Charles W Chesnutt

The stories in "The Conjure Woman and Other Conjure Tales" were Chesnutt's first great literary success. This collection of thirteen short stories is told by a former slave named Uncle Julius to a white couple who have recently moved to the South. Uncle Julius's tales feature supernatural elements such as haunting, transfiguration, and conjuring that were typical of southern folk tales. In this collection, "Po' Sandy" recounts how a woman changed...

Originally published in 1900, this groundbreaking novel by a distinguished African American author explores the Southern obsession with race. The drama of a brother and sister who "pass for white" during the dangerous days of Reconstruction, it offers realistic, unsentimental perspectives on the role of race in 19th-century American life. -- Publisher's description.

The Marrow of Tradition (1901) is a historical novel by African American author, lawyer, and political activist Charles Chesnutt. Based on the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, in which a group of white supremacists rioted and overthrew the elected government of Wilmington, North Carolina, killing hundreds of African Americans and displacing thousands more-The Marrow of Tradition follows two interconnected families on opposite sides of the violence. Set...

"An icon of nineteenth-century American fiction, Charles W. Chesnuttan incisive storyteller of the aftermath of slavery in the Southis widely credited with almost single-handedly inaugurating the African American short story tradition and was the first African American novelist to achieve national critical acclaim. This major addition to Penguin Classics features an ideal sampling of his work: twelve short stories (including conjure tales and protest...

African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of enslaved people narratives, African-American literature was dominated by autobiographical spiritual narratives. The genre known as slave narratives in the 19th century were accounts by people who had generally escaped from slavery,...

"Twenty-three stories and poems by America's earliest black authors, illustrated by contemporary black artists including: authors, Langston Hughes [et al.]; adaptations, Alex Simmons, Christopher Priest, Mat Johnson; illustrators, Afua Richardson [et al.]"--Cover p. [4].