The Colonel's Dream

New York: Negro Universities Press, 1970. Reissue. Octavo (22.5cm); brown cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine; x,294pp. Trivial external wear, lower corners gently tapped (though still sharp), with the usual mild discoloration to gutters from binder's glue; Near Fine, lacking dustjacket (if issued). Chesnutt's final novel, first published in 1905, which "tells the story of Colonel Henry French, a successful New York businessman who has returned to his southern birthplace of Clarendon with his young son, Phil. While intending only a three-month vacation (as ordered by his northern doctor), the nostalgic Colonel French, persuaded by his fond boyhood memories of southern life, decides to remain indefinitely in Clarendon. Yet he encounters a town beset by rigid social divisions, plagued by past prejudices, and hampered by corrupt practices, primarily at the hands of the wealthy convict labor contractor, William Fetters. Shocked by such wanton exploitation and prevailing injustices, Colonel French strives to bring reform to Clarendon. In working to infuse the area with ideas of economic and social progress, Colonel French underestimates the power of lingering racism, and he meets with strong local resentment and resistance. Despite his best efforts and tragic, personal sacrifices, Clarendon appears wholly unchanged" (Summary: "The Colonel's Dream." Documenting the American South). BLOCKSON 5025; SMITH C-348.