Webb, Frank J. | Phillip S. Lapsansky (essay date 1991)
Phillip S. Lapsansky (essay date 1991)
SOURCE: Lapsansky, Phillip S. “Afro-Americana: Frank J. Webb and His Friends.” In The Annual Report of the Library Company of Philadelphia for the Year 1990, pp 27-43. Philadelphia: Library Company of Philadelphia, 1991.
[In the following excerpt, Lapsansky discusses how Webb's personal life and experiences affected the portrayal of Philadelphia in The Garies and Their Friends.]
For nearly two decades Frank J. Webb's novel The Garies and Their Friends (London and New York, 1857) has eluded us. When we narrowly missed buying a copy three years ago, we alerted international dealer and collector circles of our interest. This year a British dealer finally offered us one. This is the second novel by an African-American writer, which in itself makes the work of extreme interest to us. But, even more interesting, Frank Webb was a Philadelphian, a product of this city's black middle class, and his...
[The entire page is 4141 words long]
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