A Far Country

In Short

This novel serves as the autobiography of Hugh Paret, a quintessential American romanticist who climbs the ranks of high-stakes corporate law. Driven by an insatiable desire for influence and wealth, Paret navigates the corrupt intersections of business and politics, eventually becoming a cog in the machine he once stood outside of. It is a profound, introspective study of the moral erosion that accompanies blind ambition. The work remains relevant because it captures the timeless, uncomfortable tension between personal values and the systemic pressures of a materialistic society.

The Story

Hugh Paret begins his life in a respectable, tradition-bound household, yet he is plagued by a restless, imaginative spirit that refuses to conform to his father’s rigid expectations of "Christian character." As a boy, he is prone to petty deceit and grand, selfish desires, viewing the world as a place meant to satisfy his immediate whims. His early life is a series of small rebellions and social maneuverings, culminating in his graduation from school, where he feels the sharp sting of inferiority when his rival, Ralph Hambleton, achieves the academic honors Paret craved but refused to work for.

Determined to transcend his middle-class upbringing, Paret rejects his father's desire for him to enter the family business and instead turns toward the law. He views the legal profession as his ticket to the inner circles of power. During his education, he experiences fleeting moments of artistic and spiritual awakening, but these are consistently stifled by his overwhelming hunger for social status and material success. He drifts into the orbit of powerful men—railroad magnates and political fixers—who value his intelligence and his capacity for moral flexibility.

As a young lawyer, Paret proves himself indispensable. He learns that the law is not a vehicle for justice, but a tool for shielding the wealthy from the consequences of their actions. He maneuvers through backroom deals, bribes, and legislative manipulations, rising to become a trusted strategist for those who control the city’s institutions. His success is total, yet it comes at the cost of his inner self. He marries into wealth and secures his position, only to find that the "far country" he has traveled to—the realm of the powerful—is an arid wasteland of greed.

The story does not shy away from the hollowness of his victory. Paret eventually confronts the wreckage of his life: the realization that he has become exactly the sort of man he once judged. He witnesses the decline of honest men like his Cousin Robert, who lose their livelihoods because they refuse to participate in the systemic corruption Paret has mastered. In the end, there is no easy redemption or miraculous turnaround. Instead, Paret offers a raw, honest accounting of his life, laying bare the specific compromises that turned a boy with the potential for greatness into a man of "enlightened self-interest." He stands as a mirror to his era, forcing the reader to consider whether the pursuit of worldly power is worth the slow, silent surrender of the soul.

How It Unfolds

The boyish impulse Paret introduces himself as a "romanticist," a term he uses to describe the American tendency to believe that the world exists to satisfy one's personal desires. His childhood is defined by a series of small, revelatory moments where he prioritizes his own wants over truth, setting the stage for his adult moral conflicts.

The threshold of manhood As he moves from school to college, Paret feels the tug between his intellectual interests and the social pressure to join the ranks of the "Chosen." He is constantly tempted by the prestige of wealthy peers and the validation that comes with being part of the elite class.

The path of the pragmatist After entering the law, Paret sheds his remaining youthful idealism. He discovers that he has a talent for navigating the legal loopholes that protect corrupt industrialists, earning him the favor of powerful men who value his ability to achieve results without asking questions.

The arrival in the far country Paret reaches the pinnacle of his professional ambition, realizing that the system is entirely controlled by railroad interests and political machines. He looks back at his life, recognizing that the "stranger" who has taken the place of his former self is a man defined by expediency rather than principle.

The People

Hugh Paret is the central consciousness, a man of sharp intelligence and deep insecurity. He wants to be exceptional, but his hunger for validation drives him to adopt the values of a society that values "getting along" over doing right. He ends as a man of great worldly influence but profound spiritual poverty.

Matthew Paret, Hugh’s father, represents the old-fashioned, stern morality of an earlier generation. He demands truthfulness and honor, but lacks the flexibility to understand or guide his son’s turbulent nature. His failure to reach Hugh contributes to the boy’s eventual drift toward cynical ambition.

Mr. Watling, Paret’s senior partner, serves as a mentor in corruption. He is a master of persuasion who frames unethical legal maneuvers as necessary practicalities. He is the architect of Paret’s success, molding him into the perfect instrument for the firm’s political machinations.

Cousin Robert Breck is the moral anchor of the book. As an honest grocer driven out of business by unscrupulous competitors, he provides the contrast to Paret’s life. His ruin serves as a grim indictment of the world Paret has chosen to serve, and his presence is the persistent reminder of the honor Paret traded away.

In Its Own Voice

"In that sense, if in no other, I have been a typical American, regarding my country as the happy hunting-ground of enlightened self-interest, as a function of my desires."

Paret reflects on his life as an embodiment of the American dream gone wrong.

"Your American romanticist is a sentimental spoiled child who believes in miracles, whose needs are mostly baubles, whose desires are dreams."

He critiques the underlying immaturity of the social class he belongs to.

"I endeavour to write a biography of the inner life; but in order to do this I shall have to relate those causal experiences of the outer existence that take place in the world of space and time."

Paret explains his objective in documenting the progression of his own soul.

What It's Really About

The central theme is the conflict between the "inner life" and the demands of a materialistic, competitive society. The book argues that the American ethos of the late 19th century—which prioritized expansion, wealth, and influence above all else—systematically crushed the capacity for authentic morality. Paret’s journey is a diagnosis of "romanticism" as a form of moral blindness. By equating one’s own desires with the natural order of the universe, the individual justifies the most destructive forms of ambition. The book asks a fundamental, haunting question: Can a society built on "enlightened self-interest" ever produce a truly good person, or does it inevitably force the individual to choose between personal integrity and worldly success?

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate a meticulous, slow-burn character study will find this book deeply compelling. It is written with a cool, surgical precision that avoids sentimentality, making Paret’s eventual self-reckoning feel earned and painful. Those interested in the history of American corporate power and the Gilded Age's political landscape will find the depictions of backroom dealings strikingly vivid and grounded.

However, the book is not without its challenges. Its length and the dense, period-specific prose can be demanding, and the protagonist is often frustratingly self-absorbed, which may alienate readers looking for a traditional hero. The attitudes regarding class and the specific, antiquated social codes can feel remote to a modern sensibility. Yet, for those who persevere, the reward is an unflinching look at how ambition can hollow out a person from the inside. It stays with you because it refuses to offer the comfort of an easy excuse; Paret takes full responsibility for his choices, and in doing so, he forces the reader to look at their own life and ask what they might have traded away to "get along." It is a somber, intelligent, and ultimately classic examination of the American character.