Brown Girl, Brownstones (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Paule Marshall
- First Published: 1959
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Bildungsroman
- Time of Work: During and shortly after World War II
- Setting: Brooklyn, New York
- Principal Characters: Selina Boyce, Silla Boyce, Deighton Boyce
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Social realism, Bildungsroman, Domestic realism
- Subjects: African Americans, Girls, Maturation or coming of age, Family or family life, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., Self-discovery, United States or Americans, Parents and children, Caribbean, Blacks, New York City, 1940’s, 1930’s, Ethnic groups, Ethnic relations, Immigration or emigration, Inner cities or inner-city life
- Locales: Brooklyn, NY
Form and Content
The first full-length American novel to offer an in-depth treatment of a black girl growing up, Brown Girl, Brownstones describes the coming-of-age of Selina Boyce, the daughter of Barbadian immigrants living in Brooklyn, New York. Beginning when she is ten, the novel traces the various influences that affect her development until she reaches college age. As she struggles with warfare between her parents, her sexual awakening, racism, and the development of her own values, Selina’s is a painful coming-of-age. Yet she seems strong and resolute at the...
[The entire page is 3014 words long]
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