Though he was the first African-American writer of fiction to win major acclaim, recent history has largely ignored the writings of Charles Chesnutt. This collection of essays seeks to confirm and reevaluate the stature of this great American novelist. With essays on his stories and novels, as well as his non-fiction works, this volume looks at topics as diverse as phenomenology, race relations, American historical memory, the Wilmington Race Riots, and the presence of women in Chesnutt's writings, and all with the intent of reaffirming the power of this too easily forgotten chronicler of the...