Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember and remember everything they don't want to forget. The dream is the truth.

When, at sixteen, Janie is caught kissing shiftless Johnny Taylor, her grandmother swiftly marries her off to an old man with sixty acres. Janie endures two stifling marriages before meeting the man of her dreams - who offers not diamonds, but a packet of flowering seeds. Rediscovered and championed by Alice Walker in the 1970s, Hurston's lyrical novel of self-discovery is now acclaimed as one of the greatest American classics of the twentieth century.

INTRODUCED BY ZADIE SMITH

'There is no novel I love more' ZADIE SMITH

'This novel is a packet of surprises' GUARDIAN

'One of the greatest writers of our time' TONI MORRISON

'Zora Neale Hurston was a knockout' MAYA ANGELOU

'There is no book more important to me than this one. It speaks to me as no novel, past or present, has ever done.' ALICE WALKER

To the last page that fills the soul with tears, Hurston's novel delivers. To me, it is also a welcome reminder that books are democratic, subversive and life-changing * The Times *
This novel is a packet of surprises as we have no idea what's going to happen next. Many romantic novels basically have the same plot, but this novel is something no one would have ever imagined * Guardian *
For me, Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of the very greatest American novels of the twentieth century. It is so lyrical it should be sentimental; it is so passionate it should be overwrought, but it is instead a rigorous, convincing and dazzling piece of prose, as emotionally satisfying as it is impressive. There is no novel I love more
Zora Neale Hurston was a knockout in her life, a wonderful writer and a fabulous person. Devilishly funny and academically solid: delicious mixture
One of the greatest writers of our time
There is no book more important to me than this one. It speaks to me as no novel, past or present, has ever done
A poignant story, told with almost rhythmic beauty * Kirkus Reviews *
[It] opened my ears to the virtuoso power of voice to convey character and ideas -- Beatriz Williams, a.k.a. Juliana Gray * The Week *
For me, Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of the very greatest American novels of the 20th century. It is so lyrical it should be sentimental; it is so passionate it should be overwrought, but it is instead a rigorous, convincing and dazzling piece of prose, as emotionally satisfying as it is impressive. There is no novel I love more * Zadie Smith *
There is no book more important to me than this one. It speaks to me as no novel, past or present, has ever done * Alice Walker *
Zora Neale Hurston was a knockout in her life, a wonderful writer and a fabulous person. Devilishly funny and academically solid: delicious mixture * Maya Angelou *

Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) was a novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist. An author of four novels (Jonah's Gourd Vine, 1934; Their Eyes Were Watching God, 1937; Moses, Man of the Mountain, 1939; and Seraph on the Suwanee, 1948); two books of folklore (Mules and Men, 1935, and Tell My Horse, 1938); an autobiography (Dust Tracks on a Road, 1942); and over fifty short stories, essays, and plays.

She attended Howard University, Barnard College and Columbia University, and was a graduate of Barnard College in 1927. She also grew up in Alabama.