The Conjure Woman

by Charles W. Chesnutt, W. Chesnutt Charles, Charles W. Chestnutt

Book Overview

First published in 1899, these folk tales within a tale provide commentary on the social attitudes of the period

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0472061569
• ISBN13: 9780472061563
• Release Date: June 1969
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A wonderful story and an important work of literature

Charles Chestnutt's A Conjure Woman is a collection of short stories told by a former slave named Julius to a White couple who have recently moved to the South. Written at the turn of the century, Chestnutt was addressing a primarily White audience who were recovering from Reconstruction and were fond of plantation-style literature which looked upon slavery with nostalgia. On the surface, the author seems to be catering to the nostalgic pre-Civil War idea, but in actuality, Julius' stories have a much deeper moral which reveal a harsh and terrible way of life for Blacks of the time. Mixed with elements of magic and conjuring, Julius' seems to be telling fanciful fairy tales, but with a closer look, one realizes that Chestnutt has no fondness or nostalgia for the times of slavery. This is a well-written and thought-provoking book and it is an important novel of America's history.