Passing

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.-She wished to find out about this hazardous business of -passing,- this breaking away from all that was familiar and friendly to take one-s chance in another environment--The elegant Clare Kendry glides through New York-s high-society circles with ease, until the day she is reacquainted with her childhood friend, Irene. Clare chooses to -pass- as white, hiding her African American heritage from her bigoted husband, while Irene leads a life that embraces it. As both women observe the other, a relationship of mutual fascination, obsession and secrets begins, one that will end in devastating circumstances.Published in 1929, Nella Larsen-s Passing lays bare the complexities of identity, race, class and gender. The novella established Larsen as one of the most important female authors in American literature and is considered a literary masterpiece of the Harlem Renaissance era.