Go Tell It on the Mountain - James Baldwin - Overview of the novel and James Baldwin

Aug 25, 2026

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Go Tell It on the Mountain is James Baldwin’s first novel, published in 1953, widely recognized for drawing powerfully on his experiences as a boy preacher in Harlem. The text situates the novel within Baldwin’s broader literary career, noting later successes and major nonfiction works that established his fame. It also records key milestones and recognitions, including fellowships and honors, and reflects on how critics characterized his writing and influence.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages232

Reading Time5 h 57 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Part One: The Seventh Day

Part Two: The Prayers of the Saints

Florence’s Prayer

Gabriel’s Prayer

Elizabeth’s Prayer

Part Three: The Threshing-Floor

PENGUIN TWENTIETH-CENTURY CLASSICS GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN James Baldwin was born and educated in New York. Go Tell It on the Mountain, his ɹrst novel, was published in 1953. Evoking brilliantly his experiences as a boy preacher in Harlem, it was an immediate success and was followed by Giovanni’s Room, which explored the theme of homosexual love in a sensitive and compelling way. Another Country (1963) created something of a literary explosion and was followed in 1964 by two non-ɹction books, Nobody Knows My Name and Notes of a Native Son, which contain several of the stories and essays that brought him fame in America. Nobody Knows My Name was selected by the American Library Association as oneof the outstanding books of its year. He also published several collections of essays, including The Fire Next Time (1963), Nothing Personal (1964), No Name in the Street (1971), The Devil Finds Work (1976) and Evidence of Things Not Seen (1983), and he wrote several plays. His later novels include If Beale Street Could Talk (1974), Little Man, Little Man (1975) and Just Above My Head (1979). James Baldwin won a number of literary fellowships: a Eugene F. Saxon Memorial Trust Award, a Rosenwald Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Partisan Review Fellowship, and a Ford Foundation Grant-in-Aid. He was made a Commander of the Legion of Honour in 1986. He died in 1987. The Times obituary declared: ‘The best of his work… stands comparison with any of its period to come out of the United States’, while Newsweek described him as ‘an angry writer, yet his intelligence was so provoking and his sentences so elegant that he quickly became the black writer that white liberals liked to fear’. JAMES BALDWIN GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN PENGUIN BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrights Lane, London W8 5TZ, England Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd, Private Bag 102902, NSMC, Auckland, New Zealand Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Oɽces: Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England First published in Great Britain by Michael Joseph 1954 Published in Penguin Books 1991 10 9 8 Copyright 1954 by James Baldwin All rights reserved Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser 9780141917191 For MY FATHER AND MOTHER They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Contents Part One THE SEVENTH DAY Part Two THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS Florence’s Prayer Gabriel’s Prayer Elizabeth’s Prayer Part Three THE THRESHING-FLOOR

FAQs

Who wrote Go Tell It on the Mountain and when was it first published?

James Baldwin wrote Go Tell It on the Mountain. The text states it was first published in 1953.

What experiences influenced the novel?

The document explains that the novel evokes Baldwin’s experiences as a boy preacher in Harlem.

What major works and recognitions are mentioned alongside this novel?

It references several later novels and nonfiction collections, and it lists major fellowships and an 1986 honor as well as critical commentary on his work.

Aug 25, 2026

Upload by Hazel