'Harlem Rhapsody' is a novel about an affair at the heart of the Harlem Renaissance

A while back, Victoria Christopher Murray set out on a mission to learn about the women of the Harlem Renaissance. But in her research, she mostly found stories about men – until she came across Jessie Redmon Fauset. Fauset, whom Langston Hughes called "the midwife of the Harlem Renaissance," was a writer who eventually became literary editor at The Crisis , the NAACP's magazine. Her life serves as inspiration for Murray's new historical fiction novel Harlem Rhapsody . In today's episode, Murray speaks with NPR's Pien Huang about the historical impact of Fauset's romantic relationship with W.E.B. Du Bois and Murray's decision to include the affair in the book. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy