Seraph on the Suwanee: A Novel.

HURSTON, Zora Neale (Henry Lee Moon).

Item Number: 42054

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons , 1948.

First edition of this humorous novel set in Florida, a place Hurston knew well, having been born in Eatonville, an entirely black Florida town. Octavo, original cloth. From the library of Henry Lee Moon with his bookplate and signature on the front free endpaper. Henry Lee Moon was an American journalist, author and civil rights activist. In 1948, Moon began working for the NAACP as their public relations director. Moon held the position until 1974. During his tenure at the NAACP, he promoted voting rights and encouraged the organization to work harder to elect politicians friendly to their cause. While at the NAACP, he also wrote the book Balance of Power and edited a collection of W. E. B. Du Bois’ writings. In 1988, the library at the NAACP’s headquarters in Baltimore was renamed in his memory. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. A nice association.

Acclaimed for her pitch-perfect accounts of rural black life and culture, Zora Neale Hurston explores new territory with her novel Seraph on the Suwanee—a story of two people at once deeply in love and deeply at odds, set among the community of "Florida Crackers" at the turn of the twentieth century. Full of insights into the nature of love, attraction, faith, and loyalty, it follows young Arvay Henson, convinced she will never find true happiness, as she defends herself from unwanted suitors with hysterical fits and religious fervor. But into her life comes bright and enterprising Jim Meserve, who knows that Arvay is the woman for him, and nothing she can do will dissuade him.