African Americans have experienced life under the rule of law in quite different contexts from those of whites, and they have written about those differences in poems, songs, stories, autobiographies, novels, and memoirs. This book examines the tradition of American law as it appears in African American literary life, from pre-Revolutionary murder trials to gangsta rap. The experience, and the critique it produces, changes our pictures of both American law and African American literature. This study reads the already canonical works of nineteenth- and twentieth-century black literature in the context of their responses to and critiques of American legal history. At the same time, it examines little known texts of African American life, from the urban humor of James D. Corrothers, through the early political essays of Chester Himes, to the adventures of black comic book heroes like Steel, Wise Son, and Xero. These are contextualized within specific legislation and case law, from the slave laws of early Virginia to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, from the case of Phillis and Mark in 1755 to the Simpson trials of the mid 1990s. Finally, the legal texts presented are themselves critiqued by the fictions and legal analyses of the African Americans who lived out their implications in their daily lives. Through a positing of the legal and cultural concepts of privacy, property, identity, desire and citizenship, and the romantic ideals of authenticity, irony, and innocence, Suggs is able to show how our understanding of American law should be influenced by African American conceptions of it as depicted through literature. This book will appeal to students and scholars of literary and cultural studies, law and literature, American history, as well as to scholars of African American literature and culture. Jon-Christian Suggs is Professor of English, John Jay College, City University of New York.

“A stunning, sensual storyteller, Susanna Craig is an author to watch!”—New York Times bestselling author Jennifer McQuiston In this captivating new series set in Georgian England, a disgraced woman hides from her marriage—for better or worse… Sarah Pevensey had hoped her arranged marriage to St. John Sutliffe, Viscount Fairfax, could become something more. But almost before it began, it ended in a scandal that shocked London society. Accused of being a jewel thief, Sarah fled to a small fishing village to rebuild her life. The last time St. John saw his new wife, she was nestled in the lap of a soldier, disheveled, and no longer in possession of his family’s heirloom sapphire necklace. Now, three years later, he has located Sarah and is determined she pay for her crimes. But the woman he finds is far from what he expected. Humble and hardworking, Sarah has nothing to hide from her husband—or so it appears. Yet as he attempts to woo her to uncover her secrets, St. John soon realizes that if he’s not careful, she’ll steal his heart… “An impressive debut, with evocative prose and richly drawn characters. To Kiss a Thief will leave you breathless, and eagerly wanting more.”—New York Times bestselling author Jennifer McQuiston “An achingly romantic tale of a second chance at love. Beautifully written, richly atmospheric, deeply felt, and so deftly researched—I felt utterly absorbed into the world of late Georgian England. I’m tremendously excited to discover such an elegant new voice in historical romance!” —New York Times bestselling author Meredith Duran “So polished that it doesn’t feel like a debut. Craig gives readers quite a treat.” –RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars

This important book addresses the ways race has both helped and hindered Americans in determining national identity. Contributors consider race and American nationalism from a variety of historical and disciplinary vantage points. Beginning with the aftermath of the Civil War and unfolding chronologically through to the present, the essays examine a multitude of different groups-Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans, Puerto Ricans, African Americans, whites, Jews, Irish Americans, German Americans-by examining race and nationalism represented in public memorials, photography, film, classic and minor literature, gender issues, legal studies, and more. The book offers rereadings of some of the pivotal figures in American culture and politics, including Herman Melville, Frances Harper, William James, Frederic Remington, Charles Francis Adams, W. E. B. DuBois, George Creel, Zora Neale Hurston, Louis Chu, and others. In the course of these essays, readers will learn how Americans in different periods and circumstances have grappled with the changing issues of defining race and of defining American as a race, as a nationality, or as both.