The man who lived underground : a novel Cover Image

Book

The man who lived underground : a novel / Richard Wright ; afterword by Malcolm Wright.

Wright, Richard, 1908-1960 (author.). Wright, Richard, 1908-1960 Container of (work) : Memories of my grandmother. (Added Author). Wright, Malcolm, (writer of afterword.).

Summary:

Fred Daniels, a Black man, is picked up by the police after a brutal double murder and tortured until he confesses to a crime he did not commit. After signing a confession, he escapes from custody and flees into the city's sewer system. This is the devastating premise of this scorching novel, a never-before-seen masterpiece by Richard Wright. Written between his landmark books Native Son (1940) and Black Boy (1945), at the height of his creative powers, it would see publication in Wright's lifetime only in drastically condensed and truncated form, and ultimately be included in the posthumous short story collection Eight Men (1961). Now, for the first time, by special arrangement with the author's estate, the full text of the work that meant more to Wright than an other("I have never written anything in my life that stemmed more from sheer inspiration") is published in the form that he intended, complete with his companion essay, "Memories of My Grandmother."

Record details

ISBN: 1598536761
ISBN: 9781598536768
Physical Description: xii, 228 pages ; 22 cm
Publisher: New York : Library of America, [2021]
Copyright: ©2021

Content descriptions

General Note:	Published for the first time, by special arrangement with the author's estate. Includes companion essay Memories of My Grandmother. "An unpublished novel by the author of Native son" -- jacket.
Formatted Contents Note:	Prefactory note -- The man who lived underground -- Memories of my grandmother -- Afterword / by Malcolm Wright -- Note on the texts.