"I found these stories both heartening. . . and terrifying as the expression of a racial hatred that has never ceased to grow and gets no chance to die." —Malcolm Cowley,
The New Republic
Richard Wright's powerful collection of novellas set in the American Deep South, now available as a limited Olive Edition from Harper Perennial.
Each of the poignant stories in
Uncle Tom's Children
concerns an aspect of the lives of Black people in the post-slavery era, exploring their resistance to white racism and oppression. The collection also includes a personal essay by Wright titled "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow."
Originally published in 1938,
was the first book from Wright, who would go on to win international renown for his powerful and visceral depiction of the Black experience. The author of numerous works, most notably the acclaimed novel
Native Son
and his stunning autobiography,
Black Boy,
Wright stands today as one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century.