Evoking the atmosphere of early-nineteenth-century New Orleans and
the deadly aftermath of the San Domingo slave revolution, this
historical novel begins as its protagonist puzzles over the
seemingly prophetic dream of an aged black praline seller in the
famous Place d'Armes. Paul Marchand, a free man of color living in
New Orleans in the 1820s, is despised by white society for being a
quadroon, yet he is a proud, wealthy, well-educated man. In this
city where great wealth and great poverty exist side by side, the
richest Creole in town lies dying. The family of the aged Pierre
Beaurepas eagerly, indeed greedily, awaits disposition of his
wealth. As the bombshell of Beaurepas's will explodes, an old
woman's dream takes on new meaning, and Marchand is drawn ever more
closely into contact with a violently racist family. Bringing to
life the entwined racial cultures of New Orleans society, Charles
Chesnutt not only writes an exciting tale of adventure and mystery
but also makes a provocative comment on the nature of racial
identity, self-worth, and family loyalty. Although he was the first
African-American writer of fiction to gain acceptance by America's
white literary establishment, Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932) has
been eclipsed in popularity by other writers who later rose to
prominence during the Harlem Renaissance. Recently, this
pathbreaking American writer has been receiving an increasing
amount of attention. Two of his novels, Paul Marchand, F.M.C.
(completed in 1921) and The Quarry (completed in 1928), were
considered too incendiary to be published during Chesnutt's
lifetime. Their publication now provides us not only the
opportunity to read these two books previously missing from
Chesnutt's oeuvre but also the chance to appreciate better the
intellectual progress of this literary pioneer. Chesnutt was the
author of many other works, including The Conjure Woman & Other
Conjure Tales, The House Behind the Cedars, The Marrow Tradition,
and Mandy Oxendine. Princeton University Press recently published
To Be an Author: Letters of Charles W. Chesnutt, 1889-1905 (edited
by Joseph R. McElrath, Jr., and Robert C. Leitz, III). Originally
published in 1999. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest
print-on-demand technology to again make available previously
out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton
University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of
these important books while presenting them in durable paperback
and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is
to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in
the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press
since its founding in 1905.
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