Contending Forces (Black Narratives) - Hardcover

Hpokins, Pauline E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1513209183 ISBN 13: 9781513209180

Publisher: Mint Editions, 2021

Synopsis

Contending Forces (1900) is a novel by African American author Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins. Originally published by the Colored Co-operative Publishing Company in Boston, Contending Forces is a groundbreaking novel that addresses themes of race and slavery through the lens of romance, faith, and betrayal. It was Hopkins’ first major publication as a leading African American author of the early twentieth century.

Charles Montfort is a peculiar planter. Moving with his wife, Grace, and his sons from Bermuda to North Carolina, he announces his desire to slowly free his slaves. This angers the townspeople, who refuse to recognize the abilities of black people beyond base servitude. Anson Pollack, a jealous man, leverages his friendship with Montfort in order to gain his confidence while hatching a plan to kill him and steal his property. When a rumor regarding Grace’s racial heritage begins to spread, Montfort fears that an attempt will be made on his life. Soon enough, Anson and a posse of local men descend on the Montfort plantation, killing Charles and kidnapping his sons. While Jesse manages to escape to Boston, Charles Jr. is sold into slavery, changing their lives irrevocably. Contending Forces is a thrilling work of fiction from a true pioneer of American literature, a woman whose talent and principles afforded her the vision necessary for illuminating the injustices of life in a nation founded on slavery and genocide.

With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins’ Contending Forces is a classic work of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

About this title

About the Author

Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins (1859-1930) was an African American novelist, playwright, and historian. Born in Portland, Maine, Hopkins was raised in Boston by her mother and adopted father. Supported in her academic pursuits from a young age, Hopkins excelled at Girls High School, where she won a local competition for her essay on the raising of children. In 1877, she began her career as a dramatist with a production in Saratoga, which encouraged her to write a musical entitled Slaves’ Escape; or, The Underground Railroad (1880). In 1900, she published “Talma Gordon,” now considered the first mystery story written by an African American author. Having established herself as a professional writer, she published three serial novels in the periodical The Colored American Magazine, including Hagar’s Daughter: A Story of Southern Caste Prejudice (1901-1902) and Winona: A Tale of Negro Life in the South and Southwest (1902-1903). Often compared to her contemporaries Charles Chestnutt and Paul Laurence Dunbar, Hopkins made a name for herself as a successful and ambitious author who advocated for the rights of African Americans at a time of intense violence and widespread oppression.

From the Back Cover

Charles Montfort, a planter from Bermuda, moves with his family and slaves to North Carolina. There, he plans to free his slaves, drawing condemnation from his neighbors and risking violent retaliation. When a rumor spreads regarding his wife’s ancestry, Montfort suspects Anson Pollack, a former friend, of planning to dispossess him. Contending Forces is a novel by Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins.

Edition details

• Publisher: Mint Editions
• Publication date: 2021
• ISBN 10: 1513209183
• ISBN 13: 9781513209180
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 214