The Anger and the Irony

By SCOTT MCLEMEE

Charles Chesnutt, the first major black novelist, regains his former glory

A dozen years ago, when Werner Sollors proposed an edition of the works of Charles Chesnutt to the Library of America, the response was polite but negative. The publisher, whose imprint has become nearly synonymous with the American literary canon, was not ready to endorse Chesnutt -- the first African-American novelist with a national reputation. And a very substantial reputation, at that: In his prime, at