The House Behind the Cedars

by Charles W. Chesnutt

Charles Chesnutt was perhaps the most influential African-American fiction writer during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The House Behind the Cedars , his dramatic masterpiece, was crafted during the tumultuous post-Civil War era in the South, when many in white society feared the "evils" of interracial relationships. Boldly, with vivid detail and memorable characters, this novel explores the practice of "passing," as John and Rena Walden, two light-skinned African Americans, step over the color line to share in the American Dream.
Conceived by a novelist who himself had once considered "passing," The House Behind the Cedars continues as one of the bravest, most compelling, and most important explorations of racism in American fiction.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, African American, American, School, Race

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1900

About the author

Charles Waddell Chesnutt was an author, essayist and political activist, best known for his novels and short stories exploring complex issues of racial and social identity.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

power through...

i'm not sure how i feel including this in my "summer of missed classics" jag, because out of all of my goodreads.com friends, NO ONE has read it, so it's not really in the same league as Pride and Prejudice or Notes from Underground, where it was just me who had skipped 'em. still, it's a book i've always meant to read, but hadn't gotten around to until now. that being said—it should have been read by all of my goodreads.com friends, real or faking it. it is an amazing piece of writing that gives me everything that i like out of a novel: family secrets, missed opportunities, misunderstandings and tragically bad timing. so it's like my beloved hardy, but in the american south and a little darker, racially. its your summer, too—read it.

come to my blog!

[nastya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another interesting find of classical African-American literature I knew nothing about.
This is a love story. Kind of, sort of.
Let me start over. This is a story of Rena and her brother John Warwick who have a mixed-race mother and white father( who basically saw this very young girl and placed her in the house to have sex with her and support her financially).
And both of them look white. So brother moves away to where nobody knows him and becomes a lawyer. He marries a white woman, who gives birth to a son.

Once persuaded that he had certain rights, or ought to have them, by virtue of the laws of nature, in defiance of the customs of mankind, he had promptly sought to enjoy them. This he had been able to do by simply concealing his antecedents and making the most of his opportunities, with no troublesome qualms of conscience whatever.

So one day he returns home and persuades his sister to move away to his house and help him with raising his child. There she meets a beautiful young man George Tryon, they fall in love, decide to get married, but there's a secret looming over Rena.
This is a book about racism:

On this stairway he had once seen a manacled free negro shot while being taken upstairs for examination under a criminal charge. Warwick recalled vividly how the shot had rung out. He could see again the livid look of terror on the victim’s face, the gathering crowd, the resulting confusion. The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence. As Warwick was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, he could not foresee that, thirty years later, even this would seem an excessive punishment for so slight a misdemeanor.

and passing:

“I am white,” replied the lad, turning back his sleeve and holding out his arm, “and I am free, as all my people were before me.” The old lawyer shook his head, and fixed his eyes upon the lad with a slightly quizzical smile. “You are black,” he said, “and you are not free. You cannot travel without your papers; you cannot secure accommodations at an inn; you could not vote, if you were of age; you cannot be out after nine o’clock without a permit. If a white man struck you, you could not return the blow, and you could not testify against him in a court of justice. You are black, my lad, and you are not free.

and one-drop rule

“‘One touch of nature makes the whole world kin,’ says the poet. Somewhere, sometime, you had a black ancestor. One drop of black blood makes the whole man black.”

It's about one sibling choosing to hide his race because it is his flaw ( and who would judge him, not me) and another sibling embracing it with all the consequences.
The story itself did not always go so smooth. The love story was very melodramatic and had too much Angel vibes from Tess of d'Urberville. Rena deserved better. But still it's an interesting read.

[Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The law, you said, made us white; but not the law, nor even love, can conquer prejudice." -Rena Walden

The House Behind the Cedars tells the post-Civil War story of two NC siblings John and Rena Walden. Both siblings are very fair skinned Black people who are considered octoroons (1/8 Black and 7/8 White) but because of the laws of the South their 1/8 Black ancestry made them Black. John leaves homes and lives in a town in SC as white man (SC had more liberal laws as it relates to racial categories). One day John goes back home to see his mother and sister and asks Rena to come with him to SC and help raise his son. She agrees, passes for white, and falls in love with a White man named George Tryon. George and Rena are engaged to be married until Rena’s secret is revealed and everything changes.

This novel published in 1900 by the Black author Charles Chesnutt is a tragedy, in the genre sense of the word. The writing is beautiful, realistic, and sad. Rena’s thoughts and dialogues about passing seem very personal, it’s possible that these are also Chesnutt’s own feelings and sentiments about being a fair skinned Black man. Chesnutt also has a good use of social commentary, for example:

“One curse of negro slavery was, and one part of its baleful heritage is, that it poisoned the fountains of human sympathy. Under a system where men might sell their own children without social reprobation or loss of prestige, it was not surprising that some of them should hate their distant cousins.”

The novel’s ending was sad and abrupt, I wanted more. I wanted to know how the other characters responded to the last scene. Overall, it is definitely a classic novel to read especially if you want to check out some of The Vanishing Half’s literary ancestors. I will be reading Nella Larsen’s Passing in the future.

[Mostly on Storygraph · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Time touches all things with destroying hand; and if he seem now and then to bestow the bloom of youth, the sap of spring, it is but a brief mockery, to be surely and swiftly followed by the wrinkles of old age, the dry leaves and bare branches of winter. And yet there are places where Time seems to linger lovingly long after youth has departed, and to which he seems loath to bring the evil day. Who has not known some even-tempered old man or woman who seemed to have drunk of the fountain of youth? Who has not seen somewhere an old town that, having long since ceased to grow, yet held its own without perceptible decline?" (3)

Such an opening should suggest to anyone that this is a novel of often beautiful prose. The storyline, however, is one that was - racial factors aside - also a little too classic, maybe on purpose. A kind of girl meets boy with some Romeo and Juliet kinds of missed opportunities and coincidences along the way. The suspense that this brought to me was the typical kind I get from love stories where things don't go perfectly - you know the kind, where you have to wrench your eyes away, where you don't want to keep on reading because of a sense of foreboding and also a bit of frustration at the expectation of cliche, but also where you HAVE to keep on reading just to make yourself feel better...? Yeah, that. It felt weird, maybe even made me a little guilty, to have such inspired (uninspired) feelings from such an important novel on race relations. But part of this classical storyline, I feel, is deliberate. Chesnutt was a classically read author and his romantic notions in some ways (as seen, for example, in his multiple descriptions of the protagonist Rena as being like a Greek statuette) are evocative of this.

As far as the social issues presented in this novel, lots of interesting and in some cases unexpected insights are allowed to settle in the minds of these characters. As expected, the world Chesnutt evokes is far from uncomplicated, though there is a kind of blind dogged devotion presented in the characters of Blanche and Frank that smacks slightly of caricature. On the other end, there is John, whose dialogue seems at times a little too stiff and formal.

Still there is a lot to absorb in this book that make it worth the read. When I think about what makes some books 'classic' and others not, I wonder what would have happened if books written by non-white authors were ever made to 'pass' into the canon - this book, in style, content, and presentation, would have easily fit in among lots of the 19th century American authors that most readers would consider a part of that tradition and, in its eye-opening clarity and willingness to discuss difficult matters of race, would have in some cases surpassed it.

[Justin Pickett · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Custom was tyranny … Would God have made hearts to so yearn for one another if He had meant them to stay forever apart?” (p. 194).

Some novels deserve to be more widely read. This is one. Although not perfect, it is powerful, informative, and beautifully written.

The story takes place in the years immediately following the Civil War and centers on siblings, John and Rena, who are living in South Carolina under adopted white identities. They are multiracial, but very light-skinned, and nobody in their community knows about their past or ancestors.

“The taint of black blood was the unpardonable sin, from the unmerited penalty of which there was no escape except by concealment” (p. 86).

The tension comes when Rena and a white man from a family that owned slaves before the war fall head-over-heels in love with each other: “He had crowned her the Queen of Love and Beauty; since then she had ascended the throne of his heart” (p. 48). He seems fully committed to her, he seems kind, he seems potentially progressive. But she is still haunted by the question of whether his love could withstand her secret.

“Would the young man’s love turn to disgust and repulsion, or would it merely sink from the level of worship to that of desire?” (p. 80)

The novel demonstrates how customs forbidding interracial relationships are not only foolish, but also cause immense suffering. And it does this very effectively in two different ways. First, it calls out white people’s prejudice against Black Americans. Second, it calls out within-race prejudice against those with darker skin.

“She had been taught to despise them because they were not so white as she was, and had been slaves while she was free” (p. 130).

On this front, the real hero of the story is Frank. He is not light skinned. He has not always been free. He is poor. But he has the biggest heart, the truest love, and the highest morals.

“He might never hope that she would see in him anything but a friend; but he loved her, and he would watch over her and protect her, wherever she might be” (p. 147).

One of the educational aspects of the novel is that Charles W. Chesnutt provides a detailed depiction of race relations in the post-Civil War South, and captures the ignorant, evil, anti-black sentiment that gave rise to the wave of lynchings that followed the ratification of the 14th and 15th amendments.

“You are black … You cannot travel without your papers; you cannot secure accommodations at an inn; you could not vote, if you were of age; you cannot be out after nine o’clock without a permit. If a white man struck you, you could not return the blow, and you could not testify against him in a court of justice” (p. 113).

“The general belief was that they were just as inferior as before, and had, moreover, been spoiled by a disgusting assumption of equality, driven into their thick skulls by Yankee malignity bent upon humiliating a proud though vanquished foe” (p. 80).

On the other hand, one of the novel’s shortcomings is that the major events in the story line up too well, being tied together by implausible coincidences. They also happen too quickly. One major event transitions immediately into the next without sufficient settling of the story in between. A final shortcoming is that one key character just drops out of the story near the end.

Before closing, I want to emphasize that the writing in this book is strong and powerful; it is such a pleasure to read. Here are examples:

“Right and wrong … must be enteral verities, but our standards for measuring them vary with our latitude and our epoch. We make our customs lightly; once made, like our sins, they grip us in the bands of steel; we become the creatures of our creations (p. 24).

“On these secluded shelves Roderick Random, Don Quixote, and Gil Blas for a long time ceased their wanderings, the Pilgrim’s Progress was suspended, Milton’s mighty harmonies were dumb, and Shakespeare reigned over a silent kingdom … When the boy had learned to read, he discovered the library, which for several years had been without a reader, and found in it the portal of a new world, peopled with strange and marvelous beings … When he had read all the books—indeed, long before he had read them all—he too had tasted of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge; contentment took its flight, and happiness lay far beyond the sphere where he was born” (pp. 108-109).

“Even the law, the instrument by which tyranny riveted the chains upon its victims…” (p. 112).

1) Story (3/5)
2) Writing (5/5)
3) Originality (5/5)
4) Characters (4/5)
5) Set pieces (4/5)
6) Suspense (4/5)
7) Ending (5/5)
8) Relationships (romantic or otherwise) (5/5)
9) Dialogue (5/5)

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 4 out of 5]

The House Behind the Cedars is the story of a brother and sister, John and Rena, who share the misfortune of being one-eighth African American. Their mother is a "quadroon" who was kept by a wealthy white man, but when he died, his will was flawed, so she and the children got no money.

John's white skin and thirst for knowledge led him to become a highly intelligent young man, and when he was old enough to leave, he set out to make a new life for himself as a lawyer. He acquired a white wife who passed away after bearing a son, who needed a woman from the family to care for him.

John returned home to introduce his newly matured sister into society, partially to help care for his son, but also to bring Rena away from the shame of her heritage. She enjoys the attention she receives and is courted by a handsome and desirable white man.

Disaster strikes when their mother falls ill and Rena returns home to care for her. Twists and tangles in the plot bring the family secret dangerously close to being discovered and all the work of breaking into society tumbling down upon them.

A highly entertaining passing narrative, The House Behind the Cedars is a piece of groundbreaking historical fiction that examines the injustices of the "one drop" mentality that said one drop of black blood made a person black. Author Charles Chesnutt was himself a light-skinned black man who was accepted into the literary community as a white man, only to be outed later. His influence between both parts of society helped his message permeate through many circles.

Aside from its historical importance, this book is a product of its time because of the story structure. The Victorian era was littered with melodramatic plots such as this where secrets and tangled plots came together in a fast-paced and exciting novel. For fans of that type of fiction, this book is a must-have.

This book was adapted to the screen in 1927.

Read this book for free through Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/472/47...

[Joshua Savage · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason why this work received four stars is because of what I consider a poor ending. This is Chesnutt's first novel, so perhaps the ending is to be forgiven for an author who expanded a short story into a novel. Besides the ending, this book is wonderful. Chesnutt's exquisite prose, complex characters and motifs, and exploration of race is stunning. This book is definitely worth the read, regardless of how it ends; indeed, the ending may be seen as a Romantic fulfillment of themes too difficult to dwell on.

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read in your lifetime. Shines a different perspective on the lives of many. Highly recommended!

[Andrew Shipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moments in this novel are amazing, especially read from the lens of the 2016 hashtag battle between BlackLivesMatter and AllLivesMatter: "The Southern mind, in discussing abstract questions relative to humanity, makes always, consciously or unconsciously, the mental reservation that the conclusions reached do not apply to the negro, unless they can be made to harmonize with the customs of the country."

Chesnutt's first novel sometimes compares to the style and humor of Jane Austen: "Mars Geo'ge was white and rich, and could do anything. Plato was proud of the fact that he had once belonged to Mars Geo'ge. He could not conceive of any one so powerful as Mars Geo'ge, unless it might be God, of whom Plato had heard more or less, and even here the comparison might not be quite fair to Mars Geo'ge, for Mars Geo'ge was the younger of the two."

That said, there are also times where the style and plot is overwrought, especially compared to the realist and naturalist writers around in 1900 (say, Twain, Flaubert). Still, even Twain pulled back from the danger when he continued with the manuscript of Huck Finn and tacked on the funny ending with Tom Sawyer that he knew would sell. The topic of race has never been an easy pill to swallow in American literature, and when a writer narrows that topic to miscegenation, mixed marriages (not legal throughout the United States until 1967 [Loving v. Virginia]), and the opportunities and costs of "passing" (i.e., a multiracial person assimilating into a society as a white person, denying his/her ancestry), well, I'm willing to forgive some of the melodramatics.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is incredibly insightful. It's an American fairy tale, Jane Austen novel, and Shakespeare tragedy all in one.

[Sterlingcindysu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down. It's not currently for free on Amazon for Kindle but may be again.

This was written in 1900 and is a novel about "passing". Not too long ago I read The Vanishing Half, which is on the same topic written 120 years later!

I didn't realize until I was finished that Chesnutt (from the interwebs)--

"... was born in Cleveland in 1858 to two “free persons of color” who had left slavery in North Carolina. They later moved the family back to Fayetteville after the Civil War and emancipation...Chesnutt noted that he was seven-eighths white; his paternal grandfather was even a slaveholder. That heritage led Chesnutt to be so light-skinned that he could have passed as white if he chose. Although he self-identified as African American throughout his life, he detailed in his journal that he was indeed frequently mistaken to be white."



There are certainly some cringe-worthy passages here, which I assumed Chesnutt wrote himself which is odd.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Chesnutt's The House Behind the Cedars has a fairy tale title and contains elements of the classic fairy tale, including a chivalrous "prince," the breaking of an enchantment (the possibility of Rena living as a white lady), moments of inner recognition or revelation, and even a flight through a dark and stormy forest. However, Chesnutt balances the fairy tale elements with an exploration of the psychological underpinning of miscegenation. He humanizes mixed-race characters as opposed to portraying them as vilified outcasts, even suggesting that they might one day be those who bring together the races by helping to overcome the social, religious, and legal barriers ingrained in American culture. There are no evil, scheming characters. Instead, we have good, honest people (even if they are burdened by the prejudices of their time and place) who are trapped in a caste system under which they were born: the young boy who passes as white not because he is a con man or rejects his race, but because he wants to practice law; a judge who helps the boy, but doesn't dare let anyone else know, for the sake of his reputation and the boy's future; the white aristocrat whose foolish actions are the result of being a young person in love, but who is every bit as trapped as John and Rena by his race, including the inherent prejudices. He pursues the mixed-race Rena, but he doesn't want to risk his social standing. He is not the evil white aristocrat, but a human with faults and conflicting desires. The ending is tragic and melodramatic--perhaps too much so--with Rena becoming literally trapped between her (equally obnoxious) white and black suitors. But I can forgive Chesnutt for the ending, since the novel was impossible to put down.

[Sherrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just happened to be helping my husband locate a book on an adjacent library shelf, picked it up, and loved every page. Took me awhile to finish as I'm what my husband labels a "multiple book reader" (usually 4 or more at a time).

However, I'm so glad I found this amazing piece of literature that has so long been hidden from view except as a classroom assignment. I consider it tragic that more people have not been exposed to the subject matter or to Chesnutt's writing style. Held it today after turning the last page and said out loud, "I don't want to return this one to the library!"

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that delves into the lives of a family that uses their fairer skin to "pass" in a society that is not at all embracing of blacks. It shows the compromise of self and values to to embraced in "normal" society.
Of course the ending can only lead to tragedy. Anytime you lose touch with self, this is the only inevitably road.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be my all time favorite book. It had an unusual storyline, and did not end at all like I expected it to. If you want to be moved...pick this one up.

[N.T. Embeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must say, this book turned out to be quite more of an adventure than I expected it to be! It started out one way completely, and then before you knew it, our main character had completely dropped out of the picture while everything went on without him. It's a very intriguing book, and it's written well and flows so smoothly! You can read it like drinking in fresh air after being cooped up inside a stale house for days! It's enjoyable, it's pleasant, and it's a charm to read. In fact, I was more than surprised by many of the events and concepts that this book played with. While I'm sure it's not an old idea that the intermingling of races--especially on a romantic front--can lead to problems, it's still interesting how they brought about much of the interplay here in this book.

In fact, the most shocking thing to me is that the book started out one way and changed at multiple times to be something completely different. It's not a linear read at all. It's got characters in it that are pure and single-minded, and others that are confused and wandering in circles. Everyone has either objectives to follow and meet, or has emotions tugging at their heartstrings so deftly that they cannot help but listen to them and fly madly into fits of logic! Logic! Not passion! How impressive and singularly strange this book was! For the first half of it we were following the story of John, who was our main character by all respects and standards, and his objective was pretty simple enough: "Come with me my beautiful sister! For I can make a better life for you than in our shoddy hometown!" And thus WHOOSH he speeds her away and she becomes a lady of respects and manners, beautiful and intelligent and desired by one man in particular. It becomes a case of courtship, and then it all BOOM. Grows complex! As romances do.

I know this is hardly an explanation, but let's just dabble into the second half, and the ODDEST shift of any book that I've EVER seen! Somewhere, somehow, our main character, John, just drops completely off the face of the earth for us halfway through the book. He's there, and then suddenly, we realize, "Heyyyy... we started off reading about John. But now we're constantly reading about his sister Rena." And mind you, I was NOT upset about this. I think that John came off as a narrow-minded character, with a singular view and purpose in his mind, and that he was acting along a path that followed only what he was attempting to achieve. Once that succeeded or failed, he didn't care beyond that. If it began to mess with his plans, he left it and moved on, which is essentially what he did throughout the entire book: with his mother, his sister, and anyone else he ever worked or interacted with. He's not a person who cares beyond the objective. He has a mind set on a goal, and that's the end-all and only source of concern in his life. *Shrugs* I don't quite hate him, but neither can I say that I exactly fully like him either. He doesn't do anything particularly EVIL in my opinion, even if he is something of an ass. But when he fades away towards the middle of the book, and we start following Rena's life and what she's going through, then I can't be bothered with John anymore.

Rena is a much more honest, emotive, and relateable character I feel. Her voice is strong throughout the book, and her feelings aren't some stupid whining patheticness like most girls today are written up with. She's not a shallow character. Not at all. She has so much depth that it makes the second half of the book almost a torment to read about at times! In a good way. When she's feeling agony and pain, then we do too. And when she's thrilled or annoyed, we feel it too. We right there empathizing with her all the way, and it's a lot of fun to do so! Even if it brings out a lot of emotional feelings in us. I mean, for a character as strong and beautiful in heart and soul as in her features, she's a woman that goes through so much that it's terrible. But that's what makes you love her all the more. Because she's tough enough to keep on trying and fighting in whatever way she knows how, so that she can keep on moving forward. And if she's not fighting, she's finding ways to outsmart others, and she's considering how others are acting and feeling. God she's such a wonderfully complex and thought-provoking woman!

And things are compounded by the two side characters that I love, love, love, love, LOVE! FRANK AND GEORGE. I love them both SO MUCH. George is the epitome of the olden knight figure, glorious and noble, brave and charming in every single way. The way that the speech even in the book changes when we're having the story narrated to us whenever it's following his part of the story, it's GORGEOUS. Words and phrases are used that would make ANY woman's heart SING! He's absolutely magnificent in heart. The only thing that makes me sad, is that it takes him a long time in order to realize the fullness of his own power. And it's a shame, because even though I love seeing how he grows in beauty and strength by doing exactly as he wants, no matter what others say and what the repercussions might be, it all comes a little too slowly and late. And that just causes so many problems in the book that it's not something I can really talk about. Yet even then, I admire the growth and potential for beauty that George has. And then there's Frank. And oh God, Frank. He... makes my heart throb and ache, and I can only say that I love him the more every single time that his name is mentioned, and with every additional thing that he does. He is... so selfless, devoted. He gives every last shred of his love--his pure and undying love--to Rena, and he doesn't ask for a thing in return. He loves her, and he doesn't ask for her to love him, doesn't ask for her to ever even consider loving him. He is merely glad to be friends with her, to hear her speak, to know that she is happy--and that she is with someone who deserves her and her beautiful heart, her intelligence and warmth. Frank is the ultimate selfless and magnificent character in this story just for his own ability to give up everything except for the supporting of the one that he loves more than anything, without ever wanting to incriminate her or ask from her the slightest thing besides her own happiness. How can you not love a character of this worth? Of this merit? He is the ultimate supporting character, epitomizing it in perfection. And that's why I love him so dearly.

Overall, this book was absolutely impressive in how readable and enjoyable I found it! I think it conveyed the thoughts of interracial relationships amazingly well, as well as having a relationship at its central focus that was actually enjoyable to read about, even at its worst moments. The weird thing is that it still doesn't read like a romance book when it starts out, and that's the shocking thing! Usually romances have dead give-aways that they're going to eventually become a romance, but this started off as something so completely different that when it eventually progressed into what could be called almost a full romance--and even then tentatively since there are so many other issues constantly going on--that it was enjoyable still! I was surprised by the progress of the story, but that was the good thing about! Being surprised was pleasant, and even though the ending left me with something of a terrible hole in my heart, I think that's what made this story so... beautiful and profound all at the same time.

Although I bought this book for a class, I love it. I can say it confidently and proudly: It was a GREAT book. And I'm HAPPY I have it in my collection, because it's going to be worth keeping, and has been worth more than every last cent I spent on it. I absolutely advise you pick up this story and read it. Because of the type of story it is, I think it's very susceptible to not being liked by others. But I feel it's a story that has so much else behind it and to it, that it's a beautiful and really thought-provoking read in itself. It's worth it, just for the experience. So if you're afraid you'll read it and end up hating it, then definitely don't go and attempt to buy it. Take it out of a library or find it second-hand first. But at the very least, I recommend it as one of those books you just have to give a shot. Who knows! You might find it more valuable than the sum of its parts, or maybe the end is what makes it for you. But definitely give it a try.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If ever there was an unjustly (for so many reasons) neglected novel, it is this masterpiece. I could say so much more, but my heart is too full. I will let Mr. Chesnutt, a Black author writing from 1900 about the cruelties of the pre-Civil War South, speak instead:

"You are black," he said, "and you are not free. You cannot travel without your papers; you cannot secure accommodations at an inn; you could not vote, if you were of age; you cannot be out after nine o'clock without a permit. If a white man struck you, you could not return the blow, and you could not testify against him in a court of justice. You are black, my lad, and you are not free. Did you ever hear of the Dred Scott decision...?"
"No, sir," answered the boy.
"...[I]t says in substance...that negroes are beings 'of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations; in fact, so inferior that they have no rights which the white man is bound to respect, and that the negro may justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery.' "

And again:

Surely it were worth while to try some other weapon than scorn and contumely and hard words upon people of our common race,—the human race, which is bigger and broader than Celt or Saxon, barbarian or Greek, Jew or Gentile, black or white; for we are all children of a common Father, forget it as we may, and each one of us is in some measure his brother's keeper.

[Larry Piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful and interesting book. Chesnutt was an African American author who wrote around the turn of the 20th century. Who knew there were such people a century ago? Oops, my whiteness is showing again.

Anyway, this book is set in the south just after the Civil War. The primary problem it addresses is mixing the races, so to speak. John Warwick, a prosperous young man visits a small town, Patesville. At night, he sneaks off to visit the women who live in a nice house behind a hedge of cedars. It turns out to be where his mother, Mis' Molly Walden and sister, Rena, live. John has been gone for ten years and has "passed for white". He thinks his sister should return back with him to his home. He has a small child for whom she could help care. He has become a widower. But first, he sends her off to school to become refined in the ways of white society.

When Rena, now known as Rowena Warwick, joins him, she fits immediately into the polite, chivalric society of the better class of white folks. A young man, George Tryon, falls in love with Rowena and they set a date for their marriage. But then, Rena has a dream about her mother's being sick. So, she returns to Patesville to nurse her. By chance, Tryon has some business in Patesville and sees Rena there and realizes that she wasn't white after all. It seems she has slightly "tainted" blood, and it would never do to similarly taint one's own blood line.

So, of course, we have the problem that still plagues our society even now in the 21st century. Will true love and true character find a way to remove the blinders we have placed on ourselves by our specious views on race?

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually had to read this novel for my English 265 class, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Out of the three novels that I read for that class, this was, by far, my favorite. It's a rather quick and easy read and offers a lot of insight into eighteenth century life and how racism played a role, and it's very interesting to see how it was then in comparison to how it is now. The novel has very strong characters, such as John and Rena, that are either very easy to love or very easy to hate, but easy to feel something intense for regardless. Published in 1900, it tells the story of a glorified tragedy that is intended to send a very powerful message to its readers; racism leads to senseless tragedy.

[Catherine Siemann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one's well worth reading -- a turn-of-the-last century melodrama about racial passing, and a young, light-skinned African-American woman's limited choices in the post-Civil War South. Rena meets Tryon at a Walter-Scott inspired medieval tournament, and he offers to be her knight, but when the truth about her mixed-race background comes out, all the ideology of white supremacy that he's been raised with comes between them. There is much talk about skin color and much valorization of light skin; but Chesnutt counters much of the text's rhetoric with the character of Frank, a dark-skinned African-American who is the truly chivalrous one.

[Anna Parkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The whole idea of having to pretend to be someone you're not just to be given equal opportunity and a chance at the "American Dream" really struck a nerve with me, and although this is still indeed the case, it reminds me of how far we have come. This book addressed a really important issue, and althought it is fiction, it has much truth in it--even today. Sad reality but good read.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mostly theoretically interesting for its problematic project of black uplift through racial amalgamation. Should be read in conjunction with Chesnutt's periodical writing on the same subject. What is most interesting, to me, in this book is the manner in which the narrative celebrates the black mother as a site of (amalgamated) happy futurity at the same time as it also marks her as a site of necessary rejection and forgetting.

[Vickie Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book about "passing for white" in postbellum AMerican South. A few of the circumstances that are supposed to be 'coincidences' seem a bit contrived to me, but the way Chestnutt handled the topic made for a page turner. It was also interesting to read the historical references about "Patesville" where much of the novel takes place, which is modern day Fayetteville, NC that I've visited several times.

[Alexandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The House Behind the Cedars is a phenomenal book. I have a love/hate relationship with it because the story is so tragic. Chesnutt uses characters in his novel to show how silly it was during this time to pigeonhole someone into a certain category for race and allow that to define them as a person. The characters are dynamic, which is what makes the story more touching. Through romantic depictions and tragic circumstances, Chestnutt tells a tale that is simply beautiful.

[Jewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a compelling story that deals with an aspect of African American history that still has an impact today. Although at times I found the book to be somewhat melodramatic the story as a whole was quite a page turner. I found myself giving Rena kudos after reading her letter to Tyron requesting that he leave her be. I Really enjoyed this read. Plan to read more works by this author.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tragic mulatto story.
Its well written but feels like it was stretched and could've worked better as a novella.
This is a longer more in depth look at race, racism, colorism and bias against formerly enslaved peoples post Civil War USA. This is set close to the Civil War and offers a glimpse into the social classes that made up post emancipation Black society.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first books by a Black author on "passing" where "Black" folks tried to pass as "White." A bit flowery writing for my taste, but it points out so well the way White folks all up in arms as mixed-race folks undid and confused the concept of race.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent novel by a somewhat overlooked early 20th century author. One I would definitely recommend, and one I would love to teach one day...

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel, whose origins as a short story are not fully ironed out, is nonetheless a sharp dramatization of the perils of passing and of life on the color line.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

pretty damn sad. too late now Tryon.