Of One Blood - A Novel

Of One Blood by Pauline Hopkins, 1902. I finished this book last night. This was an incredible novel written by an African-American woman during the first years of the 20th century. The novel is an adventure to Africa to explore an ancient civilization that goes beyond a historical novel and into the realm of science fiction and fantasy and the discovery of the power of blood, race and biological kinship of all people. The prose adds a quirky, dream-like quality to the narrative.

This was her last novel. She was considered a prolific African-American author and a influential literary editor of her time.

This book is one of a series of early 20th century proto-science fiction novels published by MIT Press in their self described Radium Age of underappreciated forgotten classics from 1900-1935. There are 21 books in the series at this time. Here is a link to the MIT Press Radium Age from Penguin Random House. 

The author, Pauline Hopkins, was a prominent African-American novelist, historian, journalist, playwright and editor. She wrote novels that explored social and racial themes.