Damnation of Theron Ware (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

By Harold Frederic and Clay Motley

This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading.  One of the most riveting examples of American literary realism, The Damnation of Theron Ware insightfully captures the unsettling religious, scientific, philosophical, and sexual transitions American society underwent in the late nineteenth century. Theron Ware, a naïve Methodist minister, becomes sexually attracted to Celia Madden, daughter of the town's richest resident, and is intellectually seduced by her friends, including the town's Catholic priest and a reclusive scientist. Intoxicated by the strange ideas of his new friends, Theron Ware eagerly trades in his former innocence and faith for a conspicuously "modern" set of ideas and beliefs he only vaguely understands. What first appears to be illumination is ultimately "damnation" for Ware, as he abandons all beliefs for a shallow pursuit of power and financial success.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Release date: Mar 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9781411467705

Harold Frederic

Harold Frederic (1856-1898) was an American novelist and journalist. Born in Utica, New York, he was raised by his mother following his father’s tragic death in a railroad accident. At fifteen, he found work as a photographer in Utica before moving to Boston, later changing careers to become a reporter for The Utica Daily Observer. Frederic married Grace Green in 1877 and by 1882 was the editor of The Albany Evening Journal, raising his five children in the state capital. In 1884, he moved to London to work as a correspondent for the New York Times, sending for his family to join him after five years apart. In 1896, while living with his mistress Kate Lyon, Frederic published his bestselling novel The Damnation of Theron Ware, proving himself as a gifted American writer working in the realist tradition. At the height of his literary career, Frederic suffered a sudden stroke in London and died shortly thereafter.