A Master's Degree

by Margaret Hill McCarter

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

168 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1913

Reviews

[Richard Jespers · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for two reasons. One, the novel is set in a place modeled after my alma mater, Southwestern College, in Winfield, Kansas. And two, I happened to have a copy I inherited from my grandmother, inscribed with her name and the date, “1915.” Some familiar spots on the landscape do appear in the book: the large “S” of sizable stones that must be whitewashed each year, the Walnut river valley, Sunrise College substituting for my SC, the actual sunset hill of one hundred feet. Otherwise, the novel is an overly sentimental rendering of one young man’s four years in college. The book is marred by the details McCarter leaves out: how many steps down Sunset hill to the bottom (77), how classes were conducted, where and how students lived, the topography to a greater degree (she does great watercolor washes describing spectacular sunsets). I did, however, get a feel for a certain type of student that both schools, fictional and real, seem to attract: a rough cut outlier, bright enough but unpolished, who arrives at commencement a much-changed person. One who will continue to grow and change throughout life.

[Kylee Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the book at a thrift store the summer after I completed a masters degree, so thought it fitting. I planned on just leaving it on my shelf as it was somewhat antique looking, but one night I started it and was so glad I did! Realizing this was set in Kansas, I immediately connected most of the characters with people I went to college with. Transformation, mystery, and suspense make it a great read.