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Plum Bun: A Novel Without a Moral

Published
Dec 1999
Main Genre
Historical Historical
Rating
Pages
408

About This Book

A young woman hides her African American identity in this semiautobiographical novel by a literary "force to be reckoned with" of the Harlem Renaissance (Shonda Rhimes).

 


A young girl, Angela Murray lives in Philadelphia's black community, but after losing both of her parents, she decides to leave her sister behind and move to New York. With her light skin tone, she can pass for white and, perhaps, escape the burden of racism and find the freedom to succeed. Once in the city, she looks for new opportunities, finds a place for herself among a community of artists, and becomes romantically involved with a member of the white social elite. But Angela's deception comes at a painful cost, and—as a woman—she learns that racial prejudice is not the only obstacle she needs to overcome.


 


Incorporating many aspects of the author's own experience, Plum Bun comes from a writer praised by W. E. B. duBois, who noted the novel's "human touch and interesting action and plot."

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Paperback

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Dec 1999 Beacon Press (MA) ISBN 0807009199
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Mar 2022 Beacon Press ISBN 0807006602
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Oct 2024 Mint Editions ISBN B0CRKHVNJP
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Sep 2025 Random House ISBN 0593731956
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Hardcover

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Rediscovered Books ISBN 1515466574
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Jan 1985 Pandora Press (GB) ISBN 0863580440
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Oct 2024 Mint Editions ISBN B0CRKL2JKH
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Oct 2013 Oshun Publishing ISBN B00FK28UNW
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Nov 2017 Library of America ISBN B073NNXKQJ
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Nov 2017 Rare Treasure Editions ISBN 1774647761
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Feb 2022 Beacon Press ISBN 0807006610
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Feb 2025 Open Road Publishing ISBN 1504097793
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Aug 2025 Random House ISBN 0593731964
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Feb 2022 -- Not Selected ISBN B095KW9SMJ
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