What has Jeffrey Colvin been reading?

Three Classic African-American Novels

I have been busy conducting research for my new historical novel set partly in nineteenth-century North America. As part of my research about fictional characters during this period I have been reading Three Classic African-American Novels, edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. I am loving the second novel in the collection Iola Leroy, by Frances E. W. Harper and am looking forward to getting reacquainted with Clotel, by William Wells Brown and The Marrow of Tradition, by Charles W. Chesnutt.

For months now I have been dipping into The Healing, by Gayl Jones. I enjoyed Jones’ novel Corregidora and find The Healing rich and powerful.

Finally, I am interviewing Shyam Selvadurai for an upcoming issue of the literary magazine “Epiphany.” I recently enjoyed his brilliant novel Hungry Ghosts, and am looking forward to his upcoming novel, Mansions of the Moon.