The Marrow of Tradition
Book description
Based on a historically accurate account of the Wilmington, North Carolina, "race riot" of 1898, African-American author Charles W. Chesnutt's innovative novel is a passionate portrait of the betrayal of black culture in America.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the…
Why read it?
2 authors picked The Marrow of Tradition as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
My favorite American novel is at once the most righteously angry and the most beautifully optimistic book I’ve ever read.
Historical fiction urgently responding to the present, an intimate family saga that creates an entire community—Chesnutt’s masterpiece is a book I’ve taught almost every year of my career, and I find something new in it each time I read it.
No book reminds me more potently of the worst of our history, and no book inspires me to fight for our best more passionately.
From Ben's list on folks who are frustrated by but still love America.
This book is based on a historical event: the 1898 overthrow of the democratically elected government in Wilmington, NC, by white supremacists. It is a novel that makes clear how racial hate leads to tyranny.
I think Charles Chesnutt is one of our great nineteenth-century writers and he captures the complications of the Black experience with nuance and unflinching clarity. This is a book that anyone who wants to understand the ongoing legacies of enslavement, as well as the dangers of tyranny, will be eager to read!
From Elizabeth's list on thinking about what tyranny means today.
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