A Little Rebellion is a Good Thing

Although it is not the author’s first book, A Little Rebellion is a Good Thing is his first venture into this kind of story. Duncan L. Clarke is a professor emeritus at American University’s Department of International Relations. The title of this book comes from a quote by Thomas Jefferson. In this story, David Pritchard, a newly minted Ph.D. takes on his first post degree teaching assignment at Traymore College, an all-girls college rural Virginia. It’s 1969, when women’s rights movements were heating up in the U.S., but had not yet found its way to rural Virginia. Not everyone agreed that changing the rules was progress. Pritchard had gotten a law degree before he pursued his Ph.D., having wanted to teach and not to become a practicing lawyer. He was stunned by the old college rules about the expected behaviors of the girls and the sorts of punishment handed out for any perceived violations, including expulsion from the school for students and teachers. Pritchard was headstrong and he quickly waded into a battle with college president Elzic Barton. Barton saw his role of being the protector of the school and all the undergraduates. Prichard disagreed.

Clarke filled this book with a slew of rich characters from Barton, to the Dean of Students, Evelyn Baird, to a series of co-eds including Valerie Tavernetti, Sue Ewal, RJ McKenna, and Kim Sherman. Pritchard’s dog, Xen, a Labrador retriever, played a key role in the novel. This book is well-written and well-conceived. It gets my recommendation.