About this book
Richard Wright’s Native Son tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, a black American youth living in utter poverty in Chicago's South Side during the 1930s. When Bigger unintentionally murders a white woman, he is put on trial and eventually convicted, and sentenced to the electric chair. Often recognized as a protest novel, Native Son stresses systemic racial issues, prompting the reader to feel both sympathy and empathy for Bigger. In this, the novel is one of the earliest successful attempts to explain the racial divide in America in terms of the conditions imposed on African-Americans by the dominant white society.
Soon after publication, Native Son was selected by the Book of the Month Club as its first book by an African-American author. Indeed, the novel was an immediate best seller, selling 250,000 hardcover copies within three weeks of its publication. As a result of the novel’s success, Wright became the first bestselling and the wealthiest black writer of his time, establishing him as a spokesperson for African-American issues and, to many, the “father of Black American literature.” In 1941, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People awarded Wright awarded the prestigious Spingarn Medal.
Unsurprisingly, Native Son was challenged in many public schools and libraries and is listed in the American Library Association's list of the “Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–1999.” Yet most institutions in which the novel was challenged successfully fought to keep Wright's work accessible, particularly in the classroom, defending it as a guide into the reality of the complex adult and social world.
Native son is listed as 20th on the Modern Library’s list of the “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. It is also included in TIME’s “100 Best Novels” (since 1923).
First Edition Identification
Harper & Brothers first published Native Son in 1940. With a dark blue cover stamped in red and white, first editions state “First Edition” on the copyright page with "A - P" below the statement. The dust jacket of the first edition is green and yellow and states the original price of $2.50.
Details
- Title Native Son
- Author Richard Wright
- Binding Paperback
- Edition [ Edition: First
- Pages 560
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Harper Perennial
- Date 2014
- ISBN 9780062357250 / 0062357255
- Weight 0.76 lbs (0.34 kg)
- Dimensions 7.12 x 4.5 x 1.4 in (18.08 x 11.43 x 3.56 cm)
- Reading level 700
- Library of Congress subjects Trials (Murder), African American men
- Dewey Decimal Code FIC
More Copies for Sale
Native Son: Olive Edition
by Wright, Richard
- Used
- very good
- Paperback
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780062357250 / 0062357255
- Quantity Available
- 1
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GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, United Kingdom
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A$4.96A$16.48 shipping to USA
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Native Son
by Wright, Richard
- Used
- Acceptable
- Paperback
- Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780062357250 / 0062357255
- Quantity Available
- 1
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Seattle, Washington, United States
- Item Price
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A$9.18FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
Native Son
by Richard Wright
- Used
- good
- Paperback
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780062357250 / 0062357255
- Quantity Available
- 2
- Seller
-
Seattle, Washington, United States
- Item Price
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A$9.18FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
Native Son
by Richard Wright
- Used
- very good
- Paperback
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780062357250 / 0062357255
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Seattle, Washington, United States
- Item Price
-
A$9.18FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
Native Son
by Richard Wright
- Used
- good
- Paperback
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780062357250 / 0062357255
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Seattle, Washington, United States
- Item Price
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A$9.18FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
Native Son
by Wright, Richard
- Used
- Condition
- Used - Good
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780062357250 / 0062357255
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
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Dunfermline, Fife, United Kingdom
- Item Price
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A$9.66A$15.33 shipping to USA
Show Details
Native Son
by Wright, Richard
- Used
- Condition
- Used - Good
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780062357250 / 0062357255
- Quantity Available
- 2
- Seller
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Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
- Item Price
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A$10.21FREE shipping to USA