The Virginian A Horseman of the Plains (Audible Audio Edition) Owen Wister John Pruden Tantor Audio Books
Download As PDF : The Virginian A Horseman of the Plains (Audible Audio Edition) Owen Wister John Pruden Tantor Audio Books
A strong, silent stranger rides into the lawless lands of the western frontier, battles horse thieves, deals with unyielding scoundrels, and wins the heart of a schoolmarm. Owen Wister's 1902 classic---the first great novel of the American West---is rich in moral drama and vernacular wit. His hero---like knights of old---lives by an enduring code of chivalry and is governed by quiet courage and a deep sense of honor. Set in the vast Wyoming territory, this masterpiece helped establish the code of the West and its stereotypical characters the genteel but brave cowboy, the pretty spinster from back East, and villains beyond redemption. The novel is also on record for incorporating the first known "shootout" in American literature. In 1977, The Virginian was voted by the Western American Writers as the greatest western novel of all time. Brimming with action, romance, and atmosphere, it remains a classic of frontier fiction.
The Virginian A Horseman of the Plains (Audible Audio Edition) Owen Wister John Pruden Tantor Audio Books
I've never read a Western. So why not start at the beginning? The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains, written by Owen Wister and published in 1902, is credited as being the first Western novel that wasn't a dime novel (i.e., "literary"). Set in Wyoming between 1874 and 1890, the Virginian tells the story of a cowboy who works on the ranch of a local judge. The book is mostly a series of vignettes, although there are two plot threads that run through it. Some of the vignettes are very funny: The Virginian tricks a traveling salesman into giving up his bed in the opening chapters; later, in one of the book's many fine scenes, he keeps a imperious itinerant preacher up all night with the "sin in his belly." (There is a decent bishop in the novel, a counterweight to this silly and very serious preacher.) One of the threads is the Virginian courtship of a local schoolteacher from Vermont, Miss Molly Stark Wood. The other is his simmering enmity with another cowboy. Both come to an engaging head (on the same day!).I found the book sweet and fun, and it left me feeling wholesome and good. A major theme is a simple morality or decency focused on being brave and treating others well. The Virginian isn't above throwing a rousing party, but he shuts it down when he gets word that a local woman is ill and the music might be keeping her up. (He delivers flowers the next day.) As the Virginian's employer, Judge Henry, puts it, "The whole secret...lies in the way you treat people." Or, as one card dealer says it, "I never like to be around where there's a coward. You can't tell. He'll always go to shooting before it's necessary, and there's no security who he'll hit. But a man like that black-headed guy is (the dealer indicated the Virginian) need never worry you."
On crude humor: There was not enough wit in this narrator to relieve his indecency, and I felt shame at having been surprised into laughing with him.
On keeping things in perspective:
"Awhile ago," said Steve, "you had won three months' salary."
"I'm still twenty dollars to the good," said the Virginian. "That's better than breaking a laig." ["Laig" is an old, alternative spelling of "leg."]
It's actually pretty funny, I'm writing this on the bus to New York City, and I mentioned to my seatmate how long we had left in the trip, and he said, "Well, that's better than a poke in the eye." So, a similar idiom survives!
One important note: This version of the audiobook seems to be missing part of Chapter 29 ("Word to Bennington"). The full text is available online, so it was easy to fill in the gap. Overall, it's a good reading.
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The Virginian A Horseman of the Plains (Audible Audio Edition) Owen Wister John Pruden Tantor Audio Books Reviews
I've never read a Western. So why not start at the beginning? The Virginian A Horseman of the Plains, written by Owen Wister and published in 1902, is credited as being the first Western novel that wasn't a dime novel (i.e., "literary"). Set in Wyoming between 1874 and 1890, the Virginian tells the story of a cowboy who works on the ranch of a local judge. The book is mostly a series of vignettes, although there are two plot threads that run through it. Some of the vignettes are very funny The Virginian tricks a traveling salesman into giving up his bed in the opening chapters; later, in one of the book's many fine scenes, he keeps a imperious itinerant preacher up all night with the "sin in his belly." (There is a decent bishop in the novel, a counterweight to this silly and very serious preacher.) One of the threads is the Virginian courtship of a local schoolteacher from Vermont, Miss Molly Stark Wood. The other is his simmering enmity with another cowboy. Both come to an engaging head (on the same day!).
I found the book sweet and fun, and it left me feeling wholesome and good. A major theme is a simple morality or decency focused on being brave and treating others well. The Virginian isn't above throwing a rousing party, but he shuts it down when he gets word that a local woman is ill and the music might be keeping her up. (He delivers flowers the next day.) As the Virginian's employer, Judge Henry, puts it, "The whole secret...lies in the way you treat people." Or, as one card dealer says it, "I never like to be around where there's a coward. You can't tell. He'll always go to shooting before it's necessary, and there's no security who he'll hit. But a man like that black-headed guy is (the dealer indicated the Virginian) need never worry you."
On crude humor There was not enough wit in this narrator to relieve his indecency, and I felt shame at having been surprised into laughing with him.
On keeping things in perspective
"Awhile ago," said Steve, "you had won three months' salary."
"I'm still twenty dollars to the good," said the Virginian. "That's better than breaking a laig." ["Laig" is an old, alternative spelling of "leg."]
It's actually pretty funny, I'm writing this on the bus to New York City, and I mentioned to my seatmate how long we had left in the trip, and he said, "Well, that's better than a poke in the eye." So, a similar idiom survives!
One important note This version of the audiobook seems to be missing part of Chapter 29 ("Word to Bennington"). The full text is available online, so it was easy to fill in the gap. Overall, it's a good reading.
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