The Marrow of Tradition

Inspired by the 1898 Wilmington Riot and the eyewitness accounts of Charles W. Chesnutts own family, Chesnutts The Marrow of Tradition captures the astonishing moment in American history when a violent coup dtat resulted in the subversion of a free and democratic election. The Norton Critical Edition text is based on the 1901 first edition. It is accompanied by a note on the text, Werner Sollorss insightful introduction, explanatory annotations, and twenty-four photographs and illustrations. Contexts connects the novel to the historical events in Wilmington and includes a wealth of newspaper articles, editorials, and biographical sketches of the central players. The account of riot instigator Alfred Moore Waddell, published just weeks after the event, is reprinted, along with three rarely seen letters: W. E. B. Du Boiss and Booker T. Washingtons comments on the novel and Walter Hines Pages letter to Chesnutt. Rounding out the historical record is a selection of 1890s sheet music, a poem, and newspaper articles on the Cakewalk, a popular dance of the period with roots in slavery. Criticism begins with twelve contemporary reviews, including those by Hamilton Wright Mabie, Katherine Glover, William Dean Howells, and Sterling A. Brown. Fifteen recent assessments focus on the novels characters, history, realism, and violence. As scholarship on The Marrow of Tradition and on Wilmington in 1898 has been especially active since the 1990s, ten assessments are from this period. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.