# Passing

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/nella-larsen/passing/9780142437278

![Passing](https://quivercdn.com/covers/penguin-classics/nella-larsen/passing_978-01-4243-727-8.jpg?v=2026-04-24%2008%3A40%3A15)

- Book: [Passing](https://www.bookquiver.com/nella-larsen/passing) ([Passing.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/nella-larsen/passing.md))
- Authors: [Nella Larsen](https://www.bookquiver.com/nella-larsen)
- Publisher: penguin_classics
- ISBN: 978-01-4243-727-8
- Pages: 320
- Published: 2018-02-08
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: Softcover

## Description

A classic, brilliant and layered novel that has been at the heart of racial identity discourse in America for almost a century. Clare Kendry leads a dangerous life. Fair, elegant, and ambitious, she is married to a white man unaware of her African American heritage and has severed all ties to her past. Clare's childhood friend, Irene Redfield, just as light-skinned, has chosen to remain within the African American community, but refuses to acknowledge the racism that continues to constrict her family's happiness. A chance encounter forces both women to confront the lies they have told others - and the secret fears they have buried within themselves.