Composition in Black and White: The Life of Philippa Schuyler

by Kathryn Talalay

Book Overview

George Schuyler, a renowned and controversial black journalist of the Harlem Renaissance, and Josephine Cogdell, a blond, blue-eyed Texas heiress and granddaughter of slave owners, believed that intermarriage would "invigorate" the races, thereby producing extraordinary offspring. Their daughter, Philippa Duke Schuyler, became the embodiment of this theory. Able to read and write at the age of two and a half, a pianist at four, and a composer by five...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195113934
• ISBN13: 9780195113938
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

More than I hoped for

I was very happy with my copy of this book. Not only because I finally got to read about my very famous cousin who died a few weeks after I was born, but because of the fantastic service I received. I expected the book to arrive at the end of the 14-day shipping window. Then -- bam! -- it was hear about four days after the e-mail notification. Considering that the post office was already having quality control issues before they asked Congress if they could shut down a slew of processing centers, lay off thousands of workers and cut out Saturday deliveries, I was just hoping I'd receive the package. The book was as advertised. It had some dog ears and a few highlights, but otherwise it was in very good condition, almost like new. I am enjoying what I've read so far. Overall, it was a very pleasurable experience.

A Must Read!

This story is important in African American History. My boyfriend know about her because his niece attended the school named after her. It is an interesting story of a child prodigy of mixed race because of racism couldn't blossom into the next Mozart. There are many heros of African American background that should be acknowleged and discussed in the classroom.

Partly dark but riveting story of a mulatoo virtuoso

As a social historian and african-american writer I enthralled when I read the NY Times Book Review of Kathryn Talalay's bio of phillippa Schuyler. Schuyler made her mark as a musical child prodigy and later, as an adult, a celebrated composer-pianist. Schuyler's life as an international performer in one sense mirrors that of another but more recognized "tragic mulatoo", Dorthy Dandridge. And her last career as a grounbreaking war correspondent in South Vietnam is particularly entriguing. Overall, Talalay's book is marvelous but the high brow and sordid realities of Schuyler's life are especially deserving of a major made-for-cable TV treatment. Similiarly to what recently afforded Dandridge. That way Talalay's thought provoking examination of Schuyler's achievements could be made accessible to a greater number of african-americans and others alike.

I enjoyed the book very much.

I am very glad I read this book but the story made me very sad for you see, Philippa was my first cousin, once removed. Daniel Calhoun Cogdell, was her grandfather and my great grandfather. I was 30 years old when Philippa died and I would love to have known her. The family never discussed Josephine Cogdell, Philippa's mother, except to say she was eccentric and died young. How sad they missed out on so much and so did I for I did not know she even existed. Yes, very sad indeed.

An extremely thoughtful, impressive and provocative story

I read this book after purchasing it from an Oxford catalog. I'd wanted to buy it since I read the NY Times review. I absolutely loved it. I applaud the scholarship and research of the biographer, but also the humane description of a very complex character. I'd never heard of Phillippa Schuyler, before I read the book review. Although she had many flaws, including her ambiguity about her blackness, she still had a remarkable life and is one of my "sheroes". Her story intrigues me and I want to know more about her father and his writing. Her life ended tragically, but she lived it fully. I am saddened that she so hated her African heritage that she thought the only way she could succeed was to pass herself off as anything but black. I also purchased a copy to send my sister, who is a classical music buff. This is another example of the history of African-Americans being "lost, stolen, or strayed". Every school child should know about Phillippa, as well as the many other gift and talented African-Americans. I am sorry she didn't claim her heritage. I claim her.