Of One Blood

A groundbreaking tale of racism, identity, and spirituality by African American author Pauline HopkinsFrom groundbreaking Black author Pauline Hopkins comes an uncanny example of classic horror, exploring identity, race, and spiritualityWhen medical student Reuel Briggs reluctantly attends a performance by the beautiful singer Dianthe Lusk, he can't help but fall for her. The very next day, their paths cross again when Dianthe's train crashes. To bring her back from the brink of death, Reuel draws on an eerie power he can't quite name. Soon, the two are engaged, and Reuel sets off on an archeological expedition to Africa to offset his debts before the wedding. But, in Ethiopia, unexpected danger and terror force him to confront the truth about his lineage, his power, and the disturbing history that lives in his very blood.First serialized in Colored American Magazine in 1902, this classic fiction exemplifies Pauline Hopkins's incisive writing and interrogates issues of race, blood, and history that remain urgent today.This edition of Hopkins's classic horror novel is presented by the Horror Writers Association and introduced by award-winning author Nisi Shawl.Includes notes, biographical information about the author, discussion questions for classroom use, and suggested further reading.

PAULINE ELIZABETH HOPKINS (1859-1930) is best known for four novels and numerous short stories, which she published between 1900 and 1903. Her best-known work, the novel Contending Forces- A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life North and South, was published in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1900 by the Colored Co-operative Publishing Company, followed by three serialized novels-the last one being Of One Blood; Or, The Hidden Self-all published in the Colored American Magazine, a literary journal where Hopkins served as editor at the time. Through her editorial work, fiction, and a substantial body of nonfiction, she emerged as one of the era's preeminent public intellectuals.

When Reuel Briggs, a medical student at Harvard, witnesses the performance of the beautiful singer Dianthe Lusk at a concert, he's infatuated by her talent and beauty. That next morning, Reuel is called to treat the victims of a train accident. Among them is Dianthe, seemingly dead, but he revives her using a form of mesmerism. Reuel falls in love with her and proposes marriage. Wanting to provide for his fiancee, he undertakes a dangerous but lucrative archaeological expedition to Ethiopia where he discovers more than treasure. Now his special abilities begin to make sense as he learns the truth about his ancestors.

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