novels such as Home to Harlem(1928) by Claude
McKay. Yet, as scholar Cheryl Wall suggests,
Larsen did pursue issues that were of importance
to her literary peers. It is the “bourgeois ethos of
her novels,” according to Wall, “that has unfortu-
nately obscured the similarities” (Wall, 97).
One year later, in April 1929, Larsen pub-
lished PASSING.This work, for which she had origi-
nally considered using the title “Nig,” explored the
plight of the modern woman and the complicated
nature of racial and social politics. Larsen dedi-
cated the novel to CARLVANVECHTEN, author of
the controversial and recently published Nigger
Heaven,and his wife, Fania Marinoff Van Vechten.
The book was part of an extended African-Ameri-
can literary tradition that explored race, social mo-
bility, and identity. The novel’s theme also echoed
in other contemporary Harlem Renaissance works
such as Jessie Fauset’s Plum Bun(1928) and James
Weldon Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured
Man(1912, 1927). Larsen’s second novel revolves
around the lengthy and complicated friendship be-
tween Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield and the
ramifications of Kendry’s decision to pass for white.
The work, which historian Nathan Huggins de-
scribes as a study of “schizophrenia which results
from racial dualism” (Huggins, 159), attracted crit-
ical attention and a number of reviews in respected
literary journals such as the Saturday Review of Lit-
erature, The Times Literary Supplement, and the
New York Times Book Review.
In 1930, Larsen became a member of an elite
group when she became the first African-American
woman to be awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.
She was the fourth person of color to win the
award; previous winners included WALTER
WHITE,COUNTEECULLEN, and ERICWALROND.
Larsen made plans to travel extensively after she
received the prize. Her sojourn abroad included
visits to France, Portugal, and Spain. She estab-
lished herself in Palma de Mallorca on the Bal-
learic Islands and, according to biographer
Thadious Davis, enjoyed flirtatious encounters
and productive writing days. While in Spain, she
corresponded with Henry Allen Moe of the
Guggenheim Foundation who also was a regular
correspondent of ZORANEALEHURSTONduring
her tenure as a Guggenheim Fellow. In one of her
most memorable notes to Moe, Larsen made a
very direct confession. “I do so want to be fa-
mous,” she noted while updating him on the
writings that she was producing (Davis, “NLHA”
245). While in Europe, Larsen began work on
two new novels. Unfortunately, these works
never were published and may have been lost
after her death.
That same year, in 1930, her short story
“SANCTUARY” elicited a heated public debate
about plagiarism. Similarities were pointed out be-
tween her short story and an earlier published
work, “Mrs. Adis” by white British writer Sheila
Kaye-Smith, that appeared in a 1922 issue of Cen-
tury Magazine.The controversy tarnished Larsen’s
reputation despite her assertions that she had been
inspired to write the story after hearing it from one
of her patients. Larsen’s biographer Thadious
Davis concludes that the similarities between the
two works are indeed hard to overlook. Yet, Davis
also mentions Larsen’s previous publicly stated in-
terest in stories about white protagonists that
could be revised as works that are transformed by
the introduction of race.
Larsen enjoyed friendships with well-known
figures of the period including JEANTOOMER, Carl
Van Vechten, and Walter White. White played a
significant role in Larsen’s professional life. It was
he who introduced her to Van Vechten, the well-
known patron and writer who would enjoy a
lengthy friendship with both Larsen and her hus-
band, Elmer Imes. In his tireless efforts to support
the creative efforts of emerging artists, White also
provided Larsen with vital secretarial support as
she completed her manuscript of Passing.
Larsen’s departure from literary life coin-
cided with the end of the Harlem Renaissance.
She spent the last two decades of her life work-
ing as a highly respected nurse in New York City.
She was on the staff at the Governeur Hospital,
which later became affiliated with Beth Israel
Medical Center and Hospital and the Metropoli-
tan Hospital.
Despite her efforts to reconnect with her half
sister, Larsen suffered a deep isolation from her
family and was not acknowledged by her white sib-
ling, Anna Larsen Gardner. Larsen died of heart
failure on 30 March 1964. Unlike a number of her
Harlem Renaissance peers, her published obituary
had no full profile of her career of accomplish-306 Larsen, Nella Marion