TEN REALLY GREAT WESTERN NOVELS - Cornelsen Verlag

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Zusatzmaterialen zum Thema "Cowboys"

TEN REALLY GREAT WESTERN NOVELS By David Andersen

1. The Virginian by Owen Wister The Western Writers of America (WWA) voted The Virginian: a Horseman of the Plains (1902) one of the best Western novels ever written. One of the first classic Westerns, the novel portrays the passing of the traditional Western way of life in which Wister created the heroic image of the West. Set in the Wyoming territory of the late 1870s and 1880s, it tells the story of a mysterious cowboy known only as the ‘Virginian’ who works as a foreman for a Wyoming cattle ranch. He is forced to preside over the hanging of his best friend Steve, who had been accused and convicted of cattle rustling. Trampas, who also works on the farm, vows to gun down the Virginian. Perhaps the most famous quote from the book occurs when Trampas insults him during a card game, and he responds simply by placing his pistol on the table and saying softly; “When ya’ call me that, smile!”(meaning more or less: if you want to insult me, at least show me that you don’t really mean it!) Wister, born in 1860, created many of the basic Western myths and themes which were later popularized by such writers as Zane Grey and Max Brand. Some other novels by the author: A Journey in Search of Christmas, 1904; The Pentecost of Calamity, 1915; A Straight Deal, 1921 and When the West was Won, 1926. 2. The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter van Tilburg Clark When first published in 1940, this novel was described as a different kind of Western. When the news of the brutal murder of a local rancher reaches town, a posse is formed to hunt the perpetrators. The novel dramatizes the transformation of the posse into a lynch mob. Clark, who was born in 1909, first gained recognition for writing short stories. He reacted against the romantic Westerns popularized by Wister and Brand, concentrating on storylines closer to real life. Other novels include: The City of Trembling Leaves (1945) and The Track of the Cat (1949). 3. Shane by Jack Schaefer First published in 1949, the novel tells the story of a stranger who comes across the Starrett homestead by chance and ends up staying on as a hired hand. A powerful and unscrupulous rancher is trying to run the other ranchers off the range and Shane is inevitably embroiled in the escalating conflict. Schaefer was born in 1907. The range and depth of his work is remarkable and he is known for his moving tales about fierce and courageous characters. Other novels include: The Big Range, 1953; Company of Cowards, 1957; Mavericks, 1968; First Blood and Other Stories, 1970 and Monte Walsh, 1981. 4. The Big Sky by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. An epic adventure novel of America’s vast frontier, The Big Sky (1947) tells the story of three of the most memorable characters in Western literature. This exciting novel follows the lives of three frontiersmen as they travel along the Missouri River from St. Louis to the Rockies living as trappers, traders, guides and explorers. Guthrie was born in 1901 and grew up in Montana. His exposure to the wide expanse of nature at an early age and his experience in the U.S. Forest Service and on ranches resulted in a love of nature and dictated how he portrayed the natural beauty of the West. Other novels include: Murders at Moon Dance, 1943; The Way West, 1949; These Thousand Hills, 1956; Wild Pitch, 1973; The Last Valley, 1975; Fair Land and Fair Land, 1982.

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5. The Searchers by Alan LeMay This novel, written in 1956, tells the story of what happened to a frontier family when their neighbors suspect that their adopted daughter was stolen from the local Kiawa tribe. Alan LeMay was born in 1899 in Indianapolis, Indiana, although most of his writing is set in Texas. He began writing fiction during the 1920s and is one of the few published authors who moved to Hollywood and wrote for the movies, where he was also a producer and director. His novels include: Painted Ponies, 1927; Gunsight Trail, 1931; Winter Range, 1932; Cattle Kingdom, 1933; Along Came Jones, 1945 and The Unforgiven, 1960. 6. Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey The story takes place in the Cottonwoods, a Mormon village on the 1871 Utah frontier. Lassiter, a rider in black, is the archetype of the mythic Western hero, a lone gunman fighting for justice. Despite an extremely harsh and inaccurate presentation of Mormons, this 1912 novel is still considered one of the truly great Westerns. Pearl Zane Gray (later changed to Grey) was born in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1872. He wrote steadily but only after considerable nagging by his wife did he eventually send his work to a publisher and went on to become one of the first millionaire authors, publishing over 90 books. He was extremely successful and even started his own motion picture production company that later became Paramount Pictures. Perhaps his most famous character came from the novel The Lone Star Ranger, on which the radio and television character “The Lone Ranger” is based. His other works include: The Last of the Plainsmen, 1908; Tales of Lonely Trails, 1922; Wanderer of the Wasteland, 1923; The Thundering Herd, 1925, The Hash Knife Outfit, 1933; The Code of the West, 1934; The Trail Driver, 1935; The Lost Wagon Train, 1936; West of the Pecos, 1937; Raiders of Spanish Peaks, 1938; Western Union, 1939 and Knights of the Range, 1939. 7. Pasó por Aqui by Eugene Manlove Rhodes Pasó por Aqui (He Passed This Way) was first published in 1927 and reprinted in 1948 as Four Faces West. It is the story of a man who robs a bank with the intention of paying the money back and who even leaves an I.O.U! His only problem is that the famous marshal, Pat Garrett, is after him… Known as the ‘cowboy chronicler’, Eugene Manlove Rhodes was born in Tecumseh, Nebraska, in 1869. He moved to New Mexico with his parents in 1881, and immediately fell in love with the region. He did not write of the heroic stranger, but of the real, working cowboy. Bernard DeVoto, writer and historian, praised Rhodes’ works as “the only body of fiction devoted to the cattle kingdom which is both true to it and written by an artist in prose.” Other titles include: Little Eohippus, 1914; The Desire of the Moth, 1917; West Is West, 1920; The Wallop, 1921; Sure Fire, 1921; Good Men and True, 1922 and The Mysterious Witness, 1923. 8. The Day the Cowboys Quit by Elmer Kelton This novel written in 1971 focuses on the period in 1883 when the cowboys of the Canadian River country went on strike against the big ranches. It is a true story that Kelton uses to focus on the changes brought to ranching by the big syndicates; including fencing the range and replacing traditions and trust with written rules of employment - things that the cowboys thought ought to be ‘left alone’. Texas Governor Rick Perry called Elmer Kelton a true Texas legend and he has been voted the All-Time Best Western Author by the Western Writers of America. He was born in 1926, grew up on the McElroy Ranch in Crane, Texas and is the author of over forty novels. Other works include: Hot Iron, 1955; Buffalo Wagons, 1956; The Time it Never Rained, 1973; The Good Old Boys, 1978 and The Man Who Rode Midnight, 1987.


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9. Hondo by Louis L’Amour John Wayne described Hondo as the "Best Western novel I have ever read", and promptly made a film out of it. The story is about a fiercely independent man who knows the ways of the Apache and the art of staying alive. Hondo meets a settler woman and her child who have been abandoned by her husband. He is forced to leave her for a while to warn people about an Indian warrior whose people are preparing to rise against the white men, but returns to defend the woman and her offspring. The novel was first published in 1953. Louis L’Amour said, “I am probably the last writer who will ever have known the people who lived the frontier life. I have known five men and two women who knew Billy the Kid.” L'Amour was born in Jamestown, North Dakota in 1908. Repeatedly reworking his own set formula, L'Amour produced standard novels following familiar character development: his heroes are righteous but violent, the women proud and beautiful, and the villains are killed at the end. The formula worked though- L'Amour’s books have sold over 225 million copies! A short list: Westward the Tide, 1950; Crossfire Trail, 1954; Heller with a Gun, 1954; To Tame a Land, 1955; Last Stand at Papago Wells, 1957; The First Fast Draw, 1989; High Lonesome, 1962; Comstock Lode, 1981; The Lonesome Gods, 1983 and The Haunted Mesa, 1987. 10. Destry Rides Again by Max Brand (Frederick Schiller Faust) This book published in 1930 tells the story of how the hero, Harry Destry, revenges himself on the twelve jurors who unjustly sentenced him and sent him to prison. Frederick Schiller Faust wrote under different pseudonyms, but is primarily known as Max Brand. Faust was born in Seattle in 1892 and grew up in central California, later working as a cowhand on one of the many ranches in the San Joaquin Valley. Faust rivaled Edgar Wallace and Isaac Asimov as one of the most prolific authors of all time. Just a few of his novels include: The Trap At Comanche Bend, 1927; Mystery Ranch, 1928; Twenty Notches, 1932; Brother Of The Cheyennes, 1934; Red Devil of the Range, 1934; The Sheriff Rides, 1934; Rustlers of Beacon Creek, 1935; Happy Jack, 1936; South Of Rio Grande, 1936; Dead Or Alive, 1938; The Dude, 1940; Riders Of The Plains, 1940 and Vengeance Trail, 1941. Almost every one of these ten novels has been made into at least one Hollywood film under various titles.


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