0
    • Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
    0 0
    Download high-resolution image Look inside

    The Portable Charles W. Chesnutt

    Author Charles W. Chesnutt
    Introduction by William L. Andrews
    Edited by William L. Andrews
    General editor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
    Look inside
    Paperback
    $23.00 US
    Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Classics
    On sale May 27, 2008 | 544 Pages | 9780143105343
    Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

    See Additional Formats
    A collection from one of our most influential African American writers

    An icon of nineteenth-century American fiction, Charles W. Chesnutt, an incisive storyteller of the aftermath of slavery in the South, is 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 fiction), three essays, and the novel The Marrow of Tradition. Published here for the 150th anniversary of Chesnutt's birth, The Portable Charles W. Chesnutt will bring to a new audience the genius of a man whose legacy underlies key trends in modern Black fiction.

    For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
    The Portable Charles W. ChesnuttGeneral Introduction Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
    Introduction William L. Andrews
    Suggestions for Further Reading
    A Note on the Texts

    The Portable Charles W. Chesnutt

    I. Short Stories

    The Goophered Grapevine
    Po' Sandy
    Mars Jeems's Nightmare
    Sis' Becky's Pickaninny
    The Wife of His Youth
    The Sheriff's Children
    A Matter of Principle
    The Passing of Grandison
    Uncle Wellington's Wives
    The Web of Circumstance
    Dave's Neckliss
    Baxter's Procrustes

    II. Novel

    The Marrow of Tradition

    III. Essays

    What Is a White Man?
    The Disfranchisement of the Negro
    Post-Bellum—Pre-Harlem

    Charles W. Chestnutt (1858–1932) was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where his family had moved from Fayettefille, North Carolina, to seek better economic opportunities. Shortly after the Civil War, they returned to Fayetteville, where Chesnutt spent most of his childhood and young adulthood. He taught in local public schools, eventually returning to Cleveland and being admitted to the bar. He established a legal stenography business yet found himself strongly attracted to writing fiction. He published two collections of short stories, The Conjure Woman and The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line (1890) and three widely reviewed novels, The House Behind the Cedars (1900), The Marrow of Tradition (1901), and The Colonel's Dream (1905), while devoting essays and speeches to agitation for civil rights for African Americans, especially in the South. Unable to support his family as a full-time writer, he resumed his business career but maintained until his death a respected role in African American letters. View titles by Charles W. Chesnutt

    About

    A collection from one of our most influential African American writers

    An icon of nineteenth-century American fiction, Charles W. Chesnutt, an incisive storyteller of the aftermath of slavery in the South, is 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 fiction), three essays, and the novel The Marrow of Tradition. Published here for the 150th anniversary of Chesnutt's birth, The Portable Charles W. Chesnutt will bring to a new audience the genius of a man whose legacy underlies key trends in modern Black fiction.

    For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

    Table of Contents

    The Portable Charles W. ChesnuttGeneral Introduction Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
    Introduction William L. Andrews
    Suggestions for Further Reading
    A Note on the Texts

    The Portable Charles W. Chesnutt

    I. Short Stories

    The Goophered Grapevine
    Po' Sandy
    Mars Jeems's Nightmare
    Sis' Becky's Pickaninny
    The Wife of His Youth
    The Sheriff's Children
    A Matter of Principle
    The Passing of Grandison
    Uncle Wellington's Wives
    The Web of Circumstance
    Dave's Neckliss
    Baxter's Procrustes

    II. Novel

    The Marrow of Tradition

    III. Essays

    What Is a White Man?
    The Disfranchisement of the Negro
    Post-Bellum—Pre-Harlem

    Author

    Charles W. Chestnutt (1858–1932) was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where his family had moved from Fayettefille, North Carolina, to seek better economic opportunities. Shortly after the Civil War, they returned to Fayetteville, where Chesnutt spent most of his childhood and young adulthood. He taught in local public schools, eventually returning to Cleveland and being admitted to the bar. He established a legal stenography business yet found himself strongly attracted to writing fiction. He published two collections of short stories, The Conjure Woman and The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line (1890) and three widely reviewed novels, The House Behind the Cedars (1900), The Marrow of Tradition (1901), and The Colonel's Dream (1905), while devoting essays and speeches to agitation for civil rights for African Americans, especially in the South. Unable to support his family as a full-time writer, he resumed his business career but maintained until his death a respected role in African American letters. View titles by Charles W. Chesnutt

    Additional formats

    Other Books by this Author

    Related Articles

    Books for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Book Covers: Cowboys and East Indians 9798217006892 Advocate 9781984862495 THE EMPEROR OF GLADNESS 9780593831878 IT RHYMES WITH TAKEI 9781603095747
    General

    Books for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

    Each May, we honor the stories, histories, and cultures of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Below is a selection of acclaimed fiction and nonfiction books by AANHPI creators to share with your students this month and throughout the year. Find our full collection of titles for Higher Education here.

    Read more

    Books for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

    General
    Subscribe

    Penguin Random House Higher Education

    © 2026 Penguin Random House

    Back to Top
    0
    Wish List (0)