The House Behind the Cedars

by Charles W. (Charles Waddell) Chesnutt

"The House Behind the Cedars" by Charles W. Chesnutt is a novel published in 1900. Set in the post-Civil War South, it follows Rena Walden, a young woman of mixed ancestry who leaves home to live as white alongside her brother. When she falls in love with a white aristocrat, the secret of her heritage threatens to destroy everything. The novel explores interracial relations and the complexities of racial identity in America's Reconstruction era.