Daddy Was A Number Runner

With a Foreword by James Baldwin

'Beautiful timeless and relevant' Jacqueline Woodson

'A most important novel' Paule Marshall

'A considerable achievement' James Baldwin

Depression-era Harlem is home for twelve-year-old Francie Coffin and her family and it's both a place of refuge and of danger. Her beloved father becomes a number runner when he is unable to find legal work and while one of Francie's brothers dreams of becoming a chemist the other is in a gang. Francie too is a dreamer but women in her neighbourhood have limited prospects either selling their bodies on the streets running poker games or having a baby every year. There are risks in everything from going to the movies to walking down the block.