“Harlem Rhapsody is my love letter to the extraordinary Jessie Redmon Fauset” – this is what the author says about her upcoming book and its protagonist

Celebrated bestselling author Victoria Christopher Murray takes readers back to the Harlem Renaissance in this new historical novel.

This Personal Librarian co-author to publish her new novel, Harlem Rhapsodynext winter at Berkley, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal. The book is based on the true story of Jessie Redmon Fauset.

In 1919, Fauset arrived in New York’s Harlem district as the new literary editor Crisisa leading publication for black writers founded by W. E. B. Du Bois. But Fauset wanted to do more than just edit—she wanted to foster a literary revolution among her peers.

Over the years, Fauset would discover and publish revolutionary writers of the Harlem Renaissance, including Langston Hughes, Nella Larson, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Countee Cullen. But Fauset also had a secret that “threatened her achievement,” as the novel describes it—she was not only Du Bois’s protégé, but also his lover.

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In his new novel, Murray explores Fauset and Du Bois’s relationship, which endured despite their 14-year age difference and Du Bois’s own marriage.

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“Harlem Rhapsody is my love letter to the extraordinary Jessie Redmon Fauset, a woman who was at the heart of the Harlem Renaissance,” Murray tells PEOPLE. “Jessie’s legacy is unparalleled. She not only discovered literary giants like Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Jean Toomer; she had her own stories to tell in the four novels she wrote.”

Murray is the co-author of bestselling novels Personal Librarianwhich was named a best book of the year by NPR and was selected by the Good Morning America Book Club, First Ladies with Marie Benedict, Target Book of the Year. She is also the winner of an NAACP Image Award.

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“As a writer who stands on Jessie’s shoulders, I hope Harlem Rhapsody serves as a celebration of her indomitable spirit and the lasting impact she left on this world,” Murray says.

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Harlem Rhapsody will be released on February 4, 2025 and is available for pre-order now wherever books are sold.

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