Charles W. Chesnutts The House Behind the Cedars was written by and first published in 1900. The work presents Rena and her brother John mixed-race African Americans who can pass as white men. Working as a top lawyer in Clarence John asks Rena to join him in rearing his children after the death of his wife. Rena also seamlessly mingles into society but the two face severe problems when her marriage is broken after it is discovered that she is an Afro-American.