Charles W. Chesnutt to Robert Underwood Johnson, 15 May 1900
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8
64 Brenton St.,
Cleveland, O.,
May 15, 1900.
Dear Mr. Johnson,
I meant to have acknowledged sooner the return of my manuscript "The Rainbow Chasers."1 It is pleasing to know that you think it has striking good qualities as a book; and while you did not find it available for the Century, I shall regard it as a favor ‸to me on your part to have read it, and shall hope for better luck with some future MS.
Yours sincerely Chas. W. Chesnutt. R.U. Johnson, Esq.,Associate Editor.
Correspondent: Robert Underwood Johnson (1853–1937) was an editor of The Century Magazine from 1879 until 1913. He was also a published poet and active in a number of humanitarian and artistic pursuits. Chesnutt met with Johnson in New York City on March 24, 1900.
1. In 1900, having closed his stenography office to dedicate himself to full-time writing, Chesnutt sought publication both for his novel The Rainbow Chasers, which remained unpublished in his lifetime, and "Rena Walden," which became The House Behind the Cedars. Houghton Mifflin accepted the latter and rejected the former. The Century also declined The Rainbow Chasers. [back]