Cotton Comes to Harlem (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Chester Himes
- First Published: 1964
- Type of Plot: Detective and mystery
- Time of Work: The 1960’s
- Setting: Harlem, New York City
- Principal Characters: Grave Digger Jones, Coffin Ed Johnson, The Reverend Deke O’Malley, Iris O’Malley, Colonel Robert L. Calhoun, Lieutenant Anderson, Uncle Bud
- Genres: Long fiction, Mystery and detective literature
- Subjects: African Americans, Justice, Racism, Crime or criminals, Police, Law enforcement
- Locales: Harlem, NY
The Novel
The novel begins at a “Back to Africa” rally sponsored by the Reverend Deke O’Malley, a recently released convict. O’Malley is running a scam on the gullible, to whom he promises free land and livestock back in Africa for one thousand dollars a family. The peace and festivity of the event is shattered when a gang of whites steals the $87,000 O’Malley has collected from the faithful and drives off in a stolen van. Unknown to everyone but the robbers, they stuff the loot into a bale of cotton that falls out of the rear of the van during their getaway at high...
[The entire page is 2023 words long]
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