
Harlem Rhapsody
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Narrated by:
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Robin Miles
About this listen
“A gripping narrative, don't miss this historical fiction about the woman who kicked off the Harlem Renaissance.”—People Magazine
“A page turner and history lesson at once, Harlem Rhapsody reminds us that our stories are our generational wealth.”—Tayari Jones, New York Times bestselling author of An American Marriage (Oprah’s Book Club Pick)
She found the literary voices that would inspire the world…. The extraordinary story of the woman who ignited the Harlem Renaissance, written by Victoria Christopher Murray, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Personal Librarian.
In 1919, a high school teacher from Washington, D.C arrives in Harlem excited to realize her lifelong dream. Jessie Redmon Fauset has been named the literary editor of The Crisis. The first Black woman to hold this position at a preeminent Negro magazine, Jessie is poised to achieve literary greatness. But she holds a secret that jeopardizes it all.
W. E. B. Du Bois, the founder of The Crisis, is not only Jessie’s boss, he’s her lover. And neither his wife, nor their fourteen-year-age difference can keep the two apart. Amidst rumors of their tumultuous affair, Jessie is determined to prove herself. She attacks the challenge of discovering young writers with fervor, finding sixteen-year-old Countee Cullen, seventeen-year-old Langston Hughes, and Nella Larsen, who becomes one of her best friends. Under Jessie’s leadership, The Crisis thrives…every African American writer in the country wants their work published there.
When her first novel is released to great acclaim, it’s clear that Jessie is at the heart of a renaissance in Black music, theater, and the arts. She has shaped a generation of literary legends, but as she strives to preserve her legacy, she’ll discover the high cost of her unparalleled success.
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Critic reviews
“Murray's meticulous research brings this exciting period in American literary and artistic history into the spotlight and sheds a welcome light on an important and intriguing figure whose influence often goes unmentioned.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“A winning portrait of Harlem Renaissance figure Jessie Redmon Fauset... Historical fiction fans will want to snatch this up.”
—Publishers Weekly
"If you like to learn something while lost in a gripping narrative, don't miss this historical fiction about the woman who kicked off the Harlem Renaissance. Jessie Redmon Fauset was the first Black woman to helm the Black literary powerhouse The Crisis, and was also founder W. E. B. Du Bois' lover. She's responsible for launching names like Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and others, even as her success (and theirs) comes at a cost."
—People
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Story
On her second birthday in 1967, Bernice McFadden died in a car crash near Detroit, only to be resuscitated after her mother pulled her from the flaming wreckage. Firstborn Girls traces her remarkable life from that moment up to the publication of her first novel, Sugar. Growing up in 1980s Brooklyn, Bernice finds solace in books, summer trips to Barbados, and boarding school to escape her alcoholic father. Discovering the works of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, she finally sees herself and her loved ones reflected in their stories of “messy, beautiful, joyful Black people.”
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Great Read
- By Mia CB on 05-15-25
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Red Clay
- By: Charles B. Fancher
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1943, when a frail old white woman shows up in Red Clay, Alabama, at the home of a Black former slave—on the morning following his funeral—his family hardly knows what to expect after she utters the words “… a lifetime ago, my family owned yours.” Adelaide Parker has a story to tell—one of ambition, betrayal, violence, and redemption—that shaped both the fate of her family and that of the late Felix H. Parker. But there are gaps in her knowledge, and she’s come to Red Clay seeking answers from a family with whom she shares a name and a history that neither knows in full.
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great story, great narrator
- By Melissa Madden on 05-18-25
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Forever an Ex
- By: Victoria Christopher Murray
- Narrated by: Suzzanne Douglas
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Three Los Angeles women who’ve helped each other overcome heartbreak are reunited eight years later when their troublesome exes come back into the picture in this follow up to Victoria Christopher Murray’s bestselling novel The Ex Files. Sheridan, Kendall, and Asia first bonded when they met seven years ago at a church prayer support group and now, their friendship has blossomed into a strong sisterhood. They've helped each other through the tragedies of their breakups and together, they've celebrated their triumphs. But now, their exes are back, wreaking havoc on lives they've work so hard to rebuild.
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worst Book ever
- By Amazon Customer on 02-06-15
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The Ex Files
- A Novel about Four Women and Faith
- By: Victoria Christopher Murray
- Narrated by: Patricia R. Floyd
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Victoria Christopher Murray writes Essence best-selling novels of relationships, life's trials, and the faith that saves. In The Ex Files, four very different women see their lives fall apart. They react differently, but each struggles with how to pick up the pieces devastation left behind. After their pastor asks the four women to meet for weekly prayer, their lives take another unexpected turn.
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okay.....
- By Anonymous User on 06-10-08
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The Personal Librarian
- By: Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City society and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps create a world-class collection.
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A Treat For This Academic Librarian!
- By AlTonya on 07-14-21
By: Marie Benedict, and others
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Let Us March On
- A Novel
- By: Shara Moon
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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When Lizzie McDuffie, maid to Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, boldly proclaimed herself FDR’s “Secretary-On-Colored-People’s-Affairs,” she became more than just a maid—she became the President’s eyes and ears into the Black community. After joining the White House to work alongside her husband, FDR’s personal valet, Lizzie managed to become completely indispensable to the Roosevelt family. Never shy about pointing out injustices, she advocated for the needs and rights of her fellow African Americans when those in the White House blocked access to the President.
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What 1 person can do to make a difference
- By Ilene M. Vinikoor on 03-01-25
By: Shara Moon
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Happy Land
- By: Dolen Perkins-Valdez
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Ashley J. Hobbs
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Nikki hasn’t seen her grandmother in years. So when the elder calls out of the blue with an urgent request for Nikki to visit her in the hills of western North Carolina, Nikki hesitates only for a moment. After years of silence in her family, due to a mysterious estrangement between her mother and grandmother, she’s determined to learn the truth while she still can. But instead of answers about the recent past, Mother Rita tells Nikki an incredible story of a kingdom on this very mountain, and of her great-great-great grandmother, Luella, who would become its queen.
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Relatable
- By kathy w. on 05-24-25
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Fallen Grace
- Blaze Collection
- By: Sadeqa Johnson
- Narrated by: Channie Waites
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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With a newborn in tow, Bubbles Jones escapes a brutal sanctuary for “wayward girls” to confront the hypocritical shame of her pastor father and the betrayal of a lover. But Bubbles is accompanied by a woman who offers her shelter and a dream. Forging an unpredictable path ahead, Bubbles will not yield and will not hide in her unwavering commitment to make a big life real in a world determined to keep her small.
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Give me MORE!!!
- By JoGriff on 06-01-24
By: Sadeqa Johnson
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The Only Black Girl in the Room
- A Novel
- By: Alex Travis
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Genevieve Francis, a 25-year-old Black reporter, assumed she’d go into her fourth year at her newspaper job with a bigger story than the latest seasonal ice cream flavor. Instead, she’s relegated to doing copy edits and sensitivity reads on the articles her white colleagues write. So when Gen finally gets the opportunity to cover a prominent CEO’s gala, she leaps at the chance—this will be her biggest assignment to date. The only problem: The CEO is her ex, Jude, whose marriage proposal she publicly rejected four years prior.
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Amazing story of truth setting you free
- By C. Spyn on 01-21-25
By: Alex Travis
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The Secret Keeper of Main Street
- A Novel
- By: Trisha R. Thomas
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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1954: In the quaint town of Mendol, Oklahoma, Bailey Dowery is a Black dressmaker for the wives and daughters of local oil barons. She earns a good living fitting designer gowns and creating custom wedding dresses for the town’s elite. But beyond her needle and thread lies a deeper talent, one passed down from her mother: the gift of insight. With just a fleeting touch or brush against the skin, Bailey has sudden flashes of intuition.
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Wheeww…
- By Britainy M. on 08-25-24
By: Trisha R. Thomas
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The Filling Station
- A Novel
- By: Vanessa Miller
- Narrated by: Angel Pean
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Sisters Margaret and Evelyn Justice have grown up in the prosperous Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma--also known as Black Wall Street. In Greenwood, the Justice sisters had it all--movie theaters and entertainment venues, beauty shops and clothing stores, high-profile businesses like law offices, medical clinics, and banks. While Evelyn aspires to head off to the East Coast to study fashion design, recent college grad Margaret plans to settle in Greenwood, teaching at the local high school and eventually raising a family.
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Filling Station - Resilience and determination to rebuild what was destroyed
- By Anonymous User on 04-30-25
By: Vanessa Miller
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Zeal
- A Novel
- By: Morgan Jerkins
- Narrated by: January LaVoy, Shayna Small
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Spanning over a hundred and fifty years, Morgan Jerkins’s extraordinary novel intertwines the stories of these star-crossed lovers and their descendants. As Tirzah's family moves across the country during the Great Migration, they challenge authority with devastating consequences, while of the legacy of heartbreak and loss continues on in the lives of Harrison's progeny.
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Emotionally Riveting
- By Poetry on 05-25-25
By: Morgan Jerkins
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Mainline Mama
- A Memoir
- By: Keeonna Harris
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Keeonna and Jason met as young teens. Only fourteen, Keeonna had never had a boyfriend before, dreamed of attending Spelman to become an obstetrician, and thought she was “grown.” Within a year she was pregnant and Jason was in prison, convicted of a carjacking and sentenced to twenty-two years. Overnight Keeonna had become a “mainline mama,” a parent facing the task of raising a child—while still growing up herself—with an incarcerated partner.
By: Keeonna Harris
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The First Ladies
- By: Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
- Narrated by: Robin Miles, Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Mary McLeod Bethune refuses to back down as white supremacists attempt to thwart her work. She marches on as an activist and an educator, and as her reputation grows she becomes a celebrity, revered by titans of business and recognized by U.S. Presidents. Eleanor Roosevelt herself is awestruck and eager to make her acquaintance.
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A Wake Up Call to history and today
- By JoeKristina Smith on 07-11-23
By: Marie Benedict, and others
As I listened on Audible it seemed like this story had to be true, there were things even the best authors couldn’t make up. A quick google search & I discovered this book was more than entertaining, it was completely educational too! During women’s history month, Jessie Redmon Fauset is a woman everyone should discover! Her role as the first literary editor of The Crisis, & The Brownies Book was groundbreaking in a time women, (let alone women of color,) did not hold those types of positions. She discovered, mentored & published iconic black poets like Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen & Jean Tomer. Plus she published 4 novels portraying realistic & positive lives of Black Americans. Long story short, Victoria Christopher Murray’s historical fiction portrayal of Jessie’s life is worth the listen/read. The narrator, Robin Miles, has the perfect storytelling voice & keeps the listener engaged.
Entertaining & Educational
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This story needed to be told!
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Well done!
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Historical fiction at its best!
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The story line stood out the most.
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Untold story
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The complications of the romantic interludes but it was actually a strength for them both and not a weakness
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It truly took me on a fabulous journey of history and an empowered woman forging ahead. This book was worth the wait and the read!
Epic and Thoughtful
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What a story
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Perfection!!!
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