Overshadowed: A Novel

by Sutton E. Griggs

There is the danger of too much water, of the drought, of the coming worms.

But the grain that came to life under the oak has its peculiar struggles.

It must contend for sustenance with the roots of the oak.

It must wrestle with the shade of the oak.

The life of this isolated grain of corn is one continuous tragedy.

Overshadowed is the story of this grain of corn, the Anglo-Saxon being the oak, and the Negro the plant struggling for existence.

To be true to life, the story must indeed be a sombre one.

So, Overshadowed is a tragedy—a story of sorrow and suffering.

Yet the gloom is enlivened by the presence of a heroic figure, a beautiful, noble girl, who stands unabashed in the presence of every ill.

Overshadowed does not point the way out of the dungeon which it describes, but it clearly indicates the task before the reformer when he comes.