The Quarry

This is one of the three novels that Chesnutt wrote late in his career that were rejected by the publishers. The publishers apparently found THE QUARRY too controversial and in deed it is. The basic story line has been done before - the Puddin Head Wilson theme that John Twain wrote of where a man is raised as black but is indeed white. Chesnutt varies the theme and while telling the story of Donald Glover also tells the story of hypocricy in American life. For those who did not like Chesnutt's early stories that relied heavily on dialect and folk tales, I would urge them to try his later works. I recently read THE COLONEL'S DREAM which is an excellent study of the New South. The Quarry is an excellent view of America in the early part of the 20th Century and perhaps today.