Frederick Brent never asked to be a preacher. Orphaned as a boy and raised by the stern, devout Hester Prime in the small Ohio town of Dexter, he grows up under the weight of her rigid faith and the community’s expectations. When a dramatic conversion experience sweeps him into the ministry, Frederick tries to live the life everyone expects of him—preaching fire and brimstone, denying his own desires, and suppressing the love he feels for the free-spirited Alice. But the more he preaches, the more he feels like a fraud. Torn between duty and honesty, he must confront the hypocrisy around him and the truth within himself. This modern retelling of Paul Laurence Dunbar's classic novel brings its timeless questions of faith, identity, and the courage to live authentically into vivid, present-day language. Part of Timeless Classics.