Publication Date: May 12, 2026
From The Unexpected Diva author Tiffany L. Warren—a dishy and dramatic novel of the Harlem Renaissance and its most famous Black debutante, Yolande Du Bois, daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois, whose spectacular wedding to poet Countee Cullen was the society event of the year…even though the bride and groom were not-so-secretly in love with other people.
A century ago, Harlem’s glittering social scene had a single Yolande Du Bois, the only child of N.A.A.C.P. icon W.E.B. Du Bois. Yolande was bold, vivacious, and beloved of every gossip columnist. A true daddy’s girl, Yolande followed her father’s advice on from where she went to college (Fisk—Papa’s alma mater) to which sorority she joined (Delta Sigma Theta). But in matters of the heart, Yolande and her father did not agree. Dr. Du Bois himself curated a string of handsome suitors from the “Talented Tenth” for her, but Yolande’s true love was jazz musician Jimmie Lunceford, son of a working-class family from far-off Denver, Colorado. Their romance was an open secret, and more than a little scandalous.
Despite it all, Yolande wound up marrying her father’s famed poet Countee Cullen. Their lavish uptown wedding was the hottest social ticket of 1928. With three thousand attendees, sixteen bridesmaids, and Langston Hughes as a groomsman, it was truly a sight to behold.
But, immediately after the wedding, Yolande’s carefully constructed fairy tale begins to crumble. Torn between the expectations of her father and society and her heart’s true desire, Yolande is forced to decide whether she must leave Harlem to create a more authentic life on her own terms.
A Harlem Wedding is a heady read about love, notoriety, Black excellence, deception, and the très chic lifestyles of the Black elite, from speakeasies of Harlem and the green fields of Fisk University, all the way to Le Grand Duc in Paris.
As a man who built his career on fighting for equality, W.E.B. Du Bois guided his only child’s life like a skilled maestro.
Author Tiffany L. Warren delivers a memorable slice of historical fiction in A Harlem Wedding. Set in the 1920s, the story is narrated in first person by none other than his daughter, Yolande Du Bois.
The time period comes to life through the richly detailed setting. Separation by color was part of the culture, but voices of protest were already making inroads.
At age 18, Yolande has her own ideas, especially when it comes to a fetching jazz musician named Jimmie. However, she follows the path set by her father, which ultimately leads to a splashy society wedding and his choice of a groom. Her never-ending desire to please her father continues to come up with each decision she makes.
Yolande gets caught in the crosshairs of deception that alters the trajectory of her life. Faced with betrayal, she must chart her own course.
A Harlem Wedding brings to life the Du Bois family amid the Harlem Renaissance.
Tiffany L. Warren is a novelist and screenwriter who has published over thirty novels. In addition to writing books, Tiffany has written and produced multiple musicals for the stage, as well as several book-to-film collaborations with BET.
