The Big Sea
Hughes's autobiography recounts the childhood, work, and travel behind his writing. It offers a useful comparison with Sandy's fictional upbringing.
Read our take
Not Without Laughter
A Black boy grows up among the work, arguments, faith, and music of his Kansas family before moving to Chicago.
- 1930
- 256
About Langston Hughes
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeNot Without Laughter is Langston Hughes's first novel, published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1930. It follows Sandy from childhood in the fictional Kansas town of Stanton into adolescence in Chicago. His grandmother Hager supports the household by washing clothes, while his mother Annjee works in domestic service. His father's guitar and his aunt Harriett's singing offer pleasures that Hager's strict religion cannot quite contain. Sandy learns from each family member while deciding what education might make possible for him.
The story, in more detail
The novel opens with a cyclone that tears the porch from Hager's house. After protecting Sandy, Hager goes to comfort a bereaved white neighbor. Sandy must wait outside, frightened for his absent mother. The episode introduces Hager's generosity alongside the child's need for attention.
Paid work shapes the household's choices. Harriett objects to overwork and sexual harassment at the country club. Annjee brings food home from her employer's kitchen, hoping to please her husband Jimboy. Hager measures her earnings against schoolbooks, clothes, and repairs.
Sandy encounters racial exclusion in ordinary institutions. A teacher seats Black pupils behind the white children despite announcing an alphabetical arrangement. An amusement park advertises free entry to every child, then turns Black children away. Hughes shows these exclusions through the expectations they destroy.
Family members disagree about how to respond. Hager insists on forgiveness and Christian duty. Harriett voices anger at exploitation. Sandy's prosperous aunt Tempy prizes formal education and social standing, but distances herself from poorer Black neighbors. Sandy's growing judgment draws on these competing examples.
Sandy's story
Sandy grows up in Hager's house while Jimboy repeatedly leaves Stanton in search of work or travel. Annjee eventually joins her husband elsewhere, leaving Sandy with his grandmother. Harriett also leaves home and begins the unsettled journey that leads to a career as a blues singer.
After Hager dies, Sandy moves into Tempy's more comfortable home. Books and schooling widen his ambitions, but Tempy's contempt for working-class Black life troubles him. At sixteen, he goes to Chicago to rejoin Annjee and takes a hotel elevator job.
How it ends — spoilers ahead
The elevator's long hours threaten Sandy's return to school. Annjee needs his earnings and wants him to keep working. When Harriett performs in Chicago, Sandy and Annjee attend her show and reunite with her afterward.
Harriett offers money so Sandy can continue his education. Her decision fulfills an ambition Hager held for him, despite the arguments that once divided mother and daughter. The novel closes with Sandy listening appreciatively to church singing in Chicago.
Quotes from Not Without Laughter
I’ve got to go back to school.
Is you happy, chile?
Why we recommend it
A family with different convictions
Hager, Harriett, Annjee, and Tempy want different things from work, faith, and family. Their disagreements give Sandy several examples to consider as he grows.
The cost of staying in school
Schoolbooks require money, and paid work consumes time. Sandy's education depends on practical help from relatives as well as his own determination.
Music heard in its daily setting
Songs accompany evenings at home, religious services, and public performances. The novel describes who listens, who objects, and what memories the music brings back.
What this book explores
The people in its pages
Sandy
The boy whose childhood in Stanton and move to Chicago organize the novel.
Hager Williams
Sandy's grandmother, a laundress whose earnings, faith, and care sustain the household.
Harriett Williams
Sandy's youngest aunt, who resists domestic service and becomes a blues performer under the name Harrietta Williams.
Timeline
May 28, 1930
Hughes writes to Joel Spingarn asking to dedicate the novel to him and Amy Spingarn. The letter is held by the New York Public Library.
1930
Alfred A. Knopf publishes Not Without Laughter, Hughes's first novel.
2026
Vintage publishes the selected 256-page paperback with an introduction by Bryan Washington on January 6.
Book editions
Hardcover
- Hardcover
- Alfred A. Knopf
- 1930
- Paperback
- Vintage
- 2026
- 9798217007554
Reader reviews
Readers may also like
The Weary Blues
Hughes's earlier poetry collection also makes blues performance and Black everyday life central subjects.
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Sandy explicitly thinks of Frederick Douglass while defending his wish to study. Douglass's own account describes learning under the restrictions of slavery.
Read our takeNot Without Laughter: frequently asked questions
What is Not Without Laughter about?
The novel follows Sandy, a Black boy growing up in Kansas and later Chicago. His family, education, employment, and encounters with racism shape his plans for adult life.
Is Sandy Langston Hughes?
Sandy is a fictional character. Hughes drew on his Midwestern childhood, but the novel should not be read as a factual autobiography. The Big Sea is Hughes's later account of his own early life.
Where does Not Without Laughter take place?
Most of the novel takes place in Stanton, a fictional Kansas town. Its final chapters follow sixteen-year-old Sandy to Chicago during World War I.
Who is Harrietta Williams?
Harrietta is the professional name used by Sandy's aunt Harriett when she performs as a blues singer. The final chapter presents her Chicago appearance as the Princess of the Blues.
When was Not Without Laughter first published?
Alfred A. Knopf first published it in 1930. The selected Vintage paperback is a 2026 edition with different pagination.
Which edition has Bryan Washington's introduction?
The Vintage paperback published January 6, 2026, has an introduction by Bryan Washington. Its ISBN is 9798217007554 and the publisher lists 256 pages.
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References
References
The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document Not Without Laughter, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1Not Without Laughter
NovelLangston Hughes, 1930Used forThe primary text represented by this page, used for descriptions of the work’s contents and for any quoted passages shown here.
2Not Without Laughter (1930): Full Text
NovelLehigh UniversityUsed forPrimary text for plot, character readings, music, and quotations. The transcription's introductory publisher label is inaccurate; the original Knopf imprint is established separately by catalog records.
3Not Without Laughter: Knopf First Edition
ArchiveWorldCatUsed forOriginal Knopf publication in 1930.
4Not Without Laughter: Vintage Edition with Bryan Washington Introduction
WebsitePenguin Random HouseUsed forSelected Vintage edition, ISBN, page count, introduction, and the novel's relation to Hughes's childhood.
5Langston Hughes to Joel Spingarn, May 28, 1930
ArchiveNew York Public LibraryUsed forMay 28, 1930 dedication request to Joel and Amy Spingarn.
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Why these sources are here
The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.
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