Throughout a single day in 1892, John
Shawnessy recalls the great
moments of his life—from the love
affairs of his youth in Indiana, to the
battles of the Civil War, to the
politics of the Gilded Age, to his
homecoming as schoolteacher, husband, and father. Shawnessy is the epitome of the place and period in which he lives, a rural land of springlike women, shady gamblers, wandering vagabonds, and soapbox orators. Yet here on the banks of the Shawmucky River, which weaves its primitive course through Raintree County, Indiana, he also feels and obeys ancient rhythms. A number-one bestseller when it was first published in 1948, this powerful novel is a compelling vision of 19th-century America with timeless resonance today.