A Business Career  A Business Career is a novel by African-American author Charles Chesnutt that features the life of a "new woman" of the late 19th century; she enters the world of business instead of embracing the traditional roles of women. It explores a failed romance between two successful upper-class members. A family’s vendetta against the man who allegedly destroyed the family's fortune is revealed to be mistaken. The novel was unusual for its time as Chesnutt wrote only about white society. The book was completed in 1890 but Chesnutt, who had published only a few short stories by then, was unable to interest a publisher in it. The book's depiction of white society may have contributed to that failure. Editor Walter Hines Page, who declined the book, nevertheless encouraged Chesnutt in his writing and later published other works by him. Since the late 20th century, there has been a revival of interest in Chesnutt. This novel was published posthumously in 2005 with an introduction and editing by Matthew Wilson. The story takes place in 1890s in the Midwest city of Groveland (critics consider this a fictional stand-in for Cleveland, where Chesnutt lived). At the Truscott Refining Company, the male stenographer has just been fired. Stella Merwin fills in temporarily; she has already learned shorthand. When an opportunity opens up, she stays in the job longer than intended. The company is owned by the man whom her family believes has destroyed its reputation and honor. Stella Merwin's father, Henry, was a very successful man in the oil refining business, providing the Merwin family with status and a life of wealth. At the peak of his success, he hit financial troubles. These led to the loss of the family fortune as well as his death, attributed to heart disease. Before his death, Merwin assured his family: his wife, daughter Stella and son George, that they would be taken care of financially by his profitable investments. He directed them to see his most trusted employee, Wendell Truscott for assistance in the matter, as Merwin had given him related papers. With the loss of their wealth, the Merwins must change their lives. They move from the city to a small town where they lived off a small annual income produced by the estate and additional money earned from Mrs. Merwin’s writing career. This was enough money to give Stella a strong education, but a far cry from what the family was used to during their good times.