The marrow of tradition, By Charles W. Chesnutt (Historical novel) by Charles W Chesnutt

The marrow of tradition, By Charles W. Chesnutt (Historical novel) by Charles W Chesnutt

The Marrow of Tradition (1901) is a historical novel by the African-American author Charles Chesnutt, set at the time and portraying a fictional account of the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Plot summary--Set in the fictional town of Wellington, The Marrow of Tradition features several interweaving plots that encompass the poles of the racially segregated society of the American South at the turn of the century. One plot follows Major Carteret, the white owner of the major Wellington newspaper, as he colludes with several other powerful white men to take political control of the town. They are outraged about a provocative editorial published in a black paper that questioned white justifications for lynchings. As the town's unrest intensifies, Carteret faces domestic pressures; his only child Dodie and wife Olivia are both unwell. Carteret's niece Clara, recently introduced to society, is courted by the young Tom Delamere, a handsome and conniving aristocrat who spends most evenings nurturing his penchant for drink and cards. His habits are contrasted with those of Lee Ellis, a rival for Clara, and William Miller, a young black physician who with his wife has returned to his hometown of Wellington to practice medicine. He gained his medical education in Paris and Vienna. Though jarred by segregation and Jim Crow racism, Miller sets up his practice and starts his life. Miller's wife, Janet, is the mulatto half-sister of Mrs. Olivia Carteret; Janet spends her entire life hoping to be acknowledged by her white sister, who is too proud to accept her father's miscegenation after her mother died. Josh Green as a boy witnessed the murder of his father at the hands of a white man-a character named Captain McBane-and is intent on exacting revenge. All these subplots are forced to a crisis through two events: the murder of a white woman, Polly Ochiltree, for which a black servant, Sandy Campbell, is accused, and county elections. Campbell would have been lynched and burned without a trial if it weren't for Miller alerting his boss, the grandfather of the actual murderer, Tom Delamere. Old Mr. Delamere and Lee Ellis discover the truth and save Sandy's life, but Tom is never apprehended for his crime. A few months later, on the eve of the elections Major Carteret, Captain McBain, and one General Belmont conspired to incite a revolution, overthrowing the Republican party from power and keeping blacks from participating in the elections. They published inflammatory statements in the Morning Chronicle and the revolution quickly became a riot which engulfed the town. The novel culminates with justice for some-the faithful servant Campbell is saved by his patron, Delamere falls from grace, Josh Green avenges his father's death albeit at the cost of his own life, and Janet Miller gains recognition from her sister, who, along with Major Carteret, was humbled to respect the black Miller family in order to save an ailing Dodie.......

Chesnutt, Charles W.: -

Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932) was an African American author, lawyer, and political activist. Born in Cleveland to a family of free persons of color from North Carolina, Chesnutt spent his youth in Ohio before returning to the South after the Civil War. As a teenager, he worked as a teacher at a local school for Black students and eventually became principal at a college established in Fayetteville for the purpose of training Black teachers. Chesnutt married Susan Perry--with whom he had four daughters--in 1878 and moved to New York City for a short time before settling in Cleveland, where he studied law and passed the bar exam in 1887. His story The Goophered Grapevine, published the same year, was the first story by an African American to appear in The Atlantic. Back in Ohio, Chesnutt started the court stenography business that would earn him the financial stability to pursue a career as a writer. He wrote several collections of short stories, including The Conjure Woman (1899) and The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color-Line (1899), both of which explore themes of race in America and African American identity as well as employ African American Vernacular English. Chesnutt was also an active member of the NAACP throughout his life, writing for its magazine The Crisis, serving on its General Committee, and working with such figures as W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781537003184
ISBN 10	1537003186
Title	The marrow of tradition, By Charles W. Chesnutt (Historical novel)
Author	Charles W Chesnutt
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Year published	2016-08-10
Number of pages	154
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.