Jewell Parker Rhodes Magic City Signed First Edition 1997

Description

Rhodes’ Magic City takes on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre—one of the most devastating and long-suppressed episodes in American history—and renders it through a personal, narrative lens rather than strictly historical reconstruction. The novel follows intersecting lives across racial and class lines, building toward the eruption of violence that destroyed Greenwood, often called “Black Wall Street.”

Published in 1997, this is Rhodes working early but already fully in control of tone and scope. The book blends social history with character-driven storytelling, and its relevance has only sharpened over time as Tulsa has re-entered broader public consciousness. Signed copies of her earlier work aren’t as commonly encountered as her later, more widely taught titles.

A strong, signed first that carries both literary and historical weight.