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A novel, published in Wheeling in 1896 and exploring the evils of racism, is the first selection for a new series of African-American literature.

West Virginia University Press has republished "Hearts of Gold" by J. McHenry Jones, a prominent black educator who began his career in Wheeling and went on to become president of the institution now known as West Virginia State University. The new edition of "Hearts of Gold" is now available for purchase through West Virginia University Press, at bookstores and online.

"Hearts of Gold" is the initial entry in a new series, "Regenerations: African-American Literature and Culture." Editors of the series are John Ernest, who is the Eberly Family Distinguished Professor of American Literature at WVU, and Joycelyn K. Moody of the University of Texas at San Antonio. Ernest and Eric Gardner of Saginaw Valley State University are co-editors of the new edition of "Hearts of Gold."

Ernest said he first encountered Jones' largely forgotten novel on the Ohio County Public Library's Web site, where the text was posted online by Louis Horacek, assistant director of the library. Horacek said he learned of Jones around 1999 when the educator and author was mentioned in a talk given by Phyllis Wilson Moore, who researches the multicultural literary history of West Virginia.

Intrigued by the mention of a long-forgotten Wheeling author, Horacek began looking for "Hearts of Gold." He found an old copy of the novel for sale online in 1999 or 2000 and bought it for the library's rare book collection. While Horacek acquired the library's copy at a bargain rate, he has seen other copies being sold online with an asking price as high as $1,500.

An inside page of the library's copy of "Hearts of Gold" states that the book was published by the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer Job Press in 1896. Horacek said he has studied old newspapers and other periodicals from the period, but has found no announcements or reviews of the novel.

The library's copy also contains the name of Inez M. Johnson and the date of Feb. 8, 1916. Horacek checked old census records and found an Inez M. Johnson living at that time in Mississippi, but he did not uncover any other information about the book's original owner.

West Virginia University Press describes "Hearts of Gold" as "a gripping tale of post-Civil War battles against racism and systemic injustice. Originally published in 1896, this novel reveals an African-American community of individuals dedicated to education, journalism, fraternal organizations and tireless work serving the needs of those abandoned by the political process of the white world. Jones challenges conventional wisdom by addressing a range of subjects - from interracial relationships to forced labor in coal mines - that virtually no other novelist of the time was willing to approach."

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According to a biographical sketch on the Ohio County Public Library's Web site, Jones was born in Gallipolis, Ohio, in 1859 and graduated from Pomeroy (Ohio) High School as valedictorian. In 1882, he moved to Wheeling where he taught at Lincoln School and later became principal. He published "Hearts of Gold" at his own expense in 1896.

Also in 1896, Jones - who, in Wheeling, became active in the Republican Party - gave the speech seconding George W. Atkinson's nomination for West Virginia governor. (Atkinson, an Ohio County resident, went on to win the 1896 gubernatorial election.) Jones also was said to have been active in African-American societies like the Grand Order of the Odd Fellows and interracial religious organizations like the Epworth League.

Jones was named principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute (now West Virginia State University) in 1898 and served as the institute's president for more than a decade. He died at his home in Institute, W.Va., in 1909. Reportedly, Jones wrote a handful of novels, but critics have located only "Hearts of Gold."

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The "Regenerations" series is "devoted to reprinting editions of important African-American texts that either have fallen out of print or have failed to receive the attention they deserve," the editors stated.

Ernest - who will be speaking at the Ohio County Public Library's Lunch With Books program at noon Tuesday, Feb. 16 - said the new series "really all began with 'Hearts of Gold.' Some people knew of that novel, but not many." As a novel published in 1896 in West Virginia, "it was a natural for West Virginia University Press and an important book to get out," he said.

Regarding the need for this series, Ernest explained, "Our understanding of African-American literature and of African-American history generally has depended greatly on publication efforts. Various presses are finding books that have been published, but have been largely forgotten, and are bringing them into print, introducing them not only to scholarly communities but also to broad local communities."

Buoyed by community response to an African-American novel rediscovered in New Hampshire, Ernest said he and Moody thought that "Hearts of Gold" was similarly important. "It has the same kind of potential for reaching the community and maybe inspiring the community to think about the rich African-American history in our state," he said.

"In this case, this is a case where the community took the lead, " he said, noting that the Ohio County Public Library Web site mentioned Jones and offered the entire text of his novel online. "It's a great example of what local libraries and communities can do. We picked up the ball from them in many ways. They were very helpful to us in preparing the edition," Ernest said.

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Discussing the genesis of the original publication, the WVU professor said, "What I've discovered is that there were numerous African-American writers in the 19th century who were determined to write and publish their work. Their work was self-published or published through local printing agencies or distributed by local authors themselves. It seems that's how Jones did it."

Ernest commented, "African-American authors faced an uphill battle. They lacked access, with some exceptions, to some of the most important publishing houses. They didn't have the kind of distribution resources that other authors, white authors, had. Their books were less likely to be picked up for thoughtful reviews.

"You see books written by people determined to get their work out there. They are often individuals who are community leaders, devoted to the community, which means they are extremely busy, or people who are struggling to make a living for their families. They had to make time (to write) during very busy circumstances," he continued.

"Books like 'Hearts of Gold' are inspiring on that level. They are great works of faith," he added. "They (authors) think, 'If I can find a way to tell this story, the world is going to be a little bit better.' I find that inspiring."

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The literature professor observed, "One of the things that is especially interesting about this book is that Jones is very bold." In the book, Jones explores "some of the hard truths" of the era. For example, in the novel, Ernest pointed out, "An African-American doctor is falsely accused and convicted of a crime, and sent to a mine to work out his punishment. Jones' descriptions of the convict labor system are vivid, and the doctorr quite nearly dies from his experience. Jones also includes one of most horrific depictions of a lynching that I've encountered in literature. So, it's a very bold book in many ways," Ernest commented.

The editors were able to place Jones' life in context, but were not able to find out how the book was received by the public. "We uncovered only a couple of reviews published in some newspapers," Ernest related. "The only other thing that we know is that Jones became president of what is now West Virginia State University. The students (at WVSU) put on a dramatic performance called 'Hearts of Gold' in the early 20th century. For Jones, at least, that remained important. We don't know the details. There's still much to learn. We hope to stumble over some information, to get a better sense of the reception of the book and the reception of the play."

As for Jones' other works, Ernest said, "There was another novel that apparently was at a publisher's office when that publisher went out of business; apparently, the manuscript was lost in that process. We've encountered a reference to another novel, but have no idea if that has survived.

"There's every chance that somebody will turn up something in their attics, and it will turn out to be one of Jones' missing manuscripts. It's happened," he added.

Examining Jones' work from a literary perspective, Ernest said, "I generally believe we're still learning how to read 19th-century African-American literature. For too long, we've had a sense of what good literature is, and African-American literature sometimes diverges.'

Comparing "Hearts of Gold" to patterns of 19th-century African-American fiction, Ernest commented, "I think it's a very good example of what that approach can produce. There's a way in which it uses sentimental, horrific realism, different conventions. It's trying to gather together a community, of what African-American lives called for at that time. It intertwines various kinds of narrative lines, and different kinds of narrative conventions. I think it's a fascinating read. The more you read this kind of literature, the more you appreciate what it can do."

The novel is "very manageable and actually a quick read," Ernest said. "I read it in a single sitting and really enjoyed it."

As editors and educators, Ernest said, "We're very excited about this series. We really think it will do some good. If we can get to readers, I think that readers will enjoy reading books that are closer to life in many ways. I think readers are really going to appreciate encountering these books, often of people very much like themselves, of people who have managed to tell their story. I think it's going to be very exciting to see what happens."