The Complete Fiction of Nella Larsen

This collection gathers everything Nella Larsen published as fiction: two novels, Quicksand and Passing, and three short stories, Freedom, The Wrong Man and Sanctuary. Larsen wrote during the Harlem Renaissance, and her output was small.

Quicksand draws on Larsen's own life. Its heroine wants sexual fulfilment, yet she lives in a deeply religious society that prizes respectability and acceptance, and the two pull against each other. The tone is bleak, and the novel closes with her drawn into a life at odds with everything she hoped for.

Passing centres on Clare and Irene, who were friends in childhood and meet again after many years apart. Both are light-skinned enough to pass as white. Clare has chosen to live that way, while Irene has embraced her racial heritage and become an important figure in her community.

The novel looks at racial passing, and at the other ways people pass in daily life. Some of these are accepted without comment, and others lead to disaster.

The volume suits readers who want the full range of Larsen's fiction in one place. The novels are serious in mood and take on race, class and desire without softening them.