Collected in this volume are the 1889--1905 letters of one of the first African-American literary artists to cross the "color line" into the de facto segregated American publishing industry of the turn of the century. Selected for inclusion are those chronicling the rise of Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932), an attorney and businessman in Cleveland, Ohio, who achieved prominence as a novelist, short story writer, essayist, and lecturer despite the obstacles faced by a man of color during the "Jim Crow" period. In his insightful commentaries on his own situation, Chesnutt provides as well a special perspective on life-at-large in America during the Gilded Age, the "gay `90s" (which were not so gay for African Americans), and the Progressive era. Like his black correspondents--Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, T. Thomas Fortune, and William M. Trotter--he was one of the major commentators on what was then termed the "Negro Problem." His most distinguished novels, The House Behind the Cedars (1900) and The Marrow of Tradition (1901), were published by major "white" presses of the time; not only did his editors and publishers but then-preeminent black and white critics greet these literary protests against racism as proof of the intellectual and artistic excellence of which a long-oppressed people were capable when afforded equal opportunity.
Since the 1960s, when the rediscovery of his genius began in earnest, Chesnutt has received even more recognition than he enjoyed by the early 1900s. Joseph R. McElrath, Jr., and Robert C. Leitz, III, have surveyed every collection of Chesnutt's papers and those of his correspondents in order to reconstruct the story of his most vital years as an author. Their introduction contextualizes the letters in light of Chesnutt biography and the less-than-promising prospects faced by a would-be literary artist of his racial background. Their encyclopedic annotations explaining contemporary events to which Chesnutt responds and what was then transpiring in both black and white cultural environments illuminate not only Chesnutt's character but those of many now unfamiliar figures who also contributed to what Chesnutt termed the "cause." Provided in this first-ever edition of Chesnutt's letters is a detailed portrait of one of the pioneers in the African-American literary tradition and a panorama of American life a century ago.
Originally published in 1997.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
"A thoughtful and energetic reader, Mizruchi produces some fine insights, particularly about the novels' production of complicity between their narrators and seemingly non-authorial characters and their thematization of narrative technique as a mode of power."--Nineteenth-Century Literature
Collected in this volume are the 1889-1905 letters of one of the first African-American literary artists to cross the "color line" into the de facto segregated publishing industry of the turn of the century. Selected for inclusion are those letters chronicling the rise of Chesnutt, an attorney and businessman in Cleveland, Ohio, who achieved prominence as a novelist, short story writer, essayist and lecturer, despite the obstacles faced by a black man during the period. In his insightful commentaries on his own situation, Chesnutt provides a special perspective on life in American during the Gilded Age, the "gay `90s" and the Progressive era. Like his black correspondents (Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, T. Thomas Fortune and William M. Trotter) he was one of the major commentators on what was then termed the "Negro Problem". The editors of this volume have surveyed every collection of Chesnutt's papers and those of his correspondents in order to reconstruct the story of his most vital years as an author.
Their introduction contextualizes the letters in the light of Chesnutt's biography and the less-than-promising prospects faced by a would-be literary artist of his racial background. Their annotations explain contempoary events to which Chesnutt responds."About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
£ 3.63
Within U.S.A.
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.25. Seller Inventory # G0691036683I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Seller Inventory # M10D-03022
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: BookDepart, Shepherdstown, WV, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: New. Hardcover, new, with dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 68115
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Midtown Scholar Bookstore, Harrisburg, PA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. unmarked, light shelfwear-NICE Standard-sized. Seller Inventory # 0691036683-01
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: John M. Gram, Port Huron, MI, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. a nice, clean copy, like new, octavo, 248 pages, first printing. Seller Inventory # 038079
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Willis Monie-Books, ABAA, Cooperstown, NY, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Seller Inventory # 43479
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Granada Bookstore, IOBA, Woodlawn, IL, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. The Number Line Indicates A First Printing Of This First Edition. A Few Pages With Corner Creases. Seller Inventory # 021075
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First edition. 248pp. Bowed boards and a spot on the page edge thus very good in a fine dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 561483
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Callaghan Books South, New Port Richey, FL, U.S.A.
Cloth. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. First Edition. Fine dark brown cloth, gilt lettering very bright on spine, 248 lightly browned pages. DJ beautiful with ornate black design, blue and pale yellow, oval photo of Chesnutt on front, praise on back from George Hutchinson. DJ and book, both As New. Seller Inventory # 28853
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: zenosbooks, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: Very Good in Dustjacket. 1st edition. Seller Inventory # z24181
Quantity: 1 available