The Marrow of Tradition

The Marrow of Tradition is an historical novel by African-American author Charles Chesnutt first published in 1901. A fictional retelling of the rise of the white supremacist movement, specifically as it aided the fomentation of what was originally referred to as the “race riots” that took place in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898. (Critics argue over what would be a more proper term, with some favoring the blunt and descriptive “massacre” whi... more

The Marrow of Tradition is an historical novel by African-American author Charles Chesnutt first published in 1901. A fictional retelling of the rise of the white supremacist movement, specifically as it aided the fomentation of what was originally referred to as the “race riots” that took place in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898. (Critics argue over what would be a more proper term, with some favoring the blunt and descriptive “massacre” while others prefer coup d'etat, in reference to the fact that the local government was successfully overthrown by force.) The fairly complicated novel follows several small plots in order to paint a portrait of a town that acts as a microcosm of an entire society. The primary plot involves the birth of the first and only child of Olivia Carteret and her husband, Major Carteret. Olivia is a very sickly woman and has been told that this new child, Theodore, will be the only one she will ever be able to have. Complications come in the form of... less