Migration and those who were immigrants from Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. The collection includes works by such prominent masters of American literature as Frederick Douglass, Nella Larsen, Charles W. Chesnutt , Paul Laurence Dunbar, Phillis Wheatley, Langston Hughes, Booker T. Washington , W. E. B. Du Bois and many others. Novels and short stories Frederick Douglass THE HEROIC SLAVE Nella Larsen QUICKSAND PASSING THE WRONG MAN FREEDOM SANCTUARY Alice Dunbar-Nelson A CARNIVAL JANGLE VIOLETS THE WOMAN TEN MINUTES' MUSING TITEE Charles W. Chesnutt THE GOOPHERED GRAPEVINE PO' SANDY SIS' BECKY'S PICKANINNY THE DOLL THE WIFE OF HIS YOUTH Paul Laurence Dunbar THE SCAPEGOAT Jean Toomer BECKY Poetry Phillis Wheatley TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE WILLIAM, EARL OF DARTMOUTH ON VIRTUE AN HYMN TO THE MORNING AN HYMN TO THE EVENING Frances E. W. Harper BURY ME IN A FREE LAND SONGS FOR THE PEOPLE MY MOTHER'S KISS A GRAIN OF SAND OUR HERO THE SPARROW'S FALL James Weldon Johnson SENCE YOU WENT AWAY Paul Laurence Dunbar THE LESSON SYMPATHY WE WEAR THE MASK Claude McKay AFTER THE WINTER IF WE MUST DIE THE TROPICS IN NEW YORK Countee Cullen FOR PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR INCIDENT LANGSTON HUGHES THE WEARY BLUES JAZZONIA NEGRO DANCERS THE CAT AND THE SAXOPHONE (2 A. M.) YOUNG SINGER CABARET TO MIDNIGHT NAN AT LEROY'S TO A LITTLE LOVER-LASS, DEAD HARLEM NIGHT CLUB NUDE YOUNG DANCER YOUNG PROSTITUTE TO A BLACK DANCER IN 'THE LITTLE SAVOY' SONG FOR A BANJO DANCE BLUES FANTASY LENOX AVENUE: MIDNIGHT Non-fiction Frederick Douglass NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS Harriet Jacobs INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL Booker T. Washington UP FROM SLAVERY William Still UNDERGROUND RAILROAD Henry Box Brown James Hambleton Christian Theophilus Collins Seth Concklin William and Ellen Craft Abram Galloway and Richard Eden Charles Gilbert Samuel Green Jamie Griffin Harry Grimes James Hamlet and Others John Henry Hill Ann Maria Jackson and Her Seven Children Jane Johnson Matilda Mahoney Mary Frances Melvin Aunt Hannah Moore Alfred S. Thornton Essays W. E. B. Du Bois THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK Charles W. Chesnutt THE DISFRANCHISEMENT OF THE NEGRO Paul Laurence Dunbar REPRESENTATIVE AMERICAN NEGROES"

Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Booker T. Washington, Charles W. Chesnutt, Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Frances E. W. Harper, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs, James Weldon Johnson, Jean Toomer, Nella Larsen, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Phillis Wheatley, W. E. B. Du Bois, William Still (Author), Jowanna Lewis, Mark Bowen, Peter Coates, Rick Walz, Shawna Wolf (Narrator)

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Quicksand

"Nella Larsen's 'Quicksand' paints a poignant portrait of Helga Crane, a young woman grappling with her mixed racial heritage in the 1920s. Caught between societal expectations and her yearning for identity, Helga navigates different settings – the segregated South, bustling Harlem, and even Denmark – searching for a place to belong. Yet, societal constraints and her own internal struggles leave her feeling trapped, like sinking in quicksand. Through Helga's journey, Larsen explores themes of race, class, and the search for self in a world fraught with prejudice and limited options."

Nella Larsen (Author), Christine Glassman (Narrator)

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Passing

"Passing is a novel by American author Nella Larsen, first published in 1929. Set primarily in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the 1920s, the story centers on the reunion of two childhood friends—Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield—and their increasing fascination with each other's lives. The title refers to the practice of 'racial passing', which is a key element of the novel. Clare Kendry's attempt to pass as white for her husband, John (Jack) Bellew, is significant and is a catalyst for the tragic events"

Nella Larsen (Author), Mark Bowen (Narrator)

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Beyond Passing: The Further Writings of Nella Larsen

"Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel Passing is hailed today as a significant literary work of Harlem Renaissance, though for several decades it, like all of her works, was out of print. As history rights a wrong and recommits Larsen’s name to memory, it is beneficial to look at the other writings she published over her short career, collected here in Beyond Passing: The Further Writings of Nella Larsen. Contained within are her autobiographical novel Quicksand, and three short stories “Freedom,” “The Wrong Man,” and “Sanctuary.” With a growing number of titles under its Magna Releases banner, CSRC Storytelling promotes and provides positivity, power and presence in print, restoring literary classics across genres and making them newly accessible to modern readers. This edition of Nella Larsen’s Passing is a CSRC Storytelling Magna Release."

Nella Larsen (Author), Brittani Minnieweather (Narrator)

Audiobook

Passing

"Nella Larsen's novella follows friends Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry, two Black women who can pass as white. Their anxieties about passing culminate in tragedy, revealing the powerful repercussions of hiding one’s identity, including the risks associated with it, and its implications for intimacy in romantic and familial relationships. Larsen uses the act of passing to refer to elements of subterfuge outside of the implied racial context, invoking the kinds of masquerade involved in assuming a class, ethnicity, or sexuality different than one’s own. Nearly a century later, Larsen's novella remains as urgent and relevant as ever. Cover illustrated by: Laylie Frazier Laylie is a digital illustrator from Houston, Texas. She combines texture, color, and pattern to create warm and expressive portraits. She often pulls inspiration from nature, utilizing abstract plant, mountain, and sun motifs in her backgrounds. She is currently illustrating middle grade and YA covers for publishing as well as working in advertising."

Nella Larsen (Author), Bahni Turpin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Passing

"Passing is a novel by American author Nella Larsen, first published in 1929. Set primarily in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the 1920s, the story centers on the reunion of two childhood friends—Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield—and their increasing fascination with each other's lives A must for all students, teachers, and lovers of the epitome of the mile-high artfulness of the English language and how beautifully it can carry timeless tales within it. A rare audiobook treasury. Nellallitea 'Nella' Larsen was an American novelist. Working as a nurse and a librarian, she published two novels, Quicksand and Passing, and a few short stories. Though her literary output was scant, she earned recognition by her contemporaries"

Nella Larsen (Author), Geoffrey Giuliano, The Ark (Narrator)

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Passing: Penguin Classics

"Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by Amaka Okafor, an acclaimed stage actress and composer who performs all over the country at venues such as The National Theatre, The Old Vic and National Theatre Scotland. A classic, brilliant and layered novel that has been at the heart of racial identity discourse in America for almost a century. Clare Kendry leads a dangerous life. Fair, elegant, and ambitious, she is married to a white man unaware of her African American heritage and has severed all ties to her past. Clare's childhood friend, Irene Redfield, just as light-skinned, has chosen to remain within the African American community, but refuses to acknowledge the racism that continues to constrict her family's happiness. A chance encounter forces both women to confront the lies they have told others - and the secret fears they have buried within themselves. © Nella Larsen 1929 (P) Penguin Audio 2020"

Nella Larsen (Author), Amaka Okafor (Narrator)

Audiobook

Quicksand

"Nella Larsen's first novel tells the story of Helga Crane, a fictional character loosely based on Larsen's own early life. Crane is the lovely and refined daughter of a Danish mother and a West Indian black father who abandons Helga and her mother soon after Helga is born. Unable to feel comfortable with any of her white-skinned relatives, Helga lives in various places in America and visits Denmark in search of people among whom she feels at home. The work is a superb psychological study of a complicated and appealing woman, Helga Crane, who, like Larsen herself, is the product of a liaison between a black man and a white woman. In one sense, Quicksand might be called an odyssey; however, instead of overcoming a series of obstacles and finally arriving at her native land, Larsen's protagonist has a series of adventures, each of which ends in disappointment."

Nella Larsen (Author), Christine Glassman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Quicksand

"Quicksand is a 1928 novel by Nella Larsen, a writer of the Harlem Renaissance. It focuses on Helga Crane, a mixed-race woman who is a schoolteacher in the American south. As the novel opens, she suddenly decides to give up her teaching position and go north, back to her roots in Chicago. Helga's restless search for identity is semi-autobiographical, inspired by Larsen's own struggles to reconcile her mixed heritage with the racism of 1920s America. Although this novel was published after 1923, the copyright was never renewed and is therefore in the public domain. (Introduction by Elizabeth Klett)"

Nella Larsen (Author), Elizabeth Klett (Narrator)

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Passing

"Nella Larsen, a novelist of the Harlem Renaissance, wrote two brilliant novels that interrogated issues of gender and race. In Passing, her second novel published in 1929, she examines the troubled friendship between two mixed-race women who can pass as white. One, Irene Redfield, marries a black man and lives in Harlem, while the other, Clare Kendry, marries a bigoted white man. Clare re-enters Irene's life after an absence of many years, and stirs up painful questions about identity. (Introduction by Elizabeth Klett)"

Nella Larsen (Author), Elizabeth Klett (Narrator)

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Passing

"First published to critical acclaim in 1929, Passing is a remarkable exploration of the shifting racial and sexual boundaries in 1920s New York, and still carries relevance today as a modern classic. Irene Redfield is a woman with an enviable life. She and her successful husband Brian share a comfortable Harlem town house with their sons. But everything changes on the day she encounters a long-lost childhood friend. Clare Kendry- light-skinned, charming and beautiful- tells Irene how she left behind the black neighbourhood of her adolescence and began passing for white, hiding her true identity from everyone, including her racist husband…"

Nella Larsen (Author), Robin Miles (Narrator)

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Audiobooks by Nella Larsen

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