In Old Plantation Days

In this captivating collection of short stories, Paul Laurence Dunbar draws on the success of his acclaimed dialect poems to vividly recreate life on southern plantations during the era of slavery. The narratives present a stereotypical image of slaves as dutiful and content workers, dedicated to their seemingly benevolent owners. While Dunbars portrayal sparked criticism and, at times, outrage for its clichéd representations, the book itself proved to be more financially rewarding than his earlier fiction endeavors. (Summary by Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University)