The Virginian (1902) is Owen Wister's classic popular romance, and the most significant shaping influence on cowboy fiction. Its narrator, fresh from the East, encounters in Wyoming cattle country a strange, seductive and often violent land where the handsome figure of the Virginian battles for supremacy with Trampas and other ne'er-do-wells. His courtship of the genteel Vermont schoolteacher, Molly Wood, is a humourously observed battle of the sexes, demonstrating that the 'customs of the country' must eventually prevail. ...
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The Virginian (1902) is Owen Wister's classic popular romance, and the most significant shaping influence on cowboy fiction. Its narrator, fresh from the East, encounters in Wyoming cattle country a strange, seductive and often violent land where the handsome figure of the Virginian battles for supremacy with Trampas and other ne'er-do-wells. His courtship of the genteel Vermont schoolteacher, Molly Wood, is a humourously observed battle of the sexes, demonstrating that the 'customs of the country' must eventually prevail. Rich in vernacular wit and portraying a romanticized escape from the decorum of the patrician East, The Virginian exudes a sense of redemptive possibility, drawing on Wister's experience of a summer spent on a Wyoming ranch in 1895. This edition includes Wister's neglected essay, 'The Evolution of the Cow-Puncher' (1895), a revealing companion to a novel that has disturbing undercurrents.
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Add this copy of The Virginian to cart. $3.18, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Oxford University Press, USA.
Add this copy of The Virginian: a Horseman of the Plains (Oxford World's to cart. $3.20, very good condition, Sold by HPB Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Oxford University Press.
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Add this copy of The Virginian: a Horseman of the Plains (Oxford World's to cart. $5.00, very good condition, Sold by Burke's Book Store rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Memphis, TN, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of The Virginian: a Horseman of the Plains (Oxford World's to cart. $5.38, good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Oxford University Press, USA.
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Good. Good condition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Add this copy of The Virginian: a Horseman of the Plains (Oxford World's to cart. $7.00, good condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of The Virginian: a Horseman of the Plains to cart. $20.00, very good condition, Sold by Between the Covers-Rare Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester City, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of The Virginian: a Horseman of the Plains (Oxford World's to cart. $25.23, like new condition, Sold by Marches Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hereford, HEREFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1998 by Oxford Paperbacks.
Add this copy of The Virginian: a Horseman of the Plains (Oxford World's to cart. $31.13, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Oxford University Press.
Written in 1902, The Virginian is considered to be the first cowboy novel and the basis of the genre of Western movies and TV shows that remain popular to this day. Author Owen Wister (1860-1938) was from Philadelphia but made several trips out to the West in the 1880s and 1890s; his visit to Wyoming was the inspiration for the novel entitled The Virginian (much of the story takes place in Medicine Bow, Wyoming). The story develops the themes of toughness and rugged individualism typically connected with the West. The story includes various elements one associates with Western novels: cowboys, horses, trains, ranches, cattle rustlers, sagebrush, cottonwood trees, wide-open spaces, romance, and a gun battle. I will admit I was hoping for a little more action as I would see with James Drury (the Virginian), Doug McClure (Trampas), and Lee J. Cobb (the Judge) in the TV show of the same name as the novel; on the other hand, if one reads this book as a person from the East and living in the United States in the opening years of the twentieth century one can see the literary and historical significance of this book. I also liked how the author attempted to reconcile the various regions (East, West, New England, and the South) with characters representing the various sections of the United States. While at times a little slow, I did like this book and I feel as if I have viewed a way of life and a philosophy that seems to be fading away with each passing year.
ris227
May 31, 2015
Virginian
Bought this Classic book as a gift. Pleased with entire transaction.
Katherine B
May 19, 2011
great book
This is one of the great books on the west. It was written while Wister was in Winthrop, WA.