Joy Goddess

A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance

By: A'Lelia Bundles

Narrated by: A'Lelia Bundles

“Raucously immersive...An intimate portrait of Black opulence in the early 20th century.” —Oprah Daily

A “scintillating, vibrant” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) and deeply researched biography of A’Lelia Walker—daughter of Madam C.J. Walker and herself a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance—written by her great-granddaughter.

Dubbed the “joy goddess of Harlem’s 1920s” by poet Langston Hughes, A’Lelia Walker was a dazzling cultural icon whose legendary parties and Dark Tower salon helped define the Harlem cultural scene.

After inheriting her mother’s pioneering hair care business, A’Lelia became America’s first high-profile Black heiress and a patron of the arts. Joy Goddess takes readers inside her New York homes, where she hosted luminaries including Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Paul Robeson, Florence Mills, James Weldon Johnson, Carl Van Vechten, and W.E.B. Du Bois—figures who shaped African American history and culture during the Roaring Twenties.

Drawing on extensive research and personal correspondence, A’Lelia Bundles presents a nuanced biography of a woman navigating life as a wife, mother, businesswoman, and patron outside the shadow of her famous mother’s legacy.

With vivid detail, Joy Goddess brings to life A’Lelia’s radiant personality, fashion-forward influence, and role as one of the most important cultural icons of Harlem, offering a fresh and unforgettable portrait of the woman who embodied the spirit of a new Black cultural era.

Critic reviews

"A’Lelia Bundles narrates her biography of her great-grandmother, A’Lelia Walker, with pride. A’Lelia Walker was the daughter of the first wealthy African American woman, Madam C.J. Walker, who created a Black hair-care empire long before the Civil Rights movement. Bundles projects the excitement of the historical period in which A’Lelia—stubborn and loyal to a fault—set out on a lifetime of adventure. Eventually, her personal and professional lives merged as she became a patron of the arts and an advocate for her mother’s legacy. While listeners will be reminded how difficult mixing business and family can be, this is the story of a family that is iconic to this day."

Great Story of Legacy

To know the story of Madam CJ Walker and her daughter is one thing, but to hear it in the voice of her descendent made it that much more special. The way the storytelling was depicted was magical and had me locked in from the first chapter.

I'm incredibly proud of how this story was written and look forward to seeing all that is to come about the Walker legacy.

Pure JOY!

Thoroughly inJOYED this amazing book honoring the life and legacy of A’leila Walker! Deeply grateful for this work and high level of storytelling, research, reverence, and historical aptitude! Job well done!!! Encore! Encore! I am a HUGE fan of Madame Walker and this story encapsulates the complexities of Harlem life, love, family, legacy, wealth, racism, and so much more!! Kudos to A’leila Bundles for writing this brilliant story!

An honest and compelling biography

Truly loved this book. It highlighted A’Leila Walker’s importance to the Harlem Renaissance and as an aspirational figure in the African American community while pulling no punches on the destructive reality of some of her decisions and actions.

Interesting, but much longer than it needed to be

My book club selected this book and everyone was excited at first, But most did not finish the book because it was bogging down with way too many details. Did we really need to know what the weather was “unseasonable warm” on particular day?

Also the author seemed to take a lot of creative license in interpreting the emotions and dialogue that the main characters had with each other. Even though there were letters of correspondence that the author had access to, which documented events, there still seems to be more fiction than fact in some areas.

I had the Audible version so I missed out on seeing photos that probably were included in the hardback, which is a bummer. Sometimes Audible books have a PDF that you can download with images.

For anyone who aspires to be an entrepreneur or currently is one, there a lot to learn here about how difficult it is to build a legacy that lasts.