The Marrow of Tradition

Nearly every discussion of Chesnutt's 1901 novel, only recently acknowledged as one of the masterpieces of its time, focuses, understandably, on the real event it was inspired by: the white riot in Wilmington, NC, in 1898 that overthrew the biracial elected city government. And that's part of the reason to turn back to it over a century later (when it feels like times have hardly changed). But the other is Chesnutt's wizardry as a social novelist: his ability to trace the box limiting empathy and imagination that each character carries around, and then to construct scenes that force them to the edges of those boxes (where, almost always, they end up turning back toward convention). It's a funny, tragic, brutal, and deeply human story. —Tom [from an August 2019 newsletter]