This volume discusses the emergence of writings by Black women, the major concerns and themes of their fiction, and its special role within, and unique reflection of, Afro-American culture. A work of literary criticism as well as cultural history, Prologue focuses in depth on ten novels illustrative of the novels' concerns during the periods 1891-1920, 1921-1945, and 1946-1965, and discusses their literary characteristics and aesthetic achievement. It discusses the broad characteristics of Afro-American fiction and compares it to mainstream American fiction. Its generously annotated bibliography contains entries for each of the fifty-eight novels on which the study is based.