A Hoosier Chronicle
Public-domain ebook
A Hoosier Chronicle
Language: en1,040 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Bestsellers, American, 1895-1923·Novels·American Literature
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #15138.
About this book
A Hoosier Chronicle is a regional work of fiction that opens with a sweeping meditation on law, governance, and the power of ideas, quoted from Emerson, before moving into a detailed table of contents that maps out the life of Sylvia, the granddaughter of retired naval officer‑turned‑professor Andrew Kelton. The first chapter drops the reader into the quiet, orderly world of Professor Kelton’s cottage on “Buckeye Lane,” describing the meticulously trimmed garden, the book‑laden study, and the sea‑themed décor that hints at his Annapolis past. Sylvia, a disciplined fifteen‑year‑old, is introduced as she puts down a book to answer a bell, and the narrative immediately establishes the tension between the college’s academic rigor and the surrounding town’s customs, setting the stage for a series of episodic encounters that will trace her growth amid Indiana’s modest yet vivid landscape.
The prose is firmly rooted in the late‑19th‑century sensibility, employing a formal, descriptive voice that blends genteel observation with occasional philosophical asides. Its style mirrors the detailed realism of contemporary Midwestern novels, offering rich character sketches and a strong sense of place. Readers who enjoy immersive historical settings, nuanced portrayals of small‑town intellectual life, and a leisurely, chapter‑by‑chapter unfolding of a young woman’s world will find this book rewarding.
Characters in A Hoosier Chronicle
- SylviaFifteen-year-old girl in modest late‑19th‑century Indiana dress, hair neatly pinned, thoughtful expression
- Andrew KeltonElderly retired naval officer, silver‑gray beard, spectacles, wearing a tweed suit with a navy lapel, dignified posture
The opening · free to read
To
EVANS WOOLLEN, ESQ.
The wise know that foolish legislation is a rope of sand which perishes in the twisting; that the State must follow and not lead the character and progress of the citizen; the strongest usurper is quickly got rid of; and they only who build on Ideas, build for eternity; and that the form of government which prevails is the expression of what cultivation exists in the population which permits it. The law is only a memorandum. We are superstitious, and esteem the statute somewhat; so much life as it has in the character of living men is its force.
EMERSON: Politics.
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