Paul Marchand, F.M.C.

Princeton Legacy Library

by Charles W. Chesnutt, Dean McWilliams (Editor)

Evoking the atmosphere of early-nineteenth-century New Orleans and the deadly aftermath of the San Domingo slave revolution, this historical novel begins as its protagonist puzzles over the seemingly prophetic dream of an aged black praline seller in the famous Place d'Armes. Paul Marchand, a free man of color living in New Orleans in the 1820s, is despised by white society for being a quadroon, yet he is a proud, wealthy, well-educated man. In this city where great wealth and great poverty exist side by side, the richest Creole in town lies dying. The family of the aged Pierre Beaurepas eagerly, indeed greedily, awaits disposition of his wealth. As the bombshell of Beaurepas's will explodes, an old woman's dream takes on new meaning, and Marchand is drawn ever more closely into contact with a violently racist family. Bringing to life the entwined racial cultures of New Orleans society, Charles Chesnutt not only writes an exciting tale of adventure and mystery but also makes a provocative comment on the nature of racial identity, self-worth, and family loyalty.

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.

Genres: Fiction, African American

223 pages, Paperback

First published January 7, 1998

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you consider that Chesnutt wrote this story in the early years of the twentieth century, he sure took a lot of risks considering the level of racism, and although it wasn't published until decades later, it challenged many of the social norms and beliefs of the time. Although some will consider the writing old fashioned, I was mightily impressed overall. He may have been considered one of our greatest novelists had he had equal access and opportunity, but he nonetheless was relatively well known for his short stories. The story itself was a bit too contrived, but it did shine a light on a complex social community in pre-Civil War New Orleans.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel is just too didactic, including one section towards the end that’s just a straight up sociological lecture. The beginning of the novel is a bit slow as well, I think, and really feels dated, but when the sword fighting scene hits, that works super well. I wish he’d built the whole plane out of the sword fighting scene (actually though, I think this should probably just have been a short story or novella). It really just feels like Chesnutt felt like people were moving on to quickly from the fight against Plessy and so set his novel back in time to try to remind people why interrogating the one-drop rule was still important. I respect that, but I also think Chesnutt probably needed to realize some of the limitations in his thinking. He’s trying to write this anti-racist novel, but ends up writing a novel where the main character is so light skinned that they are literally revealed to simply be white at the end. Not that Harlem Renaissance authors weren’t dealing with passing, but I just think the novel is leaving something on the table but still attacking from that angle. Still definitely worth reading if you're interested in Chesnutt, but you can probably skip if you're looking for something more casual.

[Jordan Cymrot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't sit well..

[Jennifer Kanke · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a bit to get into the style , but once I got used to it and quit saying "really? this was written in the 20s? it feels so 1892," I really got into the characters and the way tension was built in the narrative structure.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contrieved but effective for the purpose of pointing out the futility of race definitions.

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good and entertaining lost novel. Some plot twists strain credulity, but so what?

[Myranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty entertaining and insightful for a period piece.