Poor White: A Novel

In a bleak river town where the soil is as unforgiving as its people, a boy named Hugh McVey ekes out a meager existence among drunken saloon keepers, idle craftsmen, and a father who drifts between work and stupor. Raised in a crumbling shack on the Mississippi’s muddy banks, Hugh learns to survive by scavenging, fishing, and doing any odd job he can find, his only formal education a handful of letters learned from wandering friends. The relentless poverty and desolation shape him into a patient, dream‑filled youngster, barely aware of a future beyond the river’s edge.

When a new railroad line threads its way through the town, Hugh lands a position as “man of all work” for the station master, thrusting him into a world of schedules, freight, and a modest household that finally offers regular meals. There he meets the sharp‑tongued, good‑natured Mrs. Shepard, whose reluctant mentorship forces him to confront his own aimlessness and consider what life might hold beyond the mud‑laden streets of his birth.