Born on the eve of the Civil War, Charles W. Chesnutt grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, a county seat of four or five thousand people, a once-bustling commercial center slipping into postwar decline. Poor, black, and determined to outstrip his modest beginnings and forlorn surroundings, Chesnutt kept a detailed record of his thoughts, observations, and activities from his sixteenth through his twenty-fourth year (1874-1882). These journals, printed here for the first time, are remarkable for their intimate account of ...
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Born on the eve of the Civil War, Charles W. Chesnutt grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, a county seat of four or five thousand people, a once-bustling commercial center slipping into postwar decline. Poor, black, and determined to outstrip his modest beginnings and forlorn surroundings, Chesnutt kept a detailed record of his thoughts, observations, and activities from his sixteenth through his twenty-fourth year (1874-1882). These journals, printed here for the first time, are remarkable for their intimate account of a gifted young black man's dawning sense of himself as a writer in the nineteenth century. Though he achieved literary success in his time, Chesnutt has only recently been rediscovered and his contribution to American literature given its due. The only known private diary from a nineteenth-century African American author, these pages offer a fascinating glimpse into Chesnutt's everyday experience as he struggled to win the goods of education in the world of the post-Civil War South. An extraordinary portrait of the self-made man beset by the urgencies and difficulties of self-improvement in a racially discriminatory society, Chesnutt's journals unfold a richly detailed local history of postwar North Carolina. They also show with great force how the world of the postwar South obstructed--and, unexpectedly, assisted--a black man of driving intellectual ambitions.
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Add this copy of The Journals of Charles W. Chesnutt to cart. $38.55, very good condition, Sold by artlessmissals rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Duke University Press Books.
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Seller's Description:
VG. Binding solid, pages crisp and clean, no markings found. No dust jacket, as issued. Cover has a few light rubs. Extremities lightly bumped with minimal tip wear.
Add this copy of The Journals of Charles W. Chesnutt to cart. $58.66, very good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Duke University Press.
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Very Good. SIGNED/INSCRIBED! Durham and London: Duke Univ Press 1993. 1st edition. Hardcover 8vo 185 pgs. B/w plates. Signed and inscribed by editor Brodhead on half title pg. Near fine. Tan cloth. (African American Authors, Diaries, Autobiography) Inquire if you need further information.
Add this copy of The Journals of Charles W. Chesnutt to cart. $81.67, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Duke University Press Books.
