The Hoosier School–Master (Paper) (Library of Indiana Classics)

This cherished classic of rural American life was a popular success when it first appeared in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. By the early twentieth century it was nationally acclaimed by critics for its realistic portrayal of a vanishing phase of American life. Today it is considered a milestone in American literature a monument to regional writing. Edward Egglestons account of the adventures of a young schoolmaster in a nineteenth-century school system presents a vivid and readable chapter in the history of America and American education. First and foremost however The Hoosier School-Master is a charming yet realistic novel in the manner of Tom Sawyer. Set in Flat Creek Indiana in the 1850s the story relates the encounters of the new schoolteacher Ralph Hartsook with such lovable characters as Bud Hannah and Shocky. This marvelous tale contains all the elements of a good old-fashioned melodrama―the bully star-crossed lovers the poorhouse and the one-room schoolhouse. Written with Hoosier humor and candor Egglestons delightful portraits of heroes and villains are a bit sentimental but they are also perceptive―full of life and truth.