Conjure-Man Dies: A Harlem Mystery: The First Ever African-American Crime Novel

In "The Conjure-Man Dies," Perry Dart, a Black police detective, investigates the death of NGana Frimbo, an African conjure-man, in 1930s Harlem. Assisted by Dr. Archer and local boys Bubber Brown and Jinx Jenkins, Dart seeks to solve the mystery. The novel, written by African-American author Rudolph Fisher, was the first detective novel by an African-American and a remarkable time capsule of the Harlem Renaissance.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 07 January 2021
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

When the body of NGana Frimbo, the African conjure-man, is discovered in his consultation room, Perry Dart, one of Harlem's ten Black police detectives, is called in to investigate. Together with Dr. Archer, a physician from across the street, Dart is determined to solve the baffling mystery, helped and hindered by Bubber Brown and Jinx Jenkins, local boys keen to clear themselves of suspicion of murder and undertake their own investigations.

The Conjure-Man Dies was the very first detective novel written by an African-American. A distinguished doctor and accomplished musician and dramatist, Rudolph Fisher was one of the principal writers of the Harlem Renaissance, but died in 1934 aged only 37. With a gripping plot and vividly drawn characters, Fisher's witty novel is a remarkable time capsule of one of the most exciting eras in the history of Black fiction.

This crime classic is introduced by New York crime writer Stanley Ellin, and includes Rudolph Fisher's last published story, 'John Archers Nose, in which Perry Dart and Dr Archer return to solve the case of a young man murdered in his own bed.

Weight: 216g
Dimension: 129 x 198 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780008216474