The Quarry

by Charles W. Chesnutt, Dean McWilliams (Editor)

Was Donald Glover really what he seemed--a handsome, dedicated, and clever African-American star of the Harlem Renaissance, whose looks made him the "quarry" of a variety of women? Or could the secrets of his birth change his destiny entirely? Focusing on the culture of Harlem in the 1920s, Charles Chesnutt's final novel dramatizes the political and aesthetic life of the exciting period we now know as the Harlem Renaissance. Mixing fact and fiction, and real and imagined characters, The Quarry is peopled with so many figures of the time--including Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. DuBois, and Marcus Garvey--that it constitutes a virtual guide to this inspiring period in American history. Protagonist Glover is a light-skinned man whose adoptive black parents are determined that he become a leader of the black people. Moving from Ohio to Tennessee, from rural Kentucky to Harlem, his story depicts not only his conflicted relationship to his heritage but also the situation of a variety of black people struggling to escape prejudice and to take advantage of new opportunities.

Although he was the first African-American writer of fiction to gain acceptance by America's white literary establishment, Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932) has been eclipsed in popularity by other writers who later rose to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance. Recently, this pathbreaking American writer has been receiving an increasing amount of attention. Two of his novels, Paul Marchand, F.M.C. (completed in 1921) and The Quarry (completed in 1928), were considered too incendiary to be published during Chesnutt's lifetime. Their publication now provides us not only the opportunity to read these two books previously missing from Chesnutt's oeuvre but also the chance to appreciate better the intellectual progress of this literary pioneer. Chesnutt was the author of many other works, including The Conjure Woman & Other Conjure Tales, The House Behind the Cedars, The Marrow Tradition, and Mandy Oxendine. Princeton University Press recently published To Be an Letters of Charles W. Chesnutt, 1889-1905 (edited by Joseph R. McElrath, Jr., and Robert C. Leitz, III).

Originally published in 1999.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

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

[Jim Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is a great idea in this book—the story of a man brought up black, but who’s really white. However, this novel just doesn’t work. Chesnutt could not find a publisher for this work while he was alive, and with good reason. The characters and dialog are wooden, the plot unbelievable, and the racism difficult to get past.

[Nascha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book by Charles W. Chestnutt. I am fan of the works from the Harlem Renaissance and am trying to read as many of these books as I can. However, this is the first novel of Chestnutt's that I've read. Written about a young man, Donald Glover, it addresses the "race question" and the idea of "passing" from the perspective of a character who appears white and chooses to be black.

Donald Glover, was originally adopted by a white family and then given away to a black family once it is discovered that he is part black. Glover is then raised by a middle class black family to be a tribute to the race. He is attractive and well liked and also highly intelligent and creative. He excels in school and in the arts, eventually attending colleges in the South and then receiving a doctorate from Columbia University in New York. There at the height of the era, he experiences Harlem and the black intellectual life. Through it all, Chestnutt portrays the question of race as seen through the eyes of Glover, and Glover's acquaintances which include take-offs of Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois and Marcus Garvey. Glover travels from America to England and wherever he goes is given the opportunity to pass over without question but always chooses to remain a member of the black race.Later on, there is a twist of fate that really calls into question the idea of race and further adds to the debate at that time.

Interestingly enough, The Quarry was not published during Chestnutt's lifetime and while written during the Harlem Renaissance era, was not published then. Mr. Chestnutt's book was rejected several times by major publishers and published posthumously by his estate. It is a wonder what The Quarry could have done if it had been added to the lexicon of books from this time and what contributions it could have brought up to the race question.