Frank J. Webb (1828–1894)

The second book published by an African American, as well as being overall a very well-written, poignant and entertaining 19th century novel. The writing style reminds me of [a:Charles W. Chesnutt|57827|Charles W. Chesnutt|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1249439574p2/57827.jpg]'s [b:The House Behind the Cedars|1109977|The House Behind the Cedars (Penguin Classics)|Charles W. Chesnutt|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181077533s/1109977.jpg|1510261] except written nearly 50 years earlier. It is somewhat lacking Chesnutt's poetry, but not the gift of a good story, which are present in both.

Webb's implied viewpoints on abolitionists, passing, and racism in the North versus racism in the South are very interesting (and differ from Chesnutt's, thus making a good companion read). I couldn't get a hold of this edition but I've been told the Toby Press edition of this novel (paired with some of other Webb's writings), [b:Fiction, Essays & Poetry|736582|Fiction, Essays & Poetry (Major Voices)|Frank J. Webb|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177856577s/736582.jpg|1125162], is the one to get if this book is of historical, literary, or of general scholarly interest to you. With my version, I skipped the introduction (strongly advised as I saw later it contained spoilers) and jumped right in, which was fine since it is plainly (and skillfully) written.… (more)