Passing

Author: Larsen, Nella

Classic fiction (pre c 1945)

Published on 24 April 2003 by Penguin Books Ltd (Penguin Classics) in the United Kingdom.

Paperback / softback | 320 pages
131 x 232 x 12 | 132g

A classic, brilliant and layered novel that has been at the heart of racial identity discourse in America for almost a century.

Clare Kendry leads a dangerous life. Fair, elegant, and ambitious, she is married to a white man unaware of her African American heritage and has severed all ties to her past. Clare's childhood friend, Irene Redfield, just as light-skinned, has chosen to remain within the African American community, but refuses to acknowledge the racism that continues to constrict her family's happiness. A chance encounter forces both women to confront the lies they have told others - and the secret fears they have buried within themselves.