Minister Faust

Pauline E. Hopkins

Or, the Hidden Self

Of One Blood

Talma Gordon (1900) is a short story by Pauline E. Hopkins. Recognized as the first African American mystery story, Talma Gordon was originally published in the October 1900 edition of The Colored American Magazine, America’s first monthly periodical covering African American arts and culture. Combining themes of racial identity and passing with a locked room mystery plot, Hopkins weaves a masterful tale of conspiracy, suspicion, and murder. “When the trial was called Jeannette sat beside Talma in the prisoner’s dock; both were arrayed in deepest mourning, Talma was pale and careworn, but seemed uplifted, spiritualized, as it were. [...] She had changed much too: hollow cheeks, tottering steps, eyes blazing with fever, all suggestive of rapid and premature decay.” When Puritan descendant Jonathan Gordon is discovered murdered under suspicious circumstances, the ensuing trial implicates his own daughter Talma. Despite being declared innocent, the townsfolk are determined to believe that Talma conspired to have her father killed after he discovered her mixed racial heritage. Freed from the prospect of imprisonment, Talma is left with only her sister’s protection against the anger and violence of her neighbors. With this thrilling tale of murder and racial tension, Hopkins proves herself as a true pioneer of American literature, a woman whose talent and principles afforded her the vision necessary for illuminating the injustices of life in a nation founded on slavery and genocide. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Pauline E. Hopkins’ Talma Gordon is a classic work of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Talma Gordon

August Nemo

Alexandre Dumas

Frederick Douglass

Booker T. Washington

Machado de Assis

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Phillis Wheatley

Charles W. Chesnutt

Alice Dunbar-Nelson

Frances Harper

Lucy Terry

Jupiter Hammon

Welcome to the book series 7 best short stories specials, a selection dedicated to a special subject, featuring works by noteworthy authors. The texts were chosen based on their relevance, renown and interest. This edition is dedicated to Black Authors. Black literature is a literary production in which the subject of the writing is the black people themselves. This cultural phenomena is very significant in countries dominated by white culture and that received forced immigrations from the slavery regime, such as the USA and Brazil. Through black literature, black characters and authors recover their integrity as human beings, breaking the vicious cycle of racism, also rooted in literary practice. In addition to short stories, this book also contains essays, biographical accounts, and poetry by pioneers of black literature, providing a rich and varied content. This book contains the following texts: Short Stories: - Violets by Alice Dunbar-Nelson; - The Boy and The Bayonet by Paul Laurence Dunbar; - The Fortune-Teller by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis; - A Matter of Principle by Charles W. Chesnutt; - The Two Offers by Frances Harper; - A Bal Masqué by Alexandre Dumas; - The New York Subway by Pauline E. Hopkins. Bonus content: - Industrial Education for the Negro by Booker T. Washington; - My Escape from Slavery by Frederick Douglass; - Bars Fight by Lucy Terry; - On Virtue by Phillis Wheatley; - An Address to the Negroes in the State of New-York by Jupiter Hammon.

7 best short stories - Black Authors

Hagar's Daughter: A Story of Southern Caste Prejudice (1901-1902) is a novel by African American author Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins. Originally published in The Colored American Magazine, America's first monthly periodical covering African American arts and culture, Hagar's Daughter: A Story of Southern Caste Prejudice is a groundbreaking novel. Addressing themes of race and slavery through the lens of romance, Hopkins' novel is thought to be the first detective novel written by an African American author. Set just before the outbreak of the American Civil War, Hagar's Daughter: A Story of Southern Caste Prejudice takes place on the outskirts of Baltimore where, on neighboring estates, a man and woman fall in love. When Hagar Sargeant returns home after four years of study at a seminary in the North, she meets Ellis Enson, an older gentleman and self-made man who resides at the stately Enson Hall. After a brief courtship, the pair are engaged to be married. As the wedding approaches, Hagar's mother--who has controlled the family estate since her husband's death--dies unexpectedly, leaving Hagar the home and its accompanying grounds. Despite this tragic loss, Ellis and Hagar look forward to starting a family together--but when a man from the deep south arrives claiming the young woman was born a slave, their lives are changed forever. Hagar's Daughter: A Story of Southern Caste Prejudice is a thrilling work of romance and detective fiction from a true pioneer of American literature, a woman whose talent and principles afforded her the vision necessary for illuminating the injustices of life in a nation founded on slavery and genocide. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins' Hagar's Daughter: A Story of Southern Caste Prejudice is a classic work of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Hagar's Daughter

Pauline E. Hopkins

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