Search
      Tap cover to enlarge

      Passing

      by Nella Larsen
      Published
      Feb 2003
      Main Genre
      General Fiction General Fiction
      Rating
      Buy on Amazon Book

      About This Book

      "A tragic story rooted in the . . . facts of American life . . . that loyalty to a Black . . . identity was not only an act of pride, but one of courage." —The New York Times

       


      "[Larsen's novels are] . . . absolutely absorbing, fascinating, and indispensable." —Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize– and National Book Award–winning author of The Color Purple

       


      Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry were childhood friends—a relationship that Irene, a Black woman living a comfortable life in a thriving neighborhood in 1920s Harlem, would like to banish to the past. Because Clare, recently relocated to New York and eager to reconnect, is living a lie. Married to a racist white man who knows nothing about her background, Clare is passing for white.


       


      Envious of Irene's comfort with her own race, Clare can't stay away, inserting herself into Irene's life at every opportunity. Soon the two women's bond is tentatively ignited again, despite how disturbed Irene is by Clare's double life. But as Clare is drawn deeper into Irene's community—her deception is in danger of being discovered—with tragic consequences.


       


      Nella Larsen's brilliant examination of white privilege and Black identity is just as riveting and relevant today as when it was originally published in 1929.


       


      "One of the best novels of the year." —W. E. B. DuBois

      Genres & Themes

      Genres

      General Fiction

      Subgenres

      Literary

      Characters & Occupations

      African-American

      Buy This Book

      Amazon Paperback / Kindle Barnes & Noble Paperback / Nook Apple Books eBook Kobo eBook Audible Audiobook

      Formats & Editions

      Browse the different covers, formats, and publication history for this title.

      Paperback

      Paperback edition cover
      Trade Paperback
      Feb 1990 Ayer Company Publishers, Incorporated ISBN 0881431192
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Mass Market Paperback
      Sep 1997 Penguin ISBN 0141180250
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Trade Paperback
      Jun 2002 Modern Library ISBN 0375758135
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Trade Paperback
      Feb 2003 Penguin ISBN 0142437271
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Paperback
      Nov 2004 Dover Publications ISBN 0486437132
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Trade Paperback
      Aug 2007 W.W. Norton & Company ISBN 0393979164
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Paperback
      Feb 2010 Wilder Publications ISBN 1604599944
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Paperback
      Aug 2010 Wildside Press ISBN 1434407632
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Trade Paperback
      Mar 2011 Martino Fine Books ISBN 1614270007
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Paperback
      Oct 2011 Createspace ISBN 1466399589
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Paperback
      Oct 2013 Oshun Publishing Company Incorporated ISBN 0991052331
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Paperback
      Jan 2014 Createspace ISBN 149499111X
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Paperback
      Feb 2014 www.bnpublishing.com ISBN 160796693X
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Trade Paperback
      Feb 2018 Createspace ISBN 198506894X
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Paperback
      Oct 2020 Penguin (UK) ISBN 0241472717
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Trade Paperback
      Jan 2021 Scruffy City Press, LLC ISBN 1952154065
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Trade Paperback
      Feb 2021 CSRC Storytelling ISBN 1736442287
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Mass Market Paperback
      Jul 2021 Penguin ISBN 0593437845
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Paperback
      Nov 2021 Profile Books Ltd ISBN 1800811683
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Trade Paperback
      Nov 2021 Penguin ISBN 0143137360
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Trade Paperback
      Apr 2023 HarperCollins (UK) ISBN 0008554285
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Trade Paperback
      Apr 2023 HarperCollins (UK) ISBN 000859015X
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Trade Paperback
      Jul 2023 Hassell Street Press ISBN 1022892673
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Paperback
      May 2024 Start Publishing Pd ISBN B0D3811RZB
      Buy
      Paperback edition cover
      Trade Paperback
      May 2025 Union Square & Co. ISBN 1454959827
      Buy

      Hardcover

      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      Ancient Wisdom Publications ISBN 1963956737
      Buy
      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      Agog! Press ISBN 1479445673
      Buy
      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      Hassell Street Press ISBN 1022885502
      Buy
      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      Martino Fine Books ISBN 1684226279
      Buy
      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      Nov 1969 Praeger ISBN 0837115418
      Buy
      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      Apr 1970 Beaufort Books ISBN 0405019300
      Buy
      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      Nov 2000 Modern Library ISBN 037550446X
      Buy
      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      May 2002 Turtleback Books ISBN 0613707524
      Buy
      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      May 2002 Turtleback Books ISBN 0606288368
      Buy
      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      Feb 2014 www.bnpublishing.com ISBN 1607966956
      Buy
      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      Feb 2020 Penguin ISBN 0143129422
      Buy
      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      Jul 2022 Gale, A Cengage Group ISBN 1432898698
      Buy
      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      Aug 2022 Penguin (UK) ISBN 0241573742
      Buy
      Hardcover edition cover
      Hardcover
      Jan 2025 Union Square & Co. ISBN 1454956690
      Buy

      eBook

      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Feb 2003 Penguin ISBN 1101191155
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Dec 2007 Random House ISBN 0307431584
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Apr 2010 Dancing Unicorn Books ISBN 1515413136
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Apr 2010 New York & London, A. A. Knopf
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Apr 2010 Wilder Publications ISBN B003Y8XPWA
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Oct 2011 Wilder Publications
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Feb 2012 Dover Publications ISBN 0486113469
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Apr 2013 Dancing Unicorn Books ISBN 1515413128
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      May 2013 Start Publishing LLC ISBN 1627931244
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Jul 2013 Wilder Publications, Inc. ISBN 1627554025
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Sep 2014 David Rehak ISBN 1926487427
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Oct 2014 Wilder Publications, Inc. ISBN 1633844587
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Jan 2015 Digireads.com Publishing ISBN 1420951068
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Jul 2017 Restless Books ISBN 1632062038
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Jul 2017 Chemeketa Press ISBN 1943536783
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Jul 2017 Alien Ebooks ISBN 166762265X
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Jul 2017 CSRC Storytelling ISBN 1736442295
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Oct 2018 Upfront ISBN 1773232495
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Oct 2018 Restless Books
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Jan 2020 BNP ISBN 7570659171
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Oct 2020 Penguin (UK) ISBN 0141995254
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Nov 2020 Macmillan Collector's Library ISBN 1760982288
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Feb 2021 Scruffy City Press ISBN 1952154073
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Jul 2021 Penguin ISBN 0593439074
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Nov 2021 Serpent's Tail (UK) ISBN 1800811691
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Nov 2021 DIGITAL FIRE ISBN 9354991831
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Sep 2022 HarperCollins (UK) ISBN 0008554293
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Jan 2024 Mint Editions
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Jan 2025 Union Square & Co. ISBN 1454956704
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Feb 2025 Open Road Publishing ISBN 1504097831
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Dec 2025 Lebooks Editora ISBN 6558945908
      Buy
      eBook edition cover
      eBook
      Jul 2026 Vintage (UK) ISBN 152998131X
      Buy

      Audio

      Audio edition cover
      Audio CD
      Brilliance Audio ISBN 1713644371
      Buy
      Audio edition cover
      Audio Cassette
      Jan 2003 Recorded Books ISBN 1402566425
      Buy
      Audio edition cover
      Audible
      Jul 2017 Audioliterature ISBN B073JQ3F67
      Buy