Reviews

Unpublished readers' reports

For forty years (1891-1931), Chesnutt submitted fiction to the Boston publishing firm Houghton Mifflin for possible publication. The readers' reports were, of course, evaluations of the literary merits and commercial prospects of submissions. The original documents, now held at the Houghton library, Harvard University, provide a window into how Chesnutt's fiction was read at the firm. The readers' reports have been all but ignored until very recently. Although Chesnutt interacted with numerous publishers in his career, his ongoing interest in publishing with Houghton Mifflin—despite recurrent rejections—is striking. For an extended analysis of these documents, see Antje Anderson, Stephanie P. Browner, Lauren Millhorn, and Kenneth M. Price, "Houghton Mifflin Readers' Reports and the Shape of Charles W. Chesnutt's Literary Career," New England Quarterly 98, no. 4 (December 2025), 490-532.

Readers' reports

Published contemporary reviews of Chesnutt's works

The following section offers the most complete collection of contemporary reviews of Chesnutt to be found anywhere. We will supplement this collection further as more reviews are located, and we are grateful when users alert us to missing items.

During his lifetime, Chesnutt's works earned publication notices and reviews in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines. Our collection includes reviews published in city newspapers, regional magazines, and national outlets. The collection includes materials from the Black press as well as the White press.

In the late 1990s John M. Freiermuth, then a graduate student in the Department of English, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, collected a large batch of reviews and offered them to project co-editor Stephanie Browner for use on the initial version of the Chesnutt Archive. Since then many more reviews have been located thanks to the increasing availability of historic periodicals through online databases. Samantha Gilmore of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has led the effort to discover and document more reviews, an effort that has vastly increased our ability to study Chesnutt’s early reception.

You can find reviews for specific Chesnutt works here, or browse all reviews below.

Pagination

312 results

[Review of The House Behind the Cedars]

  • Date:
    • December 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • A. E. H.
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • Chautauquan

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • February 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • A. M. B.
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Southern Workman

[Review of The Marrow of Tradition]

  • Date:
    • January 18, 1902
  • Creator(s):
    • Alexander, Charles
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Freeman

[Review of The Marrow of Tradition]

  • Date:
    • May 23, 1903
  • Creator(s):
    • Alexander, Charles
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Cleveland Journal

[Review of The Marrow of Tradition]

  • Date:
    • August 22, 1903
  • Creator(s):
    • Alexander, Charles
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Cleveland Journal

[Review of Frederick Douglass]

  • Date:
    • October 26, 1901
  • Creator(s):
    • Alexander, Charles
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Freeman

"The Conjure Woman," Etc.

  • Date:
    • April 22, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Alexander, Charles
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Freeman

[Mr. Charles W. Chesnutt]

  • Date:
    • October 29, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anon.
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • Current Literature

[Review of The Conjure Woman]

  • Date:
    • Apr. 30, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anon.
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Springfield Sunday Republican

Conjure Woman Reviews

  • Date:
    • April 15, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anon.
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • New York Times

Mr. Charles W. Chestnut, Esq.

  • Date:
    • July 15, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anon.
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The [Cleveland] Gazette

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • December 17, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Illustrated Buffalo Express

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • December 16, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The St. Louis Globe-Democrat

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • February 2,1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Cleveland World

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • January 21, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Boston Courier

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • August, 1898
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Bookman

The Wife of His Youth.

  • Date:
    • December 23, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Cambridge Tribune

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • September, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Book Buyer

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • August 13, 1898
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Kansas City Star

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • December 17, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Springfield Sunday Republican

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • January, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • Book News

Review of [The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • December 10, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Outlook

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • February 3, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Philadelphia Press

Chesnutt's Tales

  • Date:
    • December 16, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • Boston Evening Transcript

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • February 24, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Church Standard

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • December 10, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Bulletin

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • July 14, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Colored American

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • April 12, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Christian Endeavor World

Spingarn Medal

  • Date:
    • June 30, 1928
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Gazette

Fittingly Bestowed

  • Date:
    • June 15, 1928
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Plain Dealer

Spingarn Medal

  • Date:
    • June 1928
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • Washington D.C. Eagle

The Fourteenth Spingarn Medal

  • Date:
    • August 1928
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Crisis

Author Wins Spingarn Medal

  • Date:
    • June 14, 1928
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The New York Times

Two New Novelists

  • Date:
    • February 24, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Outlook

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • December 23, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Churchman

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • November 17, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Colored American

The Wife of His Youth

  • Date:
    • January 15, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Indianapolis Journal

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • January 2, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Chicago Chronicle

Review of [The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • December 16, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Living Age

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • February 22, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Interior

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • March 12, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Argonaut

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • December 16, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Chicago Journal

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • December 1, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Burlington Hawk-Eye

Tales of Negro Life

  • Date:
    • December 11, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Worchester Evening Gazette

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • February 18, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • Colorado Springs Gazette

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • December 17, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Times

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • December 6, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • Zion's Herald

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • December 13, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • The Portland Daily Advertiser

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • January 1, 1900
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • Topeka State Journal

[Review of The Wife of His Youth]

  • Date:
    • December 10, 1899
  • Creator(s):
    • Anonymous
  • Format:
    • periodical
  • Source:
    • Los Angeles Herald

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