A Far Country

Hugh Paret, a corporation lawyer determined to tell the truth about his inner life, looks back on the childhood that formed his desires, ambitions, and romantic nature. Raised in a stern religious household where Calvinist duty, punishment, and restraint often outweighed joy, he felt early that his truest self belonged to imagination rather than obedience. Memories of church, school, family portraits, and a rigid father who loved him yet distrusted originality establish the novel's central conflict: the struggle between artistic self-discovery and the practical, moral pressures of American life. Against this backdrop, Hugh traces his family's heritage through his mother's Scotch-Irish line and the formidable immigrant Benjamin Breck, whose Presbyterian energy and business success helped build the family fortune. He recalls old city households, the fading country retreat of Claremore, and childhood visits to Cousin Robert and Cousin Jenny's welcoming home, where warmth, discipline, and sharp adult perception shaped his sense of belonging. Comic and revealing episodes—his literal faith in miracles, his imagined quarter from heaven, and his habit of inventing stories—show a boy turning ordinary life into adventure. As an adult, Hugh's marriage to Maude brings affection and strain, especially as they return to New York, settle into a charming house near the Heights, and confront the tensions between domestic comfort, social ambition, and his restless need for freedom. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.