Imitation of Life

Fannie Hurst

Published by Duke University Press 2004

Imitation of Life

Fannie Hurst
Edited by: Daniel Itzkovitz

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822386070

Overview
Contents

About this book

A reprint of the 1933 classic novel, the basis for two film versions, with a new introduciton.

Author / Editor information

Fannie Hurst (1889–1968) was a popular writer of many novels and short stories. Among her best-known works are Back Street (1930) and Lummox (1923).

Daniel Itzkovitz is Associate Professor of English and Director of American Studies at Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts. He is a coeditor of Queer Theory and the Jewish Question.

Reviews

“Although it’s a ‘white’ novel, Imitation of Life is certainly a part of the African American canon. No film was more important to me as a ‘colored’ child growing up in West Virginia; the funeral scene has to move even the most stoic viewer to tears. Now this new edition of the novel brings this richly layered story back into public view, where it will, I hope, remain.”—Henry Louis Gates Jr., Harvard University

“Daniel Itzkovitz’s brilliant edition of Imitation of Life places this controversial novel at the center of U.S. literary, cinematic, and social history. Fannie Hurst’s novel deserves to be read in its own right, but here its importance as a register of white anxieties about the ethics of American racism and of consumer fantasies for overcoming the particular body are also showcased richly.”—Lauren Berlant, author of The Queen of America Goes to Washington City: Essays on Sex and Citizenship

“This new edition of an influential American classic—one of the first books in twentieth-century popular literature to grapple with issues of gender and race—is reason enough to celebrate, but Daniel Itzkovitz’s splendid and insightful introduction reclaims for Fannie Hurst a preeminent position as an essential American literary figure whose work matters today more than ever.”—Michael Bronski, author of The Pleasure Principle: Sex, Backlash, and the Struggle for Gay Freedom

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Introduction Daniel Itzkovitz Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Imitation of Life Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	293

Language: English
Publisher: Duke University Press
Pages
- Main content: 352
Illustrations
- Other: 6 b&w photos, 1 line drawing

eBook

Published: December 7, 2004
ISBN: 9780822386070