Gathering Storm: A Story of the Black Belt by [RADICAL & PROLETARIAN LITERATURE] PAGE, Myra (novel); PREVAL, Juanita (illustrations) - 1932

New York: International Publishers, 1932. First Edition. Hardcover. Page's first novel, based on the Loray Mill Strike in Gastonia, North Carolina, emphasizing "the need for unity between black and white workers not only in organizing Southern textile mills but in their common struggle to overthrown capitalism. Tom Crenshaw, the white organizer of the book, works closely with Fred Morgan, a negro strike leader. Both become Communists, and the book ends with their reunion at a Communist Party convention where William Z. Foster leads the singing of the Internationale" (BLAKE, p.250). The book was simultaneously issued by International Publishers in two bindings, a pictorial hardcover (as here) and another in plain brown cloth with dustjacket - both scarce. HANNA 2764; RIDEOUT, p.296. First Printing. Octavo (18.75cm); illustrated paper-covered boards and navy blue cloth backstrip, with titles stamped in red on spine [variant A]; [9],10-374pp; illus. Gentle sunning to spine, moderate wear to edges with some resulting board exposure, faint foxing to text edges, preliminary, and terminal leaves, with a few stains to spine, a vertical crease to front endpaper, and a small sticker-pull to upper right corner of front cover; Very Good only.