Passing

Summary

Nella Larsen's novella follows friends Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry, two Black women who can pass as white. Their anxieties about passing culminate in tragedy, revealing the powerful repercussions of hiding one’s identity, including the risks associated with it, and its implications for intimacy in romantic and familial relationships. Larsen uses the act of passing to refer to elements of subterfuge outside of the implied racial context, invoking the kinds of masquerade involved in assuming a class, ethnicity, or sexuality different than one’s own. Nearly a century later, Larsen's novella remains as urgent and relevant as ever.

Cover illustrated by: Laylie Frazier

Laylie is a digital illustrator from Houston, Texas. She combines texture, color, and pattern to create warm and expressive portraits. She often pulls inspiration from nature, utilizing abstract plant, mountain, and sun motifs in her backgrounds. She is currently illustrating middle grade and YA covers for publishing as well as working in advertising.