Reflections in Dark Glass: The Life and Times of John Wesley Hardin - Hardcover

McGinnis, Bruce

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1574410083 ISBN 13: 9781574410082

Publisher: University of North Texas Press, 1996

Synopsis

Neither a fictional biography of notorious Texas gunman John Wesley Hardin nor an actual one, Reflections in Dark Glass is based on the personal reminiscences of individuals who knew Hardin best. The book deals with relationships and details not found in the existing literature about the life of Hardin and covers the period from his boyhood to the killing of Deputy Sheriff Charlie Webb in 1874, an altercation which brought about Hardin’s incarceration in 1878 in the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas.

About this title

About the Author

Bruce McGinnis is a Professor of English at Amarillo College. His previous novels are The Fence and Sweet Cane.

From the Back Cover

Reflections in Dark Glass is based on the personal reminiscences of individuals who knew Hardin best. The story reveals relationships and details not found in the existing literature about the life of Hardin, and covers the period from his boyhood to the killing of Deputy Sheriff Charley Webb in 1874, an altercation which brought about Hardin's incarceration 1878 in the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas.

Reviews

John Wesley Hardin (1853-1895) was 15 when he killed his first man, in 1868 in Texas. By the time he was taken down by a policeman's bullet 27 years later, he had killed at least 40, perhaps many more. In his third novel (after The Fence and Sweet Cane), McGinnis presents a surprisingly soft, if not very believable, take on this notorious gunman. Hardin's story is seen through the eyes of three storytellers who are peculiarly tolerant of his bloodletting. His friend Jim Stephens offers the longest and most intriguing account, primarily of Hardin's youthful days, excusing the young killer's mean streak all the while. An anonymous voice reveals Hardin's rescue from a lynch mob; and the outlaw's African American wet nurse, Julie Ola Faye, provides dialect-heavy, often confusing reflections. Some folks, we learn, viewed Hardin as a defender of post-Civil War Southern spirit; indeed, through McGinnis's fictional prism, his crimes are seen mostly as justifiable self-defense. The generally accepted historical record doesn't bear this out, however, presenting Hardin as a cold-blooded murderer who loved his work and who blew away soldiers, gamblers, lawmen and cowboys with equal relish. Still, McGinnis's revisionist chronicle is told with vigor and atmosphere, making this a worthwhile, if offbeat, literary western.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of North Texas Press
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1574410083
• ISBN 13: 9781574410082
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 180