Paul Marchand, F.M.C

by Chesnutt, Charles Waddell; McWilliams, Dean

• ISBN13: 9780691059938
• ISBN10: 0691059934
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-01-01
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

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 Author: Letters of Charles W. Chesnutt, 1889-1905 (edited by Joseph R. McElrath, Jr., and Robert C. Leitz, III).

Author Biography

Dean McWilliams is Professor of English at Ohio University

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION	vii
PAUL MARCHAND, F.M.C.	1	(186)
Foreword	3	(2)
I. In the Vieux Carre	5	(14)
II. The Prophecy	19	(13)
III. Monsieur Pierre Beaurepas	32	(17)
IV. Philippe and Josephine	49	(13)
V. The Quadroon Ball	62	(16)
VI. In the Calabozo	78	(8)
VII. Monsieur Renard	86
VIII. The Will	82
IX. The Five Cousins	105	(9)
X. Julie and Her Chickens	114	(4)
XI. The Black Drop	118	(7)
XII. The Honor of the Family	125	(11)
XIII. A Tip from Perigord	136	(5)
XIV. The Duel	141	(9)
XV. Don Jose Pays His Respects	150	(5)
XVI. At Trois Pigeons	155	(8)
XVII. Paul's Dilemma	163	(9)
XVIII. The Decision	172	(15)
NOTES	187	(4)
WORKS CITED	191