Shadow of Night

It is 1852, and Kurt Hasso has emigrated from Europe to the small town of Sac Prairie, Wisconsin. He is motivated by vengeance: he knows that Odo Gebhardt, while serving as a soldier during the upheavals of 1848, had killed his brother Josef in cold blood. But as he settles in Sac Prairie and takes on the occupation of tutor to several children in the town, he finds himself doubting the wisdom and morality of his vengeful quest. Odo Gebhardt is not the grim-faced ogre he believed him to be. As he takes in the ceaseless course of the seasons in this bountiful land, Hasso undergoes a shattering experience that makes him question is deepest beliefs. Shadow of Night is one of August Derleth's richest historical novels. Set in the backdrop of the political turbulence of the period-with such issues as women's rights, temperance, and the Fugitive Slave Law the subject of furious debate-Derleth poignantly portrays the emotional struggles of Hasso in his new residence, and he ultimately realizes the wisdom of a Catholic priest's words-that "hatred is a kind of disease, like the shadow of night coming across the sun."