The Color Purple

The Hachette Essentials series comprises a collection of titles that are regarded as modern classics. A carefully and lovingly curated selection of distinctive, ground-breaking fiction and non-fiction titles published since 1950. Timeless. Relevant. Passionate. Unified as a series - distinctive as books. A good book is great. A great book is essential. Set in the deep American South between the wars, THE COLOR PURPLE is the tale of Celie, a young black girl born into poverty and segregation. Raped repeatedly by the man she calls 'father', she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Nettie and is trapped into an ugly marriage. But then she meets the glamorous Shug Avery - singer and magic-maker - a woman who has taken charge of her own destiny. Gradually Celie discovers the power and joy of her own spirit, freeing her from her past and reuniting her with those she loves. THE COLOR PURPLE is one of the all-time greats of literature, a global bestseller, and has inspired generations of readers. Industry Reviews She is one of the most gifted writers in her country A unique blend of serenity and immediacy that makes your senses ache - Helen Dunmore THE COLOR PURPLE is a work to stand beside literature for any time and any place. It needs no category other than the fact that it is superb A genuinely mind-expanding book. - GUARDIAN The great irony about The Color Purple is that it transcends colour. To do that you have to be a magician or a genius. This book works on all levels, the political, the historical, the personal, the emotional, the spiritual . . . Not a word is wasted, every breath accounted for. We all know that this is one of the greatest books of all time. Alice Walker is a lavishly gifted writer - New York Times A fable for the modern world - Washington Post