Charles W. Chesnutt’s Reconstruction of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”

Who is Harriet?

Charles W. Chesnutt’s Reconstruction of "Uncle Tom’s Cabin"

Who Is Harriet Series

June 4, 2025

The Who Is Harriet series will explore Harriet Beecher Stowe, her contemporaries, and her work from fresh perspectives. This scholarly series of programs will highlight the latest research and diverse perspectives, developing the broader context within which Stowe lived and worked.

$20 for admission | $35 for admission and copy of the book
Hybrid
6:00 – 7:15 PM, Presentation and audience Q&A
No requirement to read the book beforehand!
Riverbend Bookshop: Get a 10% discount our Stowe Prize books! Mention us at check-out or use STOWEFORCHANGE for online purchases.

Dr. Tess Chakkalakal will discuss Charles Chestnutt’s Marrow of Tradition and its relationship to Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Explore here for more information about Chestnutt.

In 1901, Houghton Mifflin & Co., the premiere literary press in the country, released Charles W. Chesnutt’s fourth book; it was predicted to be a best seller. The press’s high hopes and faith in the novel were made plain on the dust jacket they used to advertise the first edition: in The Marrow of Tradition Mr. Chesnutt has far outstripped his earlier successes. He has written a Southern story of the present that will recall at many points “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” so great is its dramatic intensity and so strong its appeal to popular sympathies.”

To say that Chesnutt’s novel disappointed both the author and his publisher’s expectations would be an understatement. Tess Chakkalakal tells the story of the making of The Marrow of Tradition in her new biography of Charles W. Chestnutt.

PRESENTING SPONSOR
Laura & Barry Korobkin

SUPPORTING SPONSOR
Francine & Stephan Christiansen

FRIEND SPONSORS:
Mary Ellen & Bob White
Diane Pflugrad Foley

September 25, 2025 with Dr. Tracey Hucks: The Public Debates of Frederick Douglass and Martin Delaney

November 5 with Dr. Claudia Stokes: Stowe’s Feminist Theology

Location Hybrid

Doors Open 5:45 PM

Program 6:00 - 7:15 PM

School Group Interest Form

School Group Interest Form 2024

Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center! Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.

School name:

Please suggest three dates and times when your group would like to visit. (Note: the Stowe Center is closed on Sunday and Tuesday.)

Contact Teacher Name:

Contact Teacher Email:(Required)

Contact Teacher Phone Number:(Required)

Number of students expected to attend:(Required)

Please enter a number from 8 to 40.

Please identify the grade level(s) of attending students:(Required)

Likely number of chaperones (including other teachers):

The Stowe Center requires one adult per every 10 students.

Are there special student, teacher, or chaperone accommodations that can help us serve you best?

Do you plan to have lunch on site?

Yes, please.

No, thank you.

Are you interested in scheduling a joint visit with our neighbor, The Mark Twain House and Museum?

Yes, please

No, thank you.

If yes, have you already contacted The Mark Twain House?

Yes

Adult Group Interest Form

Group Tour Interest Form 2022

Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center! Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.

Group Name:

Name of Primary Contact:(Required)

Contact Email:(Required)

Contact Phone Number:(Required)

What date would you like to visit? (The Stowe Center typically books group tours for Thursday through Sunday visits.)

Expected number of visitors:(Required)

Please enter a number from 20 to 42.

Please indicate the number of adults, seniors, and children expected in your group:

Are there special accommodations that can help us serve you best?

Are you interested in a joint visit with our neighbor, The Mark Twain House and Museum?

Yes, please.

No, thank you.

If yes, have you already contacted The Mark Twain House?

Yes

Isabella Beecher Hooker

Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker (1822-1907)
An ardent member of the woman’s suffrage movement, Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker joined in the cause along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

Isabella was the first child of Lyman Beecher and his second wife, Harriet Porter Beecher.

Isabella began her education at Catharine Beecher’s Hartford Female Seminary and lived with her sister Mary Perkins. In 1841 she married John Hooker, a descendant of Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford. John Hooker was a lawyer and an abolitionist.

In the early 1860s Isabella got involved in the woman’s suffrage movement. Isabella joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony as a member of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in 1869. She was a founding member of the Connecticut Woman’s Suffrage Association. Isabella’s ideas of equality were influenced by John Stuart Mills’ On Liberty and the Subjection of Women.

In 1871, Isabella organized the annual convention of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in Washington D.C. and presented her argument before the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate. Her husband, John Hooker, believed in his wife and supported her activities. He helped Isabella draft a bill to the Connecticut Legislature giving married women the same property rights as their husbands. The bill passed in 1877. Isabella annually submitted a bill granting women the right to vote, but it did not pass in her lifetime.