The Virginian (Scribner Classics) - Hardcover

Wister, Owen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743238028 ISBN 13: 9780743238021

Publisher: Scribner, 2002

Synopsis

In the untamed West, pioneers came to test their fortunes - and their wills. The Wyoming territory was a harsh, unforgiving land, with its own unwritten code of honor by which men lived and died. Into this rough landscape rides the Virginian, a solitary man whose unbending will is his only guide through life. The Virginian's unwavering beliefs in right and wrong are soon tested as he tries to prove his love for a woman who cannot accept his sense of justice; at the same time, a betrayal by his most trusted friend forces him to fight against the corruption that rules the land.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

This is the classic novel of the American West, which served as a model for thousands of later novels and films.

It is a story of ranch life and cowboy living at the turn of the century. The hero of the novel, the "Virginian", the only name by which he is known, has left his native state at an early age to try his fortunes in the western country. After roughing it along the way, he settles on Judge Henry's cattle ranch in Wyoming, where the owner makes him his right-hand man. The Virginian is strikingly handsome, twetny-seven years old, and, though unversed in the ways of the world and ignorant as to book learning, he has character and personality that inspire respect from all who know him. He manages to force on a turbulent community his idea of law and order-- "getting the drop" on an enemy, vigilante committees, and lynch law.

The novel recounts his adventures, including his romantic initiation at the hands of Molly Wood, the Vermont girl who became a western school techer. And it introduces him to Trampas, the legendary villain who is the prototype of the "bad guys" of future western novels and films.

"The Virginian" has been filmed three times, most memorably with Gary Cooper, and also became a long-running television series.

About the Author:

Owen Wister was born in Philadelphia to Owen Jones Wister, a physician, and Sarah (Butler) Wister, daughter of the actress Fanny Kemble. After graduating from Harvard in 1882, Wister spent some time in the West and documented his experiences in a series of diaries. In 1891, after a conversation in which Wister and his former Harvard classmate Theodore Roosevelt discussed the literary potential of Wister's impressions of Western life, Wister began writing stories of America's last frontier, which paved the way for The Virginian. Wister's stories helped establish the cowboy as an archetypal, individualist hero, and The Virginian is widely recognized as the first true Cowboy novel.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribner
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0743238028
• ISBN 13: 9780743238021
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352