The Damnation of Theron Ware or Illumination (Modern Library Classics) [Paperback]

Harold Frederic (Author), Joyce Carol Oates (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 2002 | Series: Modern Library Classics

Published in 1896, The Damnation of Theron Ware or Illumination is a profound psychological portrait of the spiritual undoing of a guileless Methodist minister who is taken in by a rural townspeople’s various progressive ideas, from liberalism to bohemianism, only to be spurned by them for being too conventional. Described by Everett Carter as “among the four or five best novels written by an American during the nineteenth century,” the novel, as Joyce Carol Oates writes in her Introduction, has “shrewd, disturbing insights into the human pysche.”

This Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the text of the authoritative Harold Frederic Edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[Frederic’s] most brilliant achievement.” —Edmund Wilson

From the Inside Flap

Published in 1896, The Damnation of Theron Ware or Illumination is a profound psychological portrait of the spiritual undoing of a guileless Methodist minister who is taken in by a rural townspeople's various progressive ideas, from liberalism to bohemianism, only to be spurned by them for being too conventional. Described by Everett Carter as "among the four or five best novels written by an American during the nineteenth century," the novel, as Joyce Carol Oates writes in her Introduction, has "shrewd, disturbing insights into the human pysche."

This Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the text of the authoritative Harold Frederic Edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Modern Library (May 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375760350
• ISBN-13: 978-0375760358
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,529,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful and shamefully neglected American novel, October 28, 2001

By 

Stan Vernooy (Henderson, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Damnation of Theron Ware (John Harvard Library) (Paperback)

IMHO, this novel can and should be included with the other American novels that we cram down the throats of high-schoolers: Moby Dick, Scarlet Letter, Huckleberry Finn, etc. This is the almost painfully realistic story of a preacher who discovers that there is another world outside his previously sheltered existence. For many of us, this sort of discovery is a happy and broadening experience. But in Ware's case, his new discoveries cause him to reject all the good things about his old life, and to build fantasy castles in the air of his imagination. In his increasingly desperate attempt to escape into a fantasy life, he leaves behind many of his values and ethical standards - not least his responsibilities to those he loves.

This book will hit a nerve for many readers - it did for me. It is easy for the reader to identify with Ware and realize only too late, as Ware did, that he is embarking on an illusory and self-destructive quest. Frederick constructed both the plot and the character of Ware perfectly, and this novel is worth everyone's time to read. You will keep thinking about it long after you have closed the book for the last time.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic study of disillusionment and degeneration., August 26, 2000

By 

Miles D. Moore (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Damnation of Theron Ware (Literary Classics Series) (Paperback)

"The Damnation of Theron Ware" starts out as a quietly damning portrait of small-town piety, but slowly gains momentum until, at the end, it hits you like a sledgehammer. The title character, a naive, self-satisfied young Methodist minister, is a cautionary figure for us all; introduced tentatively to a world of sophistication, he loses faith in all the old verities of his life, with nothing but a few poses and attitudes to replace them. Even at the end, trying to make a new start, his self-delusion is breathtaking. Harold Frederic had the misfortune to die at 42, just as he was starting to hit his stride as a novelist. Had he lived to write even another 10 years, he might be a household name today.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all time favorite American novels., September 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Damnation of Theron Ware: Or Illumination (Penguin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

Over 20 years working as a bookseller, this is the novel I would most often recommend to customers who were seeking a truly entertaining out-of-the-ordinary novel. I've read it three times now, and am looking forward to a fourth in the next year or so. The main characters are fresh and utterly believable and they are surrounded by a fine cast of eccentrics. Frederic is a exceptionally visual writer. This book would make a fabulous movie.