{"product_id":"dancing-in-the-dark-paperback","title":"Dancing in the Dark - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eCaryl Phillips\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this searing novel, Caryl Phillips reimagines the life of the first black entertainer in the U.S. to reach the highest levels of fame and fortune.After years of struggling for success on the stage, Bert Williams (1874--1922), the child of recent immigrants from the Bahamas, made the radical decision to don blackface makeup and play the \"coon.\" Behind this mask he became a Broadway headliner-as influential a comedian as Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and W. C. Fields, who called him \"the funniest man I ever saw, and the saddest man I ever knew.\" It is this dichotomy at Williams' core that Phillips explores in this richly nuanced, brilliantly written novel, unblinking in its attention to the sinister compromises that make up an identity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCaryl Phillips was born in St. Kitts, West Indies. Brought up in England, he has written for television, radio, theater, and film. He is the author of three books of nonfiction and seven previous novels. His last novel, \u003ci\u003eA Distant Shore, \u003c\/i\u003ewon the 2004 Commonwealth Prize. His awards include the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize, a Guggenheim fellowship, and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Phillips lives in New York City. \u003cbr\u003eCaryl Phillips's \u003ci\u003eThe Final Passage, A State of Independence, The European Tribe, Higher Ground, Cambridge, Crossing the River, The Nature of Blood, The Atlantic Sound, A New World Order, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Distant Shore\u003c\/i\u003e are available in Vintage paperback.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 224\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.58 x 7.98 x 5.32 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 10, 2006\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51750339379488,"sku":"9781400079834","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/275de6307f92bf5f04e8eb98f999dd88.webp?v=1779948561","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/dancing-in-the-dark-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}