by Cyrus Webb
I’ve been a fan of Victoria Christopher Murray since her
first book, and it’s been amazing watching her rise and thrive, garnering
readers literally around the world.
As a New York Times bestselling author, she has thrilled
readers with her unique ability to tell stories that draw the reader in and
keeps you engaged until the very last page. She has also had the privilege of
seeing her books being brought to life in movies, fulfilling what is the dream
for so many authors. Along the way, she has not just nurtured her own career; but found the time to pour into other authors as well.
In 2025 she celebrated her first solo historical fiction
novel HARLEM RHAPSODY (the paperback edition released this year), and at the time of this magazine’s release her newest
book with fellow New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict called A PAIR
OF ACES has been released and receiving glowing reviews.
In this conversation, I talk with Victoria about her
amazing journey, response to HARLEM RHAPSODY, introducing the world (and me) to
Jessie Redmon Fauset, and what it’s been like to do work she loves and find her
tribe along the way.
Victoria, thank you so much for spending some time with
us. I really appreciate it.
Thank you for having me back, Cyrus. You know you're one of
my favorite people to talk to over the years.
Thank you for that! I want to talk about this experience
for you. Of course, you are no stranger to book tours. You're no stranger to
press. What was it like for you to see people embrace Harlem Rhapsody and Jessie's
story?
It was amazing because like you, I had never heard of the
woman who ignited the Harlem Renaissance. Like, it's crazy. You and I are both
book lovers and we are lovers and admirers of the people that she mentored and
never heard her name. She is one of the most important figures in African
American literature and to bring her story, her life back to life has truly
been an honor.
And the places! One of my favorite books is Dr. Seuss's book
All the Places You'll Go. And all the places that writing Harlem Rhapsody and
Jessie Redmon Fauset have taken me…it's been amazing.
Victoria, when you were researching and writing the book,
did you realize how powerful this book would be, not only to your career, but
also to the world in introducing Jessie?
I didn't, and proof of that is when it was time for me to write my first solo historical fiction. I actually gave my editor three options. Jessie was my second choice, and I was very surprised when my editor and her boss said it had to be Jessie. And I was like, really? But I trust them. And they were absolutely right. They were right for so many reasons. It made sense for me to write the book on the woman whose shoulders I stand.
And
you gave me the greatest compliment, Cyrus. I've had hundreds of interviews
[about this book]. My launch was at the Kennedy Center. I spoke at the Barbara
Bush Foundation and sat next to Neil Bush. And the one thing that stands out in
my mind is something you said to me during the first interview of this book.
And I think it was the first week it came out or something. You said, ‘Victoria,
no one else could have written this book.’ And that was the greatest compliment,
because I had no idea how big this was going to be and how important a story it
was until after the book was written, until after I took her out into the world
and people were saying, ‘Why don't we know her? I need to get her other books.
I need to tell everybody about her’.
I meant it when I said it, Victoria, and it is so true.
How does it feel to know that something you have labored with for so long has
been able to connect with people in ways that others have not?
That's why I know it's a gift, because it has nothing to do
with me. I just write what's in my heart. One of the other great compliments I
received was with The Personal Librarian where the reviewer was talking about
all the wonderful books that Marie had written. And then he said, ‘Victoria
Christopher can write anything she wants to.’ And that was a great compliment,
because he was like, it doesn't even matter what the genre is. And that's when
you know it's a gift. And so, I have to rely on people like you and other
people I've interviewed with to tell me how much the books have mattered,
because I don't know that. I don't feel that as I'm writing. As I'm touring,
though, I do feel that.
Well, one thing that Jessie Redmon Fauset faces in this book, Victoria, that I think is so prominent—which is why I had made that comment initially about this book that no one could have written it but you—is that she experienced what so many women like yourself have experienced: Women who have achieved so much, women who have so much talent can bring so much to the world, and still feel like they have to prove something to other people, especially men.
Jessie experienced that. Did that surprise you as you
were writing the book, the similarities that the two of you share even though
she was so accomplished, had done so much, that for some people, she still had
to prove that she belonged where she was.
That's a good question. I don't think I realized it going
in. What I realized when I got to that part when I was reading about her is
that I could write this part.
Like you said, I'm a black woman who has well over thirty
books, books on TV, I'm a New York Times bestseller by God's grace…I am a USA Today
bestseller, NAACP Image Award Winner… and even with this book I had people
telling my publisher Victoria has to prove herself.
So the reason that I really embraced
what you said about only I could have written this book is
because so much of what she experienced, I understood. People say they stand on people's shoulders all the time, but I truly stand on
our shoulders. I've been writing books about the black middle class
for thirty years, and she's [Fauset] the first person to write a
book about the black middle class. So when you stand on someone's shoulders, I
wanted to do justice to her story, but I felt like I knew her life. I knew all
the issues that she had with men, all she had issues she would have with white
people, even as her mother was white and sometimes had to remind her that she
was black. I knew her story. I knew her story before I knew Jesse Redmond
Fauset.
I'm just a woman who will always have to prove herself. I'm a black woman, and this is America. And I've been given an awesome opportunity to be a writer in this country, but I also understand that I will be marginalized. So I don't complain about it. I just work through it.
Let's sit with that for a second, because that's a powerful thing you just said, Victoria. And I have to say, as your friend, it hurts me that you have to say that. It hurts that is the reality that you've been living with. When you think about what you said—that it is what it is—how does that feel?
Yeah, it's very sad. It's very sad. And especially because
you have comparisons, you know, apples to apples and things like that with
other authors. It's a sad thing, but if I focus on it too much, I will wallow
in that. And instead, what I would rather focus on is look at how Berkley—part of
Random House, the largest publisher in the United States, gave me this
opportunity. And you've been with me on this journey as I've been writing this
book and this book coming out. If anybody were to ask me what more could
Berkley have done for me, there's not another thing. They laid it all on the
table for me with Harlem Rhapsody. So, while I have obstacles in the way, I
want to focus on this great opportunity that I was given with this publisher
who now is a little surprised to see some of the marginalization themselves,
but who still stands behind me.
And so I focus on that, because that gives me the
opportunity to propel forward. And they are the reason for the success, standing
by me as a partner and standing by me as one of their authors. They are the
reason that Harlem Rhapsody has had the success that it has had.
I understand what you mean, Victoria, but to me, you're the
reason why Harlem Rhapsody is a success.
Well, okay. They would say the same thing. I could hear my
editor now saying, ‘Victoria, you're the reason.’ Yes, and I'm working very
hard. We wouldn't even have enough time for me to tell you the marginalization
I experienced with this book. And so, I could sit down and I could focus on
that and tell you about that; but I'd rather focus on the fact that I had such
great support from my publisher and then use the feelings to keep pushing
forward.
It's because of what I've experienced in my whole career
that I was able to even write Harlem Rhapsody. It was all of the people
standing in my face telling me what I couldn't do. All of the people pushing me
aside. If I didn't have those experiences, I wouldn't have even been able to
write a book like Harlem Rhapsody and all the books that I hope to write in the
future about black women who've been hidden in history. And if black women have
been hidden in history, they experienced what I'm experiencing now. I can't
write their stories authentically if I didn't walk in some parts of their
shoes.
I totally understand that. And then there are those that are coming behind you. You've opened up the door for so many authors and showed them what is possible, You have also given them the encouragement they need to keep going. How does that feel to know? I think about Mr. Holland's Opus. At the end when the students say to Mr. Holland we are your opus. How does that feel to know that you have this opus of individuals who are writing and doing what they do because of you?
Well, that I love a lot. Because if there is anything that I
love as much as writing and reading, it's teaching writing and coaching people
through writing. And I just feel like it is up to me. And when I say me, I'm
talking about a collective me, all of us who are writers, to bring other
writers along. Especially as I've entered into this historical fiction realm,
and I'm coaching all kinds of writers. It's been fabulous.
I feel like I was born for a time such as this. Like all the rest of my writing led me here. And I got better and better and better in the years because this historical fiction are the most important books that I will ever write for my culture, for my race.
As they're trying to erase my history, I can excavate it.
And as they're trying to ban books, they'll ban one, I'll figure out a way to
write two. And maybe I have to write two by me or me writing one and coaching
someone else to write one. And so leading writers and coaching writers and
helping them write, goes hand in hand with me writing historical fiction. It's
for a time such as this.
Stay connected with Victoria on her website https://victoriachristophermurray.com/
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