Up from Methodism: A Memoir of a Man Gone to the Devil

by Herbert Asbury, Roy Blount Jr. (Foreword)

In 1926, while a reporter for the New York Herald Tribune, Herbert Asbury, great-great-nephew of Francis Asbury, the first American Bishop of the Methodist Church, submitted a chapter of his profane work-in-progress, an almost spiteful memoir of his boyhood in the Ozark town of Farmington, Missouri, to H.L Mencken's American Mercury magazine. Mencken published "Hatrack," the story of the town's prostitute, in the April issue. The Mercury was then banned in Boston at the incitement of J. Frank Chase, the head of the New England Watch and Ward Society, who called the story "bad, vile, raw stuff." Mencken was arrested selling the magazine to Chase on Boston Common in a stunt designed to provoke the free-speech trials that followed. In its restrained, but unrelenting attack on religious bigotry, irrationality, and hypocrisy, the book that was published soon thereafter retains its transgressive power today. Its taunting title, playing on Booker T. Washington's early-century bestseller Up from Slavery, gives an idea of what Asbury thought he had escaped. In his mocking humor and plain-spun language, used to evoke a bygone South suffocating in its fear of pleasure and damnation, Asbury reveals his debt to another son of Missouri, Mark Twain.

Genres: History, Religion, Spirituality, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 29, 2003

About the author

Herbert Asbury (September 1, 1889 – February 24, 1963) was an American journalist and writer best known for his books detailing crime during the 19th and early-20th centuries, such as Gem of the Prairie: An Informal History of the Chicago Underworld, The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld and The Gangs of New York.

Reviews

[Kimberly Schlarman · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I only chose to read this memoir because it is set in my hometown of Farmington, MO. I also grew up in the Methodist Church and eventually became disillusioned due to religious hypocrisy. I enjoyed Up from Methodism mostly due to seeing familiar place names and family names in print. But the story of a child's growing disillusionment with religion still resonates today. It's safe to say that little has changed in my hometown in the past 100 years.

Asbury writes about growing up in a repressive religious atmosphere where asking even the simplest questions and daring to have an independent thought is not allowed. Life revolves around the church and everyone's conduct is up for intense scrutiny. I sometimes wonder how much Asbury is exaggerating the draconian codes of conduct that many of the townspeople try to follow but the Brothers and Sisters make for humorous reading and much of the book feels quite contemporary.

For instance this passage discusses the attitudes of the self-proclaimed men and women of God:

"They knew precisely what was a sin and what was not, and it was curious that the sins were invariably things from which they received no pleasure. Nor was anything which paid a profit a sin. They knew very well that God considered it a sin to play cards or dance, but that He thought it only good business practice to raise the price of beans or swindle a fellow citizen in the matter of town lots, or refuse credit to the poor and suffering."

Religious hypocrites never change it seems.

I'd also like to add a warning about a lot of casual racism in this book.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything by Herbert Asbury is good. This one is special though. Asbury's ancestor was the first American Methodist bishop. This was also the book whose serialization got H.L. Mencken arrested in Boston when he published the "Hatrack" chapter in his magazine "The American Mercury."

[Aketzle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really funny and entertaining, especially considering how long ago it was written. Seemed very contemporary! Short read, well worth it!