Feel the Spin is a work of historical fiction that explores the tension between traditional theology and secularism. The story traces the relationships among a transplanted Northern family, a college community, and the local townsfolk in South Carolina ten years after the end of the American Civil War. The country has entered a period of dramatic change, as manifested by the abrupt end of the Reconstruction era, a surge in public awareness of world events and new social movements, an explosion of scientific discoveries, and the rapid onset of the machine age.
The central character, Thomas Walters, has joined the faculty of Tideland College in the fall of 1875 as a professor of the recently introduced disciplines of natural philosophy and astronomy. The novel follows the experiences of Thomas, his wife, and their two children; two former slaves employed by the family; a humorously skeptical professor of Latin; and three questing, rambunctious students. Several colorful supporting characters enhance the action and atmosphere of the story.
Professor Walters finds himself caught up in the broader conflict between empiricism and faith, as well as the bitter struggle between the ways of the Old South and the advance of a new national identity that embraces social equality, women’s rights, and rationality. Feel the Spin depicts one man’s progress through idealism, disillusionment, and despair to a newfound sense of his connection with all seekers of truth through the ages.
The central character, Thomas Walters, has joined the faculty of Tideland College in the fall of 1875 as a professor of the recently introduced disciplines of natural philosophy and astronomy. The novel follows the experiences of Thomas, his wife, and their two children; two former slaves employed by the family; a humorously skeptical professor of Latin; and three questing, rambunctious students. Several colorful supporting characters enhance the action and atmosphere of the story.
Professor Walters finds himself caught up in the broader conflict between empiricism and faith, as well as the bitter struggle between the ways of the Old South and the advance of a new national identity that embraces social equality, women’s rights, and rationality. Feel the Spin depicts one man’s progress through idealism, disillusionment, and despair to a newfound sense of his connection with all seekers of truth through the ages.
