Queenie: Godmother of Harlem
by Aurélie Levy (Author), Elizabeth Colomba (Illustrator)
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Description
"Queenie follows the life of Stephanie Saint-Clair-the infamous criminal who made herself a legend in Harlem in the 1930s. Born on a plantation in the French colony of Martinique, Saint-Clair left the island in 1912 and found success in New York, rising up through poverty and battling extreme racism to become the ruthless queen of Harlem's mafia and a fierce defender of the Black community. A racketeer and a bootlegger, Saint-Clair dedicated her wealth and compassion to the struggling masses show more of Harlem, giving loans and paying debts to those around her. But with Prohibition ending, and under threat by Italian mobsters seeking to take control of her operation, she launched a merciless war to save her territory and her skin. Author Aurelie Levy and co-writer and illustrator Elizabeth Colomba's meticulous details-in both story and art-bring Saint-Clair's story to life in a tense narrative, against a sometimes bloody backdrop of jazz and voodoo. The story tackles the themes of colonization, corruption, police violence, and racial identity, but above all, Queenie celebrates the genius of a woman forgotten by history"-- show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This historical fiction crime thriller is a bit flat, but I'm giving it a thumbs up for introducing me to the real woman who inspired the story: Stephanie St. Clair. Also known as "Madame Queen," she rose from being a domestic servant as a child in Martinique to running a lucrative numbers racket in Harlem in the 1920s and '30s, living a posh life but also investing and donating some of her profits into the community.
Her story comes through fairly clearly here even when it gets tangled with some unnecessary twists and turns for the sake of the thriller genre.
(Best of 2023 Project: I'm reading all the graphic novels that made it onto one or more of these lists:
• Washington Post 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2023
• Publishers Weekly 2023 show more Graphic Novel Critics Poll
• NPR's Books We Love 2023: Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels
This book made the PW list.) show less
Her story comes through fairly clearly here even when it gets tangled with some unnecessary twists and turns for the sake of the thriller genre.
(Best of 2023 Project: I'm reading all the graphic novels that made it onto one or more of these lists:
• Washington Post 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2023
• Publishers Weekly 2023 show more Graphic Novel Critics Poll
• NPR's Books We Love 2023: Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels
This book made the PW list.) show less
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127 works; 2 members
Author Information
Awards and Honors
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Queenie: Godmother of Harlem
- Original title
- Queenie, la marraine de Harlem
- Original publication date
- 2021
- People/Characters
- Stephanie St. Clair; Bumpy Johnson; Charles Alston; Duke Ellington; Dutch Schultz; Father Divine (show all 20); Jack Johnson; James Van Der Zee; Lucky Luciano; Thelonious Monk; W. E. B. Du Bois; Weegee (born Ascher Fellig, later Usher Fellig, then Arthur Fellig); Arthur Fellig (born Ascher Fellig, later Usher Fellig, a/k/a Weegee); Isaac "Roz" Rosenfeld; Joe Profaci (as Josef Profaci); Joseph Bonanno; Tommy Gagliano; Vincent Mangano; Nelson "Paw" (son of Madeleine "Maddie"); Madeleine "Maddie" (mother of Nelson "Paw")
- Important places
- Harlem, New York, New York, USA; New York, New York, USA; Martinique; Martinique, France; Long Island, New York, USA
- Important events
- Harlem Renaissance
- Dedication
- To my mother, my sister, my niece, and all women who fight, stumble, fall, get back up, and rise up. - FC
To my mother and grandmothers, who paved the way. To my daughter and niece, who walk it proud. - AL
« À ma mère, ma sœur, ma nièce et à toutes les femmes qui se battent, tombent, se relèvent et s'élèvent. »
Elizabeth Colomba
« À ma mère et mes grands-mères, qui ont tracé la voie de ma liberté. Pour Anna et Violeta, à qui revient celle d'en profiter. »
Aurélie Lévy - First words
- Bedford Hills Prison, 1933
How was your stay, Queenie?
Judge Wallace got me a better cell this time.
La liberté a un prix.
Prison de Bedford-Hills — 1933 - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)It means I'm coming home.
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Ça veut dire que je rentre à la maison. - Blurbers
- Goldberg, Whoopi; King, Regina
- Original language
- French
Classifications
- Genre
- Graphic Novels & Comics
- DDC/MDS
- 741.5 — Arts & recreation Drawing & decorative arts Drawing and drawings Comic books, graphic novels, fotonovelas, cartoons, caricatures, comic strips
- LCC
- PN6747 .C565 .Q4413 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Collections of general literature Comic books, strips, etc.
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 73
- Popularity
- 429,299
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.71)
- Languages
- Danish, English, French, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 1
