Fiat Flux : The Writings of Wilson R. Bachelor, Nineteenth-Century Country Doctor and Philosopher

Winner of the 2024 Booker Worthen Literary Prize Wilson R. Bachelor was a Tennessee native who moved with his family to Franklin County, Arkansas, in 1870. A country doctor and natural philosopher, Bachelor was impelled to chronicle his life from 1870 to 1902, documenting the family's move to Arkansas, their settling a farm in Franklin County, and Bachelor's medical practice. Bachelor was an avid reader with wide-ranging interests in literature, science, nature, politics, and religion, and he became a self-professed freethinker in the 1870s. He was driven by a concept he called "fiat flux," an awareness of the "rapid flight of time" that motivated him to treat the people around him and the world itself as precious and fleeting. He wrote occasional pieces for a local newspaper, bringing his unusually enlightened perspectives to the subjects of women's rights, capital punishment, the role of religion in politics, and the domination of the American political system by economic elite in the 1890s. These essays, along with family letters and the original diary entries, are included here for an uncommon glimpse into the life of a country doctor in nineteenth-century Arkansas. Wilson R. Bachelor Was A Tennessee Native Who Moved With His Family To Franklin County, Arkansas, In 1870. A Country Doctor And Natural Philosopher, Bachelor Was Impelled To Chronicle His Life From 1870 To 1902, Documenting The Family's Move To Arkansas, Their Settling A Farm In Franklin County, And Bachelor's Medical Practice. Bachelor Was An Avid Reader With Wide-ranging Interests In Literature, Science, Nature, Politics, And Religion, And He Became A Self-professed Freethinker In The 1870s. He Was Driven By A Concept He Called Fiat Flux, An Awareness Of The Rapid Flight Of Time That Motivated Him To Treat The People Around Him And The World Itself As Precious And Fleeting. Introduction : Wilson R. Bachelor, Whys And Wherefores / By William D. Lindsey -- Diary Of Wilson R. Bachelor (1870-1902) -- Occasional Pieces From The Scrapbook Of Wilson R. Bachelor (1890s) -- Letters Of Wilson R. Bachelor (1890s) -- Afterword : Medicine In The Arkansas River Valley, 1865-1890 / By Jonathan Wolfe -- Appendix I : Goodspeed Autobiography Of Wilson R. Bachelor (1889) -- Appendix Ii : Masonic Eulogy Of Wilson R. Bachelor (1903) -- Appendix Iii : Report Of Wilson R. And Sarah Bachelor's Golden Wedding Anniversary (1897) -- Appendix Iv : Letter Of Wilson R. Bachelor To Zion's Ensign (4 February 1893) -- Appendix V : Genealogical Charts. Edited And Introduced By William D. Lindsey ; With A Foreword By Thomas A. Bruce And An Afterword By Jonathan Wolfe. Not Distributed; Available At Arkansas State Library. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 267-281) And Index.

Wilson R. Bachelor was a Tennessee native who moved with his family to Franklin County, Arkansas, in 1870. A country doctor and natural philosopher, Bachelor was impelled to chronicle his life from 1870 to 1902, documenting the family's move to Arkansas, their settling a farm in Franklin County, and Bachelor's medical practice. Bachelor was an avid reader with wide-ranging interests in literature, science, nature, politics, and religion, and he became a self-professed freethinker in the 1870s. He was driven by a concept he called "fiat flux, " an awareness of the "rapid flight of time" that motivated him to treat the people around him and the world itself as precious and fleeting. He wrote occasional pieces for a local newspaper, bringing his unusually enlightened perspectives to the subjects of women's rights, capital punishment, the role of religion in politics, and the domination of the American political system by economic elite in the 1890s. These essays, along with family letters and the original diary entries, are included here for an uncommon glimpse into the life of a country doctor in nineteenth-century Arkansas.

William D. Lindsey is the co-author of Religion and Public Life in the Southern Crossroads: Showdown States . ..