The House Behind the Cedars
()
About this ebook
The House Behind the Cedars (1900) is African-American writer Charles Chesnutt’s debut novel. Inspired by his own experience as a Black man capable of passing for white—which Chesnutt consciously chose not to do—as well as by Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, The House Behind the Cedars explores themes of identity, race, and class in the post-Civil War South.
Controversial for its portrayal of interracial romance, Chesnutt’s novel was critically acclaimed in its day, but failed financially. It was adapted into a 1927 silent film by pioneering Black director Oscar Micheaux.
After years of living in the city, John Warwick visits his hometown to see his mother and sister. Hearing of his success as a lawyer and father, Rena, his sister, is intrigued with city life and decides to join him when he returns. With a black mother and white father, the two are able to pass for white, which allows them—Rena soon discovers—a certain amount of social mobility in the South. It being only a few years after the Civil War, there is of course some risk to this, but the opportunity is too enticing to pass up. Rena soon meets George, a wealthy white man and business partner of her brother, and the two fall in love. When she is called home to care for her sick mother, and as George begins to grow suspicious, it becomes more and more difficult to keep her secret—and her family—safe.
This edition of Charles Chesnutt’s The House Behind the Cedars is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.
With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.
Charles W. Chestnutt
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.
Read more from Charles W. Chestnutt
The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrederick Douglass: A Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Conjure Woman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Marrow of Tradition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The House Behind the Cedars
Related ebooks
The House Behind the Cedars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House Behind the Cedars. Illustrated Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe House Behind the Cedars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House Behind the Cedars: "Race prejudice is the devil unchained" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRiceyman Steps Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Riceyman Steps (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sword of Honor; or, The Foundation of the French Republic: A Tale of The French Revolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Duke in the Suburbs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBarnaby Rudge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDelphi Complete Works of Charles W. Chesnutt (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBook of Murder Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Barnaby Rudge - a tale of the Riots of 'eighty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSevenoaks: A Story of Today Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDavid Balfour Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Riceyman Steps: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Catriona Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roundabout Papers by William Makepeace Thackeray (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBarnaby Rudge (Illustrated Edition) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Story of a New York House (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWylder's Hand Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Twinning Verse Two: The Embers of Twilight Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Secret Agent (Unabridged) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Agent Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Two Vanrevels Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNight Walks: And Other Essays Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
African American Fiction For You
Salvage the Bones: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pomegranate: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl, Woman, Other: A Novel (Booker Prize Winner) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois: An Oprah's Book Club Pick Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Razorblade Tears: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nigerwife: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Read with Jenna Pick Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Everything's Fine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Devil in a Blue Dress (30th Anniversary Edition): An Easy Rawlins Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Other Black Girl: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Perfect Peace: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lovecraft Country: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Deep Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blacktop Wasteland: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Queenie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cry, the Beloved Country Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stories from the Tenants Downstairs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wife Before: A Spellbinding Psychological Thriller with a Shocking Twist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Black Cake: by Charmaine Wilkerson - A Comprehensive Summary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWe Are Not Like Them: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Spook Who Sat by the Door, Second Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Final Revival of Opal & Nev Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kindest Lie: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Midnight: A Gangster Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Love & Trouble: Stories of Black Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild Women and the Blues: A Fascinating and Innovative Novel of Historical Fiction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not Without Laughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The House Behind the Cedars
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The House Behind the Cedars - Charles W. Chestnutt
MS5եVOlݔ6ImzG1ApGœ-p;<#W|1N]NA2^;-^pSlMOCoq[(ZyibEI"ī'7x i0rv8XQydAksNsJܞ-r!.sFFM!\l}~l*4N tqygΔCqf;Fj?ӻbN.%xkZ?<3
\YW,#甓wsN+$Xm4ͯo?w?Çw?^GL>oL2$E8c5Ox}{SC#o6NSvtڈIao61zO ͮwR:*_gFr p8Y\cs
_`N^A0`݇ dipDKu\>Kwk72LA5yH".KoPksPPXO)p)S3Gk&HAE:w]$0p=#t
ttعqy$jB9(*u%H|5x$YHSI `4N'\}onx$ԞaR{?Ɏ%2T5#k
g\ѯASBQ4]Eѳ-
ǡjǛFq߆;Ŋf/{G0;{Ah"`U3B"Uy(;1]Q9hU0-B_ݭPg*>_:U-+\>N.iʅ63>)(=T'E *%A L'ͻ!szDeN#3Ù}G<]{*b+a0>nWL7Ydly`;#-_Ɩ=[QupՅI?$}jh.\fUd0ҁ6YE(!@0T%ԂxpX h=z.
4قk䷻4@ՄN+͟炫!H%(\Kw@6n
GH-;wBB
=waLU)Pb tJybudU9[q'[