Louise Meriwether

"A most important novel."--The New York Times Book ReviewA new edition of Louise Meriwether's classic novel about young Francie Coffin's coming-of-age in the vivid world of Harlem in the 1930s, including new pieces that celebrate the author's life, work, and activism. Francie Coffin is the daughter of a number runner: someone who collects betting slips for the illegal street lottery that carries the hopes of the people of Harlem in the 1930s. In Louise Meriwether's classic debut, an immediate sensation on its first publication in 1970, we see Harlem through Francie's eyes: in fraught family conversations, in friendships and movies and suppers at Father Divine's, in exiled sons and daughters, in dream books, in dignity under pressure. This edition contains the full text of the original novel, as well as its original foreword by James Baldwin and afterword by Nellie McKay, now expanded to include reactions to the novel by newer generations of Black women writers like Bridgett M. Davis and Deesha Philyaw, as well as two newly available interviews on Meriwether's legacy of writing, community, and activism.

With a Foreword by James Baldwin'Beautiful, timeless and relevant' Jacqueline Woodson'A most important novel' Paule Marshall'A considerable achievement' James BaldwinDepression-era Harlem is home for twelve-year-old Francie Coffin and her family, and it's both a place of refuge and of danger. Her beloved father becomes a number runner when he is unable to find legal work, and while one of Francie's brothers dreams of becoming a chemist, the other is in a gang. Francie, too, is a dreamer, but women in her neighbourhood have limited prospects, either selling their bodies on the streets, running poker games or having a baby every year. There are risks in everything, from going to the movies to walking down the block.

Robert Smalls, born a slave in 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina, gained fame as an African American hero of the American Civil War. The Freedom Ship of Robert Smalls tells the inspirational story of Small’s life as a slave, his boyhood dream of freedom, and his bold and daring plan as a young man to commandeer a Confederate gunboat from Charleston Harbor and escape with fifteen fellow slaves and family members. Smalls joined the Union Navy, rose to the rank of captain, and became the first African American to command a U. S. service ship. After the war Smalls returned to Beaufort, bought the home of his former master, and began a long career in state and national politics. Originally published in 1971, this new edition of The Freedom Ship of Robert Smalls features Louise Meriwether’s original narrative, now illustrated by the colorful paintings of renowned Southern artist Jonathan Green.

Fragments of the Ark follows the exploits of runaway slave Peter Mango, his family, and a band of fellow escaped slaves as they commandeer a Confederate gunboat out of Charleston harbour and deliver it to the Union navy. Mango is made captain of this liberated vessel and commands its crew through the duration of the war. He also travels to Washington to meet President Lincoln, adding his voice to others trying to persuade the president to allow black men to enlist in the armed forces. After the war Mango bought a home from his former master and became a political organiser for voting rights. Eventually he was elected a delegate to South Carolina's state convention to rewrite its constitution. Based on the inspirational life of Robert Smalls, Fragments of the Ark explores the American Civil War through the eyes of its most deeply wounded souls. Against this chaotic backdrop, the novel sweeps readers into Mango's heroic quest for the most basic of human rights—a safe haven to nurture a family bound by love and not fear, and the freedom to be the master of his own life.

This modern classic is "a tough, tender, bitter novel of a black girl struggling towards womanhood" in 1930s Harlem--with a foreword by James Baldwin (Publishers Weekly). Depression-era Harlem is home for twelve-year-old Francie Coffin and her family, and it's both a place of refuge and the source of untold dangers for her and her poor, working class family. The beloved "daddy" of the title indeed becomes a number runner when he is unable to find legal work, and while one of Francie's brothers dreams of becoming a chemist, the other is already in a gang. Francie is a dreamer, too, but there are risks in everything from going to the movies to walking down the block, and her pragmatism eventually outweighs her hope; "We was all poor and black and apt to stay that way, and that was that." First published in 1970, Daddy Was a Number Runner is one of the seminal novels of the black experience in America. The New York Times Book Review proclaimed it "a most important novel."