Moses, Man on the Mountain.

HURSTON, Zora Neale.

Item Number: 39075

New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1939.

First edition of this classic retelling of Moses’ exodus. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Louise Elder – one of God’s pretty throne-angels with shiny Wings. Sincerely, Zora Neale Hurston.” Light rubbing, small contemporary inscription, near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing. Rare and desirable signed and inscribed by Zora Neale Hurston.

In this 1939 novel based on the familiar story of the Exodus, Zora Neale Hurston blends the Moses of the Old Testament with the Moses of black folklore and song to create a compelling allegory of power, redemption, and faith. Narrated in a mixture of biblical rhetoric, black dialect, and colloquial English, Hurston traces Moses's life from the day he is launched into the Nile river in a reed basket, to his development as a great magician, to his transformation into the heroic rebel leader, the Great Emancipator. From his dramatic confrontations with Pharaoh to his fragile negotiations with the wary Hebrews, this very human story is told with great humor, passion, and psychological insight. It was hailed by The New York Times as, “a narrative of great power. Warm with friendly personality and pulsating with...profound eloquence and religious fervor.”