Other editions of book Virginian

In this quintessential western novel, the foreman of a large cattle ranch on the Wyoming frontier lives by the honor code of the West, even though it means lynching a friend and possibly losing the woman he loves. Published in 1902, the book became hugely popular for decades, inspiring five movies and a long-running TV series (1962-1971). All the classic elements are here: the handsome cowboy hero; the pretty schoolmarm; the villain who must finally face justice at the end of a gun. In 1977, the Western Writers of America voted this the top western novel of all time. For anyone wondering how the myth of the Western hero came into being, this is the book to read. Newly designed and typeset in a modern 6-by-9-inch format by Waking Lion Press.

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.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

". . . a 1902 novel set in the Wild West by the American author Owen Wister, (1860-1938). It describes the life of a cowboy on a cattle ranch in Wyoming and was the first true fictional western ever written, aside from short stories and pulp dime novels. The Virginian paved the way for many more westerns by such authors as Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour, and several others." --Wikipedia

In this romantic and raw adventure set in the untamed wilderness of Wyoming of 1886, an anonymous college graduate ventures out West where he encounters gun fights, lynching, cattle rustlers, high-stake poker games, Indian attacks, and a brave, honest and imposing cowboy known simply as the Virginian. Presented as the archetypal, ideal hero of the ‘western’ genre (which was novelised for the very first time in this same book), the Virginian, a foreman at Shiloh Ranch, carries a strong sense of justice that wins him the heart of independent young schoolteacher Molly Stark, and finds his sworn enemy Trampas at the end of a gun. The novel developed many of the central tropes and themes of the western, including morality, faith and honour, and presents its formidable, unforgiving landscape in stunning detail.