Concise, readable survey examines the life of a leading spokesman for abolition and one of the most influential promoters of the civil rights movement. Covers Douglass' early life in slavery, his escape from Maryland to New York, his power and charisma as a public speaker, and much more.

Frederick Douglass (African American)

Biographies & Memoirs

Chesnutt, Charles

Community & Culture

Dover Publications

William Wells Brown, Frances E.W. Harper, and Charles W. Chesnutt, three black writers who bore witness to the experience of their people under slavery, create a portrait of black life in the 19th century in these three novels.

Three Classic African-American Novels : Clotel, Iola Leroy, The Marrow of Tradition (Vintage Classics)

Literature & Fiction

Harper, Frances Ellen Watkin

Brown, William W.

United States

Vintage

In this provocative novel of reconstruction and race, a Civil War veteran tries to create a new utopia in his Southern hometown after gaining enlightenment and riches in the North. Revolutionary in both its storyline and its storytelling, The Colonel’s Dream was one of the most progressive books of its time when it was first published in 1905. Few authors of African descent created white protagonists, but Charles Chesnutt did just that, exploring the economic and social conditions of freed slaves through the eyes of Colonel French, a former Confederate officer. Returning to his impoverished hometown after years as a successful businessman in the North, French attempts to revitalize the community and improve living conditions for a vibrant cast of characters living there, including his old servant and an ambitious young woman. Despite his hopes, French faces roadblocks at every turn, including a corrupt convict-leasing system that essentially re-enslaves many of the town’s black residents. With a new, no-holds barred Introduction by the incomparable Ishmael Reed, The Colonel’s Dream offers a prophetic perspective on modern issues of multiculturalism and economic disparity, making it a keystone in American literature and history.

The Colonel's Dream: A Novel (Harlem Moon Classics)

Humor & Satire

Harlem Moon

The House Behind the Cedars, which many consider Charles Chesnutt’s ﬁnest novel, tells of John and Lena Walden, mulatto siblings who pass for white in the postbellum American South. The drama that unfolds as they travel between black and white worlds constitutes a riveting portrait of the shifting and intractable nature of race in American life. This edition revitalizes a much-neglected masterpiece by one of our most important African-American writers. As Werner Sollors writes, “William Dean Howells did not overstate his case when he compared Chesnutt’s works with those by Turgenev, Maupassant, and James . . . and [Chesnutt] has become one of the most important ‘crossover’ authors from the African-American tradition.”

The House Behind the Cedars (Modern Library Classics)

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Modern Library

In 1898 there occurred the only ever successful coup d’etat in the United States, when the white supremacists in Wilmington, North Carolina overthrew the local government there and established their rule. Outraged at the portrayal of the massacre and riots that would follow, Charles Chesnutt published The Marrow of Tradition in 1901 as a direct response to the misrepresentation of information at the time. Its significance lies not only in its moral courage, but in the realistic depictions of a multitude of varying points of view — all of which represent a person or a group who bore witness or were swept up in this tragic historical chapter.

The Marrow of Tradition

Classics

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

The Marrow of Tradition and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl - The Best Black Authors Of All Time Charles Chesnutt Harriet Jacobs Ode Sade "As man sows, so shall he reap. In works of fiction, such men are sometimes converted. More often, in real life, they do not change their natures until they are converted into dust." &#8213; Charles W. Chesnutt "Reader, did you ever hate? I hope not. I never did but once; and I trust I never shall again. Somebody has called it "the atmosphere of hell"; and I believe it is so." - Harriet Ann Jacobs The Marrow of Tradition pp. 4 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl pp. 329

The Marrow of Tradition and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: - The Best Black Authors Of All Time

Jacobs, Harriet

Arts & Photography

Ode Sade

Full text. This beautiful Charles W. Chesnutt's biography follows the story of Douglass as a slave to his days as a great orator, a great orator compelling people from both races to join his cause to free his people. A very inspiring read.

Frederick Douglass: A Biography

The House Behind the Cedars: SeaWolf Press Classic

SeaWolf Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Chesnutt, Charles. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Chesnutt, Charles