Nella Larsen’s Passing is a distinctive and revealing novel about racial identity, now a critically acclaimed film adaptation by Rebecca Hall, starring Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga and Alexander Skarsgard. Irene Redfield, married to a successful physician, enjoys a comfortable life in Harlem, New York. Reluctantly, she renews her friendship with old school friend, Clare Kendry.

Clare, who like Irene is light skinned, ‘passes’ as white and is married to a racist white man who has no idea about Clare’s racial heritage. Clare is very persuasive and Irene, despite misgivings, can’t resist letting her back into her world. As tensions mount between friends and between couples, this taut and mesmerizing narrative spins towards an unexpected end.

This edition of Passing features an introduction by writer and academic, Christa Holm Vogelius.