A Matter of Complexion: The Life and Fictions of Charles W. Chesnutt

by Tess Chakkalakal

A biography of Charles Chesnutt, one of the first American authors to write for both Black and white readers.

In A Matter of Complexion, Tess Chakkalakal gives readers the first comprehensive biography of Charles W. Chesnutt. A complex and talented man, Chesnutt was born in 1858 in Cleveland to parents who were considered “mixed race.” He spent his early life in North Carolina after the Civil War. Though light-skinned, Chesnutt remained a member of the black community throughout his life. He studied among students at the State Colored Normal School who were formerly enslaved. He became a teacher in rural North Carolina during Reconstruction. His life in the South of those years, the issue of race, and how he himself identified as Black informed much of his later writing. He went on to become the first Black writer whose stories appeared in The Atlantic Monthly and whose books were published by Houghton Mifflin.

Through his literary work, as a writer, critic, and speaker, Chesnutt transformed the publishing world by crossing racial barriers that divided black writers from white and seamlessly including both Black and white characters in his writing. In A Matter of Complexion Chakkalakal pens the biography of a poor teacher raised in rural North Carolina during Reconstruction who became the first professional African American writer to break into the all-white literary establishment and win admirers as diverse as William Dean Howells, Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells, and Lorraine Hansberry.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

384 pages, Hardcover

First published February 4, 2025

About the author

TESS CHAKKALAKAL teaches African-American and American Literature at Bowdoin College. Her writing has appeared in The New England Quarterly, J19, American Literary History, and many others. She is the author of Novel Bondage: Slavery, Marriage, and Freedom in Nineteenth-Century America (Illinois UP, 2011) and co-editor of Jim Crow, Literature, and the Legacy of Sutton E. Griggs (University of Georgia Press, 2013) and Imperium in Imperio: A Critical Edition (West Virginia UP, 2022). She is co-host and creator of the award-winning podcast Dead Writers: A Show About Great American Authors and Where They Lived. She lives in Brunswick, Maine.

Reviews

[Léonie Galaxie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Matter of Complexion by Tess Chakkalakal offers a masterful reconsideration of Charles W. Chesnutt, one of American literature's most fascinating and underappreciated figures. This well-crafted biography reveals how a writer who could have passed for white chose instead to identify as Black, creating groundbreaking fiction that helped lay the foundation for the Harlem Renaissance while pursuing a literary philosophy that set him apart from his successors.

Chakkalakal's biography succeeds brilliantly in capturing the complexities that defined Chesnutt's life and work. Born to free people of color in 1858, Chesnutt occupied a unique position in American society—light-skinned enough to pass but unwilling to abandon his commitment to Black advancement. His declaration that he was "quite willing for the colored people to have any credit they could derive from anything I might accomplish" reveals both his loyalty and his understanding of how his success could serve broader purposes.

The book's greatest strength lies in Chakkalakal's nuanced exploration of Chesnutt's literary philosophy. While he frequently addressed "the race question" in his fiction, Chesnutt believed that great literature must transcend narrow categories to reach universal audiences. His conviction that "only by putting the individual over race will the race be served" represents a sophisticated understanding of how art can advance social causes—a perspective that feels remarkably contemporary even as it distinguished him from the Harlem Renaissance writers who followed.

Chakkalakal writes with impressive scholarly depth while maintaining accessibility for general readers. Her analysis of Chesnutt's position within American literary history demonstrates how his work served as a crucial bridge between post-Civil War fiction and the flowering of Black literature in the 1920s. Even though the Harlem Renaissance generation largely rejected his integrationist approach in favor of more explicitly race-conscious art, Chakkalakal shows how Chesnutt's pioneering efforts made their movement possible.

The biography excels in its examination of the tensions Chesnutt navigated between artistic ambition and racial advocacy. Chakkalakal reveals how his desire to be recognized as a serious American writer—not merely a "Black writer"—reflected both personal ambition and strategic thinking about how literature could advance civil rights. This dual commitment created both opportunities and constraints that shaped his entire career.

Perhaps most valuably, A Matter of Complexion rescues Chesnutt from historical oversimplification. Rather than treating him as either a racial pioneer or an assimilationist sellout, Chakkalakal presents a complex figure whose choices reflected the particular challenges and possibilities of his historical moment. Her portrait reveals someone wrestling with questions about identity, authenticity, and artistic purpose that remain relevant today.

The book serves as both excellent literary biography and important cultural history. Chakkalakal has produced a work that illuminates not only Chesnutt's individual achievement but also the broader dynamics of race, literature, and social change in turn-of-the-century America.

A Matter of Complexion stands as essential reading for anyone interested in American literary history, the development of African American literature, or the complex relationships between art and social justice. Chakkalakal has given us a biography worthy of its remarkable subject—a book that reveals how one writer's principled choices helped reshape American culture.

[Ella Crabtree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a pleasure to read! An uber readable and thorough and well-handled account of Chesnutt’s life, views, and accomplishments. Having read much of Chesnutt’s work it was so interesting to get more context (need to RR the marrow of tradition and the colonel’s dream Asap now…). Would recommend this to all lovers of American literature 🩷

[Atlas · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎨✨ Review of A Matter of Complexion: The Life and Fictions of Charles W. Chesnutt by Tess Chakkalakal 📚✨
Hey there, book lovers! 🌼 Today, I'm excited to share my thoughts on a mesmerizing biography, A Matter of Complexion: The Life and Fictions of Charles W. Chesnutt by Tess Chakkalakal. 📖 A heartfelt thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this remarkable book set to release on February 4, 2025.

🌟 What's It All About? 🌟

Charles W. Chesnutt: A Pioneering Author: Born in 1858 to parents of mixed race, Charles W. Chesnutt spent his formative years in post-Civil War North Carolina. Despite his light complexion, Chesnutt identified strongly with the Black community, working as a teacher during Reconstruction. His experiences deeply infused his later works, making him a seminal figure in American literature as he became the first African American writer to achieve publication in The Atlantic Monthly and by Houghton Mifflin. 👩‍🏫✍️

Crossing Barriers: Chakkalakal paints a vivid picture of how Chesnutt skillfully navigated the racial divides of his time, becoming a bridge through his literature, criticism, and public speaking. His work not only reshaped the literary landscape by including diverse characters but also challenged and engaged with readers from all walks of life.

💭 My Thoughts 💭

Excellence in Writing and Research: Tess Chakkalakal does not just chronicle a life; she breathes life into it. Her writing is both elegant and precise, turning dense research into a narrative that captures the essence of Chesnutt’s world. The historical details she provides are seamlessly woven into the fabric of his story, enhancing rather than overshadowing it. 🌿💡

Compelling Story: The biography is not merely a recounting of dates and events; it's an exploration of identity, race, and social change. Chesnutt's journey from a rural teacher to a celebrated writer and intellectual is nothing short of inspiring. 📚🌟

Inclusive Historical Context: Chakkalakal’s work stands out for its ability to situate Chesnutt’s life within the broader context of America’s cultural, political, and racial history. This adds layers to the narrative, making it an essential read for those interested in understanding the complexities of post-Civil War society.

🌈 Would I Recommend It?

Absolutely: If you're fascinated by history, literature, and the stories of trailblazers, A Matter of Complexion is a must-read. Chakkalakal has not only honored an often overlooked figure but has also illuminated the intricate dance of race, identity, and creativity in a pivotal era.

Who Will Love It: Fans of literary biography, Black history enthusiasts, or anyone seeking to understand how individuals can shape cultural narratives will find this book deeply rewarding. 🖋️👓

✨ Star Rating ✨

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This biography is beautifully crafted, making me eager to delve into more of Tess Chakkalakal's work and, of course, explore Chesnutt’s literature for myself.

So, dear readers, whether you're a recovering English major or simply someone who appreciates a gripping biography, A Matter of Complexion offers a thought-provoking look at a complex figure whose influence deserves recognition. Grab a copy when it comes out and let's celebrate this boundary-breaking writer together! 🎉💖

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

At fifteen, Charles W. Chesnutt became a teacher, one of the few jobs open to a highly intelligent youth of color. Unable to pursue higher education, Chesnutt read extensively. He dreamed of becoming an author who wrote about the daily life of colored people, books that would “elevate the whites” and tear down the “spirit of caste” that subjected “a whole race and all connected with it to scorn and social ostracism.”

While working as a school principal, then in the North as a skilled stenographer, and while raising a family, Chesnutt wrote short stories and novels. Chesnutt’s work was well received by the critics, and had readers on “both sides of the color line.” Mark Twain invited him to his 70th birthday party. He became involved with politics, supporting voting rights, and campaigned against the film The Birth of a Nation.

Chesnutt wanted to show Northern writers and readers who these Black people really were, and the kind of story that real Black people told was like nothing white Northern readers and writers has heard before. from A Matter of Complexion by Tess Chakkalakal

One-eighth black, Chesnutt appeared white but self-identified as colored. He wanted to be considered a writer, not as a “negro” writer. He rejected the acceptance of divisions by color. The society he grew up in was socially rigid; colored people didn’t marry down to those with darker skin.

The descriptions of his stories and novels are intriguing. His early ‘conjure stories’ were in dialect. His first novel, which he worked on for a decade, was about a tragic romance between a white man and a colored woman and was made into a silent film.

Chesnutt was a remarkable man who forged the way for later writers of color.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.

[Dana Clinton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: A Matter of Complexion: The Life and Fictions of Charles W. Chesnutt (Tess Chakkalakal) I went to the Music Hall Lounge a month or so ago to hear Tess Chakkalakal present this book and have been reading it in bits and pieces at work, on breaks and at slow moments when all the work is done. She said it was a challenge for her, an academic, to write a more accessible book for public perusal. It is still rather academic, but then I enjoy that, and I have learned so much in the reading about things I certainly knew nothing about, I had never heard of this terrifically talented and ambitious man whose literary output was pretty astonishing in the late 19th and early 20th century, all as he grappled with "the color line", not always in agreement with other famous men of the time also grappling with the best way for those survivors of slavery to entire into the full life of the country as free men when so restricted by the prejudices that made one drop of "Negro" blood determine one's low status in society. These questions, of course, are still with us. I have always thought that if we were ALL of mixed blood, it would finally put an end to all this nonsense of treating people not for their character or accomplishments or admirable works but because of their "race", such a vague an inappropriate term. We have not evolved well as a species. Anyway, I did love reading about Charles Chesnutt's life and times and family and determination, and I admire him for staying true to his beliefs. I may well try to track down one or two of the books which catapulted him to fame in his lifetime.

[Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Curiously unsatisfying. Chesnutt's life is intrinsically interesting: a free person of color light enough to pass easily, though he chose not to. Since his life was almost perfectly bisected by the woeful Plessy decision in 1896, this choice was not without courage or consequences. So a story of a man who was born in the south, was principal of a school in North Carolina and then moved north to support his family through stenography, with a generous side helping of novelistic ambition, ought to be more gripping than this is. To some extent, Chakkalakal has been let down by occasional sloppy editing and flat writing. The choice to focus on Chesnutt's stories makes perfect sense—but it comes at the cost of fulfilling the first half of the subtitle. The life only snaps into focus during times when Chesnutt is trying to make a go of it as an author. Prior to that struggle, as well as after he largely gives over his fictive ambitions in the last decades of his life, the narrative lags. The construction of the bulk of the work in the middle also has a herky-jerky feel, moving forward and backward in fits and starts, as if chronology was supposed to be eschewed for theme and yet this choice never feels fully committed to. The result is a text that certainly whets the appetite for Chesnutt's fictions, but also for a fuller life that does a better job of setting him within context. Perhaps the most interesting fact about his career was his effort to split the difference between Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois and yet a good deal more time and attention seems spent on Chesnutt's fitful interactions with a host of white editors who only sometimes grokked what he was about. Really wanted to like this more.

[Denice Langley · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the era following the Civil War, the lives of black or mixed race persons faced many challenges that would keep these men and women in poverty with few resources to better their lives. Charles Chestnutt, one eighth black and fair skinned, would choose to live as a black man. His determination to succeed would lead him first to teach, then through self study, to become one of the first published authors to include characters and communities of all races. Tess Chakkalakal brings light onto this accomplished man who succeeded through his own determination and hard work. This is an excellent biography for anyone interested in American history and the era following the Civil War.

[LL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. The author is a very talented writer. The story is quite interesting, and a clear-eyed examination of our not-so-distant history. The historic details are effectively used, not just window dressing or showing off knowledge of minutia. I really enjoy books like this and will seek out more writing from this author.


Free copy received through Goodreads Giveaways.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A Matter of Complexion" unveils the compelling life of Charles W. Chesnutt, the pioneering African American writer, in the first complete biography by Tess Chakkalakal. Born in 1858 to mixed-race parents, Chesnutt's early experiences in post-Civil War North Carolina profoundly shaped his identity and literary voice.

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s an interesting story