''The Hoosier Schoolmaster: A Story of Backwoods Life in Indiana'' is an 1871 novel by the American author

Edward Eggleston Edward Eggleston (December 10, 1837 – September 3, 1902) was an American historian and novelist. Biography Eggleston was born in Vevay, Indiana on December 10, 1837, to Joseph Cary Eggleston and Mary Jane Craig. The author George Cary Eggles ...

. The novel originated from a series of stories written for '' Hearth and Home'', a periodical edited by Eggleston, and was based on the experiences of his brother,

George Cary Eggleston George Cary Eggleston (26 November 1839 – 14 April 1911) American writer and brother of fellow writer Edward Eggleston (1837–1902). Sons of Joseph Cary Eggleston and Mary Jane Craig. After the American Civil War he published a serialized acc ...

, who had been a schoolteacher in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. The novel is noted for its realistic depictions of 19th-century American rural life and for its use of local dialect.

Evaluation

In the conclusion to ''The Hoosier Schoolmaster'', Eggleston announces his belief that readers whose taste is not perverted always want a story to “come out well.” Accordingly, he so planned this his first and most important romance that the lovers are all happily united, the poor orphans become prosperous and the evil-doers receive just punishment, mitigated somewhat through the generous intervention of those whom they have wronged. The great popularity of the work has been ascribed not so much to the conventional plot as to its description of early days in Indiana. It pictures the country school in which custom prescribed a constant warfare between the master and the big boys, the community spelling school, the different forms of bigoted and illiterate preaching that were offered to the new settlers, the amusing attempts at formality in the proceedings of the courts, and other features of pioneer life as the author had seen them in his career as itinerant missionary and agent for a Bible society. Eggleston's fondness for historical accuracy sometimes led him to sacrifice the artistic unity of his story in order to introduce a detail exactly as it was found in real life, but this defect is less noticeable in ''The Hoosier Schoolmaster'' than in some of his later novels. There is a great variety of characters who, while they are drawn pretty much in unshaded black and white, have enough truth to human nature to seem real. A sufficient humor pervades the whole, the action never drags, and the book despite its limitations deserved the great vogue it had after its publication in 1871.

Film adaptions

*''The Hoosier Schoolmaster'' (1914), directed by

Edwin August Edwin August Phillip von der Butz (November 10, 1883 – March 4, 1964) was an American actor, film director, director, and screenwriter of the silent film, silent era. August was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and graduated from Christian Br ...

and Max Figman *'' The Hoosier Schoolmaster'' (1924), directed by

Oliver L. Sellers Ollie L. Sellers (born Oliver Sellers in 1885) was an American film director. Before becoming a director he was a production manager at Triangle Film Corporation. He worked with Gloria Swanson. He wrote the screenplay adapted from a novel and di ...

*'' The Hoosier Schoolmaster'' (1935), directed by

Lewis D. Collins Lewis D. Collins (January 12, 1899 – August 24, 1954) was an American film director and occasional screenwriter. In his career spanning over 30 years, he churned out dozens of Westerns. Career Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Collins' film caree ...

References

External links

1871 American novels Novels set in Indiana Novels set in schools {{1870s-novel-stub