Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A forgotten masterpiece by the first American to win the Nobel Prize for literature, Kingsblood Royal involves a middle American banker who discovers he is part-black. This is Sinclair Lewis's most controversial book and his most explicit confrontation of race. Though popular at the time of publication, it was quickly expunged from the American literary radar and has since been out of print. It is as timely now as when first published. Kingsblood Royal is available only from the Modern Library.
About the Author
Charles Johnson's many books include Middle Passage, which won the 1990 National Book Award. He lives in Seattle.
Reading Group Guide
1. 1
2. 1. How, in your view, have the perceptions and the realities of how race is "lived" and experienced in America changed since this novel was published? What contemporary issues or debates do you see reflected in Kingsblood Royal?