The novel portrays the many classes and races in the postbellum southern United States, and depicts the Wilmington insurrection of 1898. Gordon Fraser has suggested that elements of the novel, particularly scenes of black resistance, are modeled on the Robert Charles riots in New Orleans in 1900.[5]
The Marrow of Tradition comments on Frances Harper's novel Iola Leroy and Booker T. Washington's famous Atlanta Address of 1895. Its criticism of the non-confrontational approach to race relations is expressed by the character of Dr. William Miller.
A radio dramatization by Cheryl Martin, directed by Pam Fraser Solomon, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as a Classic Serial in February 2003.[6]
