Charles Chesnutt

Tiffany Ramirez
English 1302
Mrs. Jandura
February 12, 2002

The Mystery Of a Loved One
Charles Waddell Chesnutt was one of the greatest African American short-story writer and novelist during the late 19th century. “His works describe the complex social relations created in the United States by slavery” (Chesnutt). Charles Chesnutt was the first African American writer to receive a widespread of attention during his lifetime. Chesnutt lived in Cleveland, Ohio; however was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In the late1870’s Chesnutt became a teacher in Fayetteville at the State Colored Normal School, passed his bar examination and then established a legal stenography firm. In this firm, Chesnutt began writing some of his most prestigious works. He published his first short story at the age of twenty-nine in The Atlantic. At this time, The Atlantic was one of the best magazines in the country. His first best-known book was published in 1899, The Conjure of Wo...