Native Son
by Wright, Richard
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Fine/No Jacket
- Seller
-
post falls, Idaho, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Harper And Brothers, 1940. no interior or exterior marks / lettering on spine faded / overall great condition;. First Edition. Cloth. Fine/No Jacket.
Synopsis
Richard Wright’s Native Son tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, a black American youth living in utter poverty in Chicago's South Side during the 1930s. When Bigger unintentionally murders a white woman, he is put on trial and eventually convicted, and sentenced to the electric chair. Often recognized as a protest novel, Native Son stresses systemic racial issues, prompting the reader to feel both sympathy and empathy for Bigger. In this, the novel is one of the earliest successful attempts to explain the racial divide in America in terms of the conditions imposed on African-Americans by the dominant white society. Soon after publication, Native Son was selected by the Book of the Month Club as its first book by an African-American author. Indeed, the novel was an immediate best seller, selling 250,000 hardcover copies within three weeks of its publication. As a result of the novel’s success, Wright became the first bestselling and the wealthiest black writer of his time, establishing him as a spokesperson for African-American issues and, to many, the “father of Black American literature.” In 1941, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People awarded Wright awarded the prestigious Spingarn Medal. Unsurprisingly, Native Son was challenged in many public schools and libraries and is listed in the American Library Association's list of the “Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–1999.” Yet most institutions in which the novel was challenged successfully fought to keep Wright's work accessible, particularly in the classroom, defending it as a guide into the reality of the complex adult and social world. Native son is listed as 20th on the Modern Library’s list of the “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. It is also included in TIME’s “100 Best Novels” (since 1923).
Read More: Identifying first editions of Native Son
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- First Choice Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- N1307
- Title
- Native Son
- Author
- Wright, Richard
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Harper And Brothers
- Date Published
- 1940
- Keywords
- Biography, Fiction
Terms of Sale
First Choice Books
If the book is not in the condition described in our listing we will refund the full sale price plus the shipping charge.
About the Seller
First Choice Books
Biblio member since 2005
post falls, Idaho
About First Choice Books
We carry a wide variety of books, specializing in history, childrens, vintage juveniles, technical, and scholarly editions.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
Frequently asked questions
This Book’s Categories
Collecting Books on NYC
This gallery is dedicated to some of the best fiction and nonfiction portraying one of the greatest cities in the world. We Heart NYC! Enjoy browsing these books on New York City.
Signed Books
Why settle for an ordinary copy of your favorite book when you could have an autographed copy? Find signed books here.
