Victoria Christopher Murrays latest book was a page turner which brought the relationship between Jessie Redmon Fauset. and W. E. B. Du Bois
to life. It is an amazing read and will be a great book club book.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this historical fiction novel about Jessie Redmon Fauset, her work, and her relationship with W.E.B. DuBois.

I have read both books that Victoria Christopher Murray wrote with Marie Benedict, but this is the first solo effort of hers that I’ve read. Unfortunately, I wasn’t totally impressed.
I love historical fiction that introduces me to people I wasn’t aware of. Jessie Fauset definitely is someone I’m glad I “got to know”. A brilliant woman, she became the literary editor of The Crisis, the preeminently black magazine of the early 20th Century. In that position, she came into contact with many of the black writers of the day, including a young Langston Hughes. In fact, Hughes called her “the literary midwife” of the New Negro Movement. I enjoyed the chapters that focused on the magazine and her work there. This was a poignant reminder that in earlier days, poetry held a much more esteemed position than it does today.
She was also the mistress of W.E.B. Du Bois. While I recognize it was a big part of her life, I would have liked a lot less emphasis on their affair. This reads like a romance novel. It felt like half the book either involved their time together or her thinking about their romance. And then another whole section involved how upset her family was about the affair. Du Bois comes across as one more important man with “a zipper problem” as my mother would say. In her Author’s Note, Murray indicated she struggled with how much focus to place on the affair. I believe she could have gotten her point across, which was that without the affair, she would never have had her job and discovered so many of these young authors, without spending so much time on their time together.
My thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for an advance copy of this book.

Murray tells the story of an overlooked but incredibly important personal in the Harlem Renaissance, Jesse Redmond Fauset. Murray explores Fauset’s life, presenting plausible motivation for her choices. A great historical fiction in an area that many of us are ignorant about.

As someone who has deep personal ties to Harlem, NY this story holds a special place in my heart. This story was a joy to read learning about all the amazing Black writers of the Harlem Renaissance. This story is a beautiful ode to those literary geniuses. I will say there were times when I found myself angry with the FMC but I learned to understand her better by the end. Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing

_Harlem Rhapsody_ by Victoria Christopher Murray is a character-centered historical fiction read with authentic characters and historical details of early 1900s Harlem. It follows writer and editor Jessie Redmon Fauset and her career in Harlem as the literary editor for W.E.B. Du Bois’ magazine _The Crisis_, which features the time’s leading and emerging black writers. Included are historical figures such as Langston Hughes, along with the romantic and business relationship between Fauset and Du Bois. An interesting read for historical fiction fans that sheds light on an important editor and writer of the Harlem Renaissance.

Thank you NetGalley (@netgalley) for the digital ARC. I was beyond excited to read this and waited for a while to be approved for the e-galley.

Jessie Redmon Fauset has often been called the literary midwife of the Harlem Renaissance. As an adult, I’ve delved into the works of many writers from this transformative era—names we now cherish for their remarkable contributions to literature and culture. This historical fiction account offers an imagined, yet deeply rooted portrayal of Jessie’s life, centered around her career as a literary editor for The Crisis and her mentorship of emerging talent. The story brings to light the vibrant, complex world she navigated, though it left me wishing for an even greater focus on her professional legacy.

One of the central storylines is the relationship between Jessie and W.E.B. Du Bois. While I understand, especially after reading the author’s note, why this dynamic plays a significant role—Du Bois undoubtedly influenced her life and career—Jessie’s achievements were her own. She shaped The Crisis into the literary beacon it became, through sheer hard work, dedication, and her unyielding passion for the arts.

What captivated me most were glimpses of her interactions with the writers she nurtured. Meeting a young Nella Larsen in these pages and imagining their friendship was a joy. Scenes where Jessie collaborates with Larsen, or the imagined exchanges they might have had, were delightful but too few. The same can be said for moments with other Renaissance greats: a shy Countee Cullen, a confident Claude McKay, the enigmatic Jean Toomer, and, of course, Langston Hughes. These fleeting portrayals teased at what could have been an even richer narrative. Had the book placed more emphasis on these relationships and the intersections of Jessie’s life with these figures, it could have been a masterpiece for lovers of Harlem Renaissance history.

Jessie’s own creative journey also deserved more space. Her time in Paris, stepping away from The Crisis to focus on her writing, felt like a missed opportunity to explore her growth as an artist. How transformative those years must have been! A deeper dive into her genius and her struggles as a Black woman author during this period could have allowed readers to truly celebrate her legacy without Du Bois overshadowing her narrative.

Du Bois’ presence, while significant, became frustrating for me. By the time Jessie decisively ends their romantic relationship—well over halfway through the book—it felt too late. His influence on her story could have been more of a backdrop, a footnote to her accomplishments, rather than the driving force of the plot.

Overall, the book was an okay read. If you’re new to Jessie Redmon Fauset, I recommend starting with her novel There is Confusion before picking up this book. Reading it first gives helpful context and makes certain aspects of this novel more meaningful in hindsight. While this fictional account didn’t fully satisfy my appetite, it did stir my admiration for Jessie’s legacy. I’ll certainly be seeking out more of her work, eager to explore the brilliance of the woman who helped define an era.

I have never been so frustrated with a protagonist.

Jessie Fauset isn't a protagonist you hate, but she is one that seems to lack morals and common sense. However, I can tell that the author used that to make the woman more human, and perhaps more relatable to some. When I first read the synopsis, I had hopes for more yet the novel centers on Fauset's affair with the older and married W.E.B. Dubois. What were my hopes? That there would finally be a novel about a real Black female poet. Of course, it's a novel so I know things would be editorialized, but I wanted to know more about her. To my dismay, the novel is centered on her affair not her work. In fact, there is probably more on the page about DuBois than there is Fauset.

All that being said, what was truly enthralling is being able to see the names of so many Black historical figures, and imagining them in the time and place of the Harlem Renaissance. Just picturing some of these big names, names that I grew up reading and hearing about, thinking of them as just ordinary people was pretty interesting.

Victoria Christopher Murray does a wonderful job with description and setting the scene; the reader can truly feel like they are in the hotel rooms and the magazine offices. I also appreciate that Fauset's relationship with her family is clearly evident in the novel. We see Fauset as an educated woman who knows what's morally right and yet chooses not to do it. Much to the chagrin of her stepmother and older sister. What frustrated me is that it appears Fauset is so easily cajoled into believing DuBois' musings and speeches that his wife wouldn't care about the affair and that he's in love. While I know this is based on a true story, I would have appreciated Jessie being even a tad more leery about continuing her relationship, or thinking it over more. And, as I stated earlier, some mention of her life as a writer, not just as an employee and lover of W.E.B. DuBois would have been appreciated. But the author does a great job of making all the figures in the book realistic and relatable and that's something that is a defining factor of a good author.

To be honest, perhaps it is because my expectations of this novel were so high that I am disappointed. I understood that the affair would be in the book, just not that it was the only plot point. I got so frustrated that I had to put it down for a while, read another work, and pick it back up. Twice. However, this could be because the genre wasn't a good fit for me. So if you are into romance, this may be a great book for you.

Most people in North America have probably at least heard the name W. E. B. Dubois. In the early twentieth century, DuBois—the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard—published and spoke extensively about his vision of equality through education. In particular, he edited “The Crisis,” the monthly magazine of the NAACP, while also writing such classics as “The Souls of Black Folk.”

But if Dubois is well known, the same cannot be said these days of Jessie Redmon Fauset, the central character of Murray’s “Harlem Rhapsody.” In her day, Fauset—who held a degree from Cornell as well as a master’s from Penn and a certificate from the Sorbonne in Paris—worked as the literary editor of “The Crisis” and its associated children’s magazine “The Brownies Book” while writing the first of what would become four acclaimed novels. She fostered such stars of the Harlem Renaissance as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Jean Toomer, Georgia Douglas Johnson, and Zora Neale Hurston. She was also romantically involved with W. E. B. Dubois, a reality that Murray uses to humanize a heroine who is in every other respect truly remarkable.

I have to admit that last effort doesn’t quite succeed for me; despite a genuine sympathy for Jessie, I eventually became frustrated by her slowness in recognizing that she was on a self-destructive path. But in every other respect this story about the origins of so many gifted literary artists, including Jessie Fauset herself, pulled me in and kept me reading to the very last page.

My interview with this author on New Books in Historical Fiction (link below) will appear in March 2025.

This has the makings of a book that could be a favorite for me- I love historical fiction, and the Harlem Renaissance is my favorite setting and time period within the genre. While the setting, story concept and real-life characters of Harlem Rhapsody are 5 stars, for me the execution was more like 3 stars. The actual writing just wasn’t super compelling to me. But the true stories are!

So, I have to emphasize how glad I am that this book introduced me to Jessie Fauset and inspired me to learn more about her. She’s like the Berry Gordy of the literary world during the Harlem Renaissance! This novel is heavily centered on her affair with W.E.B. DuBois, and I wanted to go beyond that. I found myself racing through the book only because I wanted to go find additional sources to learn more about her career and writing.

I understand that her affair with W.E.B. DuBois really happened, and that people are complicated, but the almost incessant focus on this just didn't do anything for me or the story. And since we're taking the liberty to color in fiction the lines of real life, did every meeting about great literary work and every accomplishment Jessie made have to conclude with "Will's" invitation to a hotel room? Not really.

I found the constant use of specific days/dates unnecessary - Sunday, December 1, 1920, then Monday, December 2, 1920, vs just saying December 1920. It feels like a small thing to note, but this was the start of every chapter, and I started thinking the detailed timeline was really going to mean something, but it didn't- and on top of that, Victoria' Christopher Murray was completely altering the real-life timeline anyway.

The literary icons who appear in this book, such as Nella Larsen and Langston Hughes, were a true delight especially as they are at the very beginning of their careers and dreaming of the success that we now know they went on to achieve. All of those scenes made me sit up a little straighter in my seat. Like Hughes sharing his idea for Not Without Laughter, a book I love and now want to reread.

So… I love where this book took me, but I didn’t actually love the book on its own.

It's also worth noting that it’s extremely similar in tone, style and themes to The Personal Librarian, so I expect readers who liked or loved that, to enjoy this overall. Thinking of both books, I do appreciate Murray's efforts to highlight real Black women in history that deserve to be more well known.

Ratings
Story Concept 5/5
Quality of Writing 3/5
Pacing 3/5
Plot Development 3/5
Character Development 4/5
Overall Enjoyability 3.5/5


**3.5 stars**

A terrific read! I learned how black writers and journalists broke into the industry through two amazing blacks—a female and a male. The author describes the characters so vividly that about halfway through the book I was angry with the main female character’s life choices. By the end I understood that her choices made the breaks for Black writers possible. The characters in this story are real, making the book more interesting to me.

I am a fan of the Harlem Rennaissance. I am especially interested in literature that details things that went on during that time. This story was a little different than what I was expecting but I enjoyed it the same. I will round up to 4 stars even though I give this 3.5.

The Harlem Renaissance was an explosive period for African American art, music, and literature. W.E.B. Du Bois was a pivotal person in the movement. Jessie Redmon Fauset was equally pivotal in bringing to life the voices of writers such as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and others through her position as literary editor for The Crisis magazine. This book brings to life these cultural icons in such a way that I want to do further research on the lives of these literary figures. Highly recommend.

I give the book a 3.5. Unfortunately, the relationship between Jessie and W.E.B. DuBois dampened how the story could have been prolific. The rich history of Harlem and The Crisis make this book five stars. I liked Jessie's relationship with Maman.

Victoria Christopher Murray told an important story that should enshrined in American history. This is her best writing yet.

Harlem Rhapsody delves into the historical significance of the Harlem Renaissance as black voices are heard through the arts. However, as in our real lives deception occurs and erases the joy of accomplishments and the sting of betrayal rules. This novel certainly enlightens the reader of past efforts and successes of black leaders.

I wanted to like this book because I was hoping for some substance. It seemed more like a love story that we all know the end to which made the book disappointing.
I liked reading about the history of Harlem and the people who were instrumental in the culture.

This was a fun read in the fact that it had so many famous characters. Slowed a bit during the read but overall well written and I enjoyed the story. Will look for more from author!

harlem rhapsody allows you to think of nyc in a different time, the prose, the character development, the pacing - was so elegant. i had a great time reading, i think the only thing that didn’t really work for me was the romance. i do love romance. but for some reason i wasn’t feeling it. this is my first book by this author and it definitely won’t be my last !

I enjoyed the Personal Librarian, so I was looking forward to this historical fiction novel. I like the combination of reading and learning something at the same time. Growing up in Europe, I didn’t know anything about Jessie Redmon Fauset and her role in the Harlem Renaissance. Jessie became the literary editor of the black magazine, Crisis and the magazine thrived under her leadership. Her boss Dr. Du Bois was a prominent black person at the times and Jessie and Will are also lovers. I agree with some other reviewers that the affair takes away from the book’s historical significance. Notice I am not using the word Negro which how blacks were called at the time, it is just so against my grain. Overall an interesting book,, three stars.
I received a complimentary copy, opinions are my own.