The Hoosier Schoolmaster
Ralph Hartsook, a green young schoolmaster, takes charge of a rough district school in backwoods Indiana, where the older boys have literally driven off his predecessors. To keep order he must outwit and outlast them, all while a tangle of local feuds, a robbery, and a budding romance close in around him. Edward Eggleston built the story on his brother’s real experiences teaching frontier children, and he wrote the dialogue in the blunt Hoosier dialect he grew up hearing. The result, published in 1871, was a landmark of American regional fiction, giving Eastern readers an honest look at spelling bees, revival meetings, and pioneer justice. Its plain realism helped turn the tide away from genteel romance. Free to read in PDF and EPUB.
About the Author
Edward Eggleston (1837 to 1902) was an American historian and novelist, best known for The Hoosier Schoolmaster. A former Methodist preacher, he wrote realistic fiction about ordinary American life and later turned to writing social history.
See all books by Edward Eggleston →
Listen to The Hoosier Schoolmaster Audiobook Free
Listen to The Hoosier Schoolmaster by Edward Eggleston free online. The full audiobook (5 hr 50 min, 35 chapters, read by Bridget Gaige) streams free on this page.
The Hoosier Schoolmaster (1871) is a public domain work.
| # | Chapter | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preface | 34:04 | |
| 2 | A Private Lesson from a Bulldog | 23:27 | |
| 3 | A Spell Coming | 6:56 | |
| 4 | Mirandy, Hank, and Shocky | 17:17 | |
| 5 | Spelling Down the Master | 27:51 | |
| 6 | The Walk Home | 9:45 | |
| 7 | A Night at Pete Jones's | 10:37 | |
| 8 | Ominous Remarks of Mr. Jones | 4:28 | |
| 9 | The Struggle in the Dark | 5:43 | |
| 10 | Has God Forgotten Shocky? | 5:26 | |
| 11 | The Devil of Silence | 8:39 | |
| 12 | Miss Martha Hawkins | 10:42 | |
| 13 | The Hardshell Preacher | 14:30 | |
| 14 | A Struggle for the Mastery | 8:50 | |
| 15 | A Crisis with Bud | 8:35 | |
| 16 | The Church of the Best Licks | 7:09 | |
| 17 | The Church Militant | 7:41 | |
| 18 | A Council of War | 6:44 | |
| 19 | Odds and Ends | 5:55 | |
| 20 | Face to Face | 6:09 | |
| 21 | God Remembers Shocky | 9:04 | |
| 22 | Miss Nancy Sawyer | 2:54 | |
| 23 | Pancakes | 9:08 | |
| 24 | A Charitable Institution | 10:36 | |
| 25 | The Good Samaritan | 3:45 | |
| 26 | Bud Wooing | 5:29 | |
| 27 | A Letter and its Consequences | 4:33 | |
| 28 | A Loss and a Gain | 4:33 | |
| 29 | The Flight | 8:42 | |
| 30 | The Trial | 19:02 | |
| 31 | "Brother Sodom" | 5:53 | |
| 32 | The Trial Concluded | 18:52 | |
| 33 | After the Battle | 5:58 | |
| 34 | Into the Light | 5:05 | |
| 35 | "How It Came Out" | 5:32 |
Prefer reading? Read The Hoosier Schoolmaster online free or download the PDF and EPUB above.
