Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) is the best-known novel of the 4 written by African American writer Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960).

The novel tells the story of Janie Crawford who was raised in the kinship care of her maternal grandmother, Nanny.

Janie Crawford is a confident, middle-aged Black woman who returns to her hometown of Eatonville, Florida after being away for years. She explains that she was raised by her grandmother, who, influenced by her life as a slave and what happened to her daughter, wants Janie to marry an older man, a farmer named Logan Killicks, who can provide Janie with security and social states.

But Jane is miserable with Logan and runs off with another man.

According to the Zora Neale Hurston website:

“When first published in 1937, this novel about a proud, independent black woman was generally dismissed by male reviewers. Out of print for almost thirty years, but since its reissue…in 1978, Their Eyes Were Watching God has become the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.”