Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line

Published in 1899, 'The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line' is a collection of short stories by Charles Waddell Chesnutt that explores the complexities of race relations in the post-Reconstruction South. The narratives focus on characters of mixed-race ancestry, highlighting their struggles against the backdrop of Jim Crow laws and the remnants of an antebellum caste system. Chesnutt's work is notable for its incisive commentary on the social dynamics between African Americans and whites, making it a significant contribution to American literature on race.