Nella Larsen, Novelist of the Harlem Renaissance: A Woman's Life Unveiled

Davis, a professor of English at Brown University ( Faulkner's ``Negro'' Art ), rescues an African American writer from neglect in an oustanding, masterfully researched study that also provides a vivid picture of life in Harlem during the 1920s. Larsen (1891-1964), the daughter of a white mother and a black father, was initially raised as white by her mother and stepfather, then was sent to live and study at black schools. She married Elmer Imes, an African American physicist, and the two socialized with the Harlem Renaissance authors who were to inspire Larsen to write. Acclaimed for her novels, Quicksand and Passing , which dealt with women from racially mixed backgrounds, Larsen was later accused of plagiarizing a short story. After her marriage ended in divorce, she stopped writing and spent the rest of her life in obscurity, working as a nurse. Davis theorizes that Larsen's painful childhood caused her to continually reinvent herself and shroud herself in mystery. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Mar.)