The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains

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.

Owen Wister’s The Virginian set the template for what all future westerns would ultimately become--a strong, stalwart, honest hero; the pretty schoolmarm as romantic interest, and lots of shooting and killing. The inspiration for virtually every western from Zane Grey on can be traced back to The Virginian. Born on July 14, 1860, in Germantown, Pennsylvania, Wister was the only child of well-to-do parents. The Virginian elevated Wister from the ranks of accomplished short story writers to the level of celebrity.