History Faculty Publications
Title
Review: 'Harold Frederic’s Social Drama and the Crisis of 1890s Evangelical Protestant Culture'
Document Type
Book Review
Publication Date
Summer 2014
Publication Source
Studies in American Naturalism
Abstract
Harold Frederic’s The Damnation of Theron Ware (1896) is a terrific novel. The title character is a young, naïve, poorly educated Methodist minister who — when the narrative begins — has been appointed to take the pastorate of a small-town church in upstate New York. It is within only a matter of weeks after moving to Octavius with his wife, Alice, that Theron makes the acquaintance of exotic and compelling individuals who challenge his heretofore unexamined evangelical faith. Abandoning his Methodism with impunity, Ware is soon hurtling toward his “damnation.”
Damned but not dead: At the end of the novel, Theron and Alice are heading out to Seattle, where the feckless ex-minister will superintend a real estate company while considering the possibility of embarking on a career in politics.
Inclusive pages
105-107
ISBN/ISSN
1931-2555
Document Version
Preprint
Copyright
Copyright © 2014, Studies in American Naturalism
Publisher
University of Nebraska Press
Volume
9
Issue
1
eCommons Citation
Trollinger, William Vance, "Review: 'Harold Frederic’s Social Drama and the Crisis of 1890s Evangelical Protestant Culture'" (2014). History Faculty Publications. 41.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/hst_fac_pub/41
Comments
Book's citation information: Richmond B. Adams. Harold Frederic’s Social Drama and the Crisis of 1890s Evangelical Protestant Culture. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2013. ISBN: 9780773445307.
The document available for download is the author's submitted manuscript, provided with the permission of the publisher.
Some differences may exist between the manuscript and the published version; as such, researchers wishing to quote directly from this resource are advised to consult the version of record.