The Color Purple

A touchstone of modern American literature, now a Penguin Classics Black Spine Paperback

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award

Few novels have shaped American literature and culture like Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. In early-twentieth-century rural Georgia, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other after being separated in their youth. Through a series of letters spanning nearly thirty years, first from Celie to God, then from the sisters to each other, the novel draws readers into a rich and memorable portrayal of Black women—their pain and struggle, companionship and growth, resilience and bravery. Deeply compassionate and beautifully imagined, The Color Purple breaks the silence around domestic and sexual abuse and carries readers on an epic and spirit-affirming journey toward transformation, redemption, and love.

Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.