Written by Charles Waddel Chesnutt, this book explores the lives and fates of two young African-Americans who decide to pass for white in order to claim their share of the American dream.

The House Behind the Cedars is the tale of an attractive brother and sister who decide to "pass," establishing themselves in the best class of whites South Carolina has to offer. Rena makes a brilliant match, exactly as her calculating brother has intended. But the engagement is soon threatened by her own ambivalence and a series of miscalculations, shifting loyalties, and full-stop treacheries.

Charles Waddell Chesnutt (June 20, 1858 – November 15, 1932) was a mixed race author, essayist, political activist and lawyer, best known for his novels and short stories exploring complex issues of racial and social identity in the post-Civil War South. Two of his books were adapted as silent films in 1926 and 1927 by the African-American director and producer Oscar Micheaux. During the early 20th century in Cleveland, Chesnutt established what became a highly successful court reporting business,