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2015 Reprint of the 1901 edition. "The House Behind the Cedars" is the first novel by American author Charles W. Chesnutt. The story unfolds in the southern American states of North and South Carolina a few years following the American Civil War. Rena Walden, a young woman of mixed white and black ancestry, leaves home to join her brother, who has migrated to a new city, where he lives as a white man. Following her brother's lead, Rena begins living as a white woman. The secret of her identity leads to conflict when she falls in love with a white aristocrat who learns the truth of her heredity. The ensuing drama emphasizes themes of interracial relations and depicted the intricacies of racial identity in the American south. Chesnutt's autobiography informed the novel's themes. Being of predominantly European ancestry, Chesnutt was light skinned enough to pass as a white man, although he openly identified with his African-American roots. Needless to say, his portrayal of interracial romantic relations was controversial. Although the novel was critically well received, its controversy contributed to poor financial performance. Remains to this day an important exploration of racism in American fiction.
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Charles Waddell Chesnutt (June 20, 1858 November 15, 1932) was an American novelist, essayist, political activist, and lawyer notable for his novels and short stories that explored complicated questions of race and cultural identity in the post-Civil War Southern. Oscar Micheaux, an African-American the filmmaker and producer, changed two of his works into silent movies in 1926 and 1927. Following the Civil Rights Movement of the twentieth century, interest in Chesnutt's works was reignited. Several of his writings were reprinted, and he got formal acknowledgment. In 2008, a commemorative stamp was issued. Chesnutt created a highly successful court reporting firm in Cleveland in the early twentieth century, which supplied his primary source of income. He became involved in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, where he wrote articles in support of education and legal challenges to discriminatory laws. Andrew Chesnutt and Ann Maria (n e Sampson) Chesnutt, both "free persons of color" from Fayetteville, North Carolina, gave birth to Chesnutt in Cleveland, Ohio. His paternal grandpa had been identified as a white slaveholder. He identified as African American but stated that he was 7/8 white. Chesnutt might "pass" as a white man because of his majority-European background, but he never did.
