Tambourines to Glory
by HUGHES, Langston
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine/VG++
- Seller
-
Springtown, Pennsylvania, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
NY: Hill and Wang, 1970. This is the first Hill and Wang edition (with number line running to "1" on the copyright page. It was published 12 years after the true first -- but is much scarcer. Housed in a green illustrated dust jacket. Tight, clean copy of this novel by Hughes re: two Harlem ladies who start their own church. 188 pp. With a bookplate of Ruby C. Boyd affixed to the front free endpaper. . First Edition Thus. Hard Cover. Near Fine/VG++.
Synopsis
Finally available in trade paperback, Langston Hughes's breezy parable of good and evil, friendship and betrayal, is an unforgettable portrait of 1950s Harlem and two women called to the pulpit for very different reasons.For every bustling jazz joint that opened in Korean War--era Harlem, a new church seemed to spring up. Tambourines to Glory introduces you to an unlikely team behind a church whose rock was the curb at 126th and Lenox.Essie Belle Johnson and Laura Reed live in adjoining tenement flats, adrift on public relief. Essie wants to somehow earn enough money to reunite with her daughter and provide her with a nice home; Laura loves young men, mink coats, and fine Scotch. On a day of inspiration, the friends decide to use a thrift-store tambourine and a layaway Bible to start a church.Their sidewalk services are a hit: Laura's a natural street performer who loves the limelight, while Essie is a charismatic singer with a quiet spirituality. Before long they move to a thousand-seat theatre called the Tambourine Temple. The two women are joined in their ministering by Birdie Lee, the little-old-lady trap drummer who can work the congregation to a feverish pitch, and Deacon Crow-For-Day, an impassioned confessor.But then Laura falls for Buddy, a scam artist who suggests selling to the faithful lucky numbers from Scripture and bottles of tap water as "Holy Water from the Jordan." Even with a Cadillac and piles of money from Laura, Buddy won't stay faithful, igniting a crime of passion and betrayal.Harlem Moon Classics is proud to reintroduce readers of all generations to this sparkling gem from the canon of Langston Hughes.
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Details
- Bookseller
- abookshop
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 5004263
- Title
- Tambourines to Glory
- Author
- HUGHES, Langston
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- VG++
- Edition
- First Edition Thus
- Publisher
- Hill and Wang
- Place of Publication
- NY
- Date Published
- 1970
- Keywords
- African American; Fiction
- Bookseller catalogs
- African-American;
Terms of Sale
abookshop
All books are fully guaranteed and returnable for any or no reason within 10 days of receipt.
About the Seller
abookshop
Biblio member since 2004
Springtown, Pennsylvania
About abookshop
We have been selling books of note (especially literary first editions, poetry and drama) for over 20 years.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Copyright page
- The page in a book that describes the lineage of that book, typically including the book's author, publisher, date of...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Number Line
- A series of numbers appearing on the copyright page of a book, where the lowest number generally indicates the printing of that...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
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