Dark Princess

First published in 1928, Dark Princess is W. E. B. Du Bois's most ambitious novel-an international political romance that imagines a future shaped by solidarity among people of color worldwide. Combining fiction with political vision, the novel moves from the United States to Europe, Asia, and Africa, weaving together themes of race, power, colonialism, and hope. The story follows Matthew Towns, a Black American medical student forced out of the United States by racism, whose exile leads him into a secret global movement dedicated to overturning white imperial dominance. At the center of this vision stands the "Dark Princess," a symbol of dignity, unity, and revolutionary possibility. Neither purely novel nor pure manifesto, Dark Princess defies genre conventions. It merges romance, speculative politics, and social critique into a sweeping narrative that reflects Du Bois's belief in global Black leadership and international cooperation. Radical in its time-and still provocative today-the book offers a rare look at Du Bois's fictional imagination at full scale.

This Impact Books edition presents Dark Princess as a powerful work of historical fiction and political vision for modern readers.