0
    • Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
    0 0
    Download high-resolution image

    Blues for Mister Charlie

    A Play

    Part of Vintage International

    Author James Baldwin
    Ebook
    Knopf | Vintage
    On sale Sep 17, 2013 | 144 Pages | 9780804149747
    Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
    Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

    See Additional Formats
    An award-winning play from one of America’s most brilliant writers about a murder in a small Southern town, loosely based on the 1955 killing of Emmett Till. • "A play with fires of fury in its belly, tears of anguish in its eyes, a roar of protest in its throat." —The New York Times

    James Baldwin turns a murder and its aftermath into an inquest in which even the most well-intentioned whites are implicated—and in which even a killer receives his share of compassion. 

    In a small Southern town, a white man murders a black man, then throws his body in the weeds. With this act of violence, James Baldwin launches an unsparing and at times agonizing probe of the wounds of race.

    For where once a white storekeeper could have shot a "boy" like Richard Henry with impunity, times have changed. And centuries of brutality and fear, patronage and contempt, are about to erupt in a moment of truth as devastating as a shotgun blast.
    James Baldwin (1924–1987) was a novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, appeared in 1953 to excellent reviews, and his essay collections Notes of a Native Son and The Fire Next Time were bestsellers that made him an influential figure in the growing civil rights movement. Baldwin spent much of his life in France, where he moved to escape the racism and homophobia of the United States. He died in France in 1987, a year after being made a Commander of the French Legion of Honor. View titles by James Baldwin
    "A play with fires of fury in its belly, tears of anguish in its eyes, a roar of protest in its throat." —The New York Times

    "Explosive, eloquent, honest.... To read it is devastating." —San Francisco Chronicle

    About

    An award-winning play from one of America’s most brilliant writers about a murder in a small Southern town, loosely based on the 1955 killing of Emmett Till. • "A play with fires of fury in its belly, tears of anguish in its eyes, a roar of protest in its throat." —The New York Times

    James Baldwin turns a murder and its aftermath into an inquest in which even the most well-intentioned whites are implicated—and in which even a killer receives his share of compassion. 

    In a small Southern town, a white man murders a black man, then throws his body in the weeds. With this act of violence, James Baldwin launches an unsparing and at times agonizing probe of the wounds of race.

    For where once a white storekeeper could have shot a "boy" like Richard Henry with impunity, times have changed. And centuries of brutality and fear, patronage and contempt, are about to erupt in a moment of truth as devastating as a shotgun blast.

    Author

    James Baldwin (1924–1987) was a novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, appeared in 1953 to excellent reviews, and his essay collections Notes of a Native Son and The Fire Next Time were bestsellers that made him an influential figure in the growing civil rights movement. Baldwin spent much of his life in France, where he moved to escape the racism and homophobia of the United States. He died in France in 1987, a year after being made a Commander of the French Legion of Honor. View titles by James Baldwin

    Praise

    "A play with fires of fury in its belly, tears of anguish in its eyes, a roar of protest in its throat." —The New York Times

    "Explosive, eloquent, honest.... To read it is devastating." —San Francisco Chronicle

    Additional formats

    Other books in this series

    Other Books by this Author

    Related Articles

    History

    Books for Black History Month

    In honor of Black History Month this February, we are highlighting essential fiction and nonfiction for students, teachers, and parents to share and discuss this month and beyond. Join Penguin Random House Education in celebrating the contributions of Black authors and illustrators by exploring the titles here: BLACK HISTORY – MIDDLE SCHOOL BLACK HISTORY –

    Read more

    Books for Black History Month

    History

    Penguin Random House Secondary Education

    © 2026 Penguin Random House

    Back to Top
    0
    Wish List (0)