20 Classic Novels of the Harlem Renaissance

  • 1923 Cane by Jean Toomer
  • 1924 The Fire in the Flint by Walter White
  • 1924 There is Confusion by Jessie Redmon Fauset
  • 1926 Flight by Walter White
  • 1926 Nigger Heaven by Carl Van Vechten
  • 1926 Tropic Death by Eric Walrond
  • 1927 Home to Harlem by Claude McKay
  • 1928 Plum Bun by Jessie Redmon Fauset
  • 1928 Quicksand by Nella Larsen
  • 1928 The Walls of Jericho by Rudolph Fisher
  • 1929 Banjo by Claude McKay
  • 1929 The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman
  • 1929 Passing by Nella Larsen
  • 1930 Black No More by George Schuyler
  • 1930 Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes
  • 1931 The Chinaberry Tree by Jessie Redmon Fauset
  • 1931 Slaves Today by George Schuyler
  • 1932 The Conjure Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher
  • 1934 Jonah’s Gourd Wine by Zora Neale Hurston
  • 1937 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

As with any "list" - there can never be a definitive list of classic books that is above criticism or discussion. This list was formed from cumulative research and is presented in good faith as a guide to 20 classic works of fiction from the Harlem Renaissance.