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gregy's review against another edition
4.0
The book is uneven: it was originally a series of separate stories and sketches that Wister decided to string together into one coherent novel--I believe by adding the love story element. But when it's good it's really good, and it's not hard to understand how it became a major bestseller. It's a great read if you're interested in the roots of the western genre. The Virginian was published in 1902, when the movies were less than a decade old and western shorts were still very primitive (and silent). Yet this book feels like a fully fledged widescreen technicolor sound western of the 1950s, complete with the pacing, thematic dyads, landscape descriptions, cowboy dialogue, and climactic shoot-out that fans of the genre will associate with the classic films of John Ford. I didn't expect it to feel so "classic" (as opposed to "primitive") in terms of the history of the genre. A nice surprise. The Barnes and Noble edition also includes a really useful introduction by John Cawelti, a foremost scholar of the genre.
brian's review against another edition
4.0
An unconventional Western in that it's not full of shootouts and action. Could be that it's more of a novel of its time (early 1900's) and the genre hadn't been explored much by then.
Follows the titular Virginian through the eyes of a visiting green-horn from the East, showing the experience and character of him. A kind of friendship grows between them over the years and the latters naivety is slowly eased.
Mostly the novel is about the Virginian's feud with another cow puncher called Trampas and his meeting and romance of Molly Stark Wood who comes to Medicine Bow as a schoolteacher.
Good characterization, well written descriptions of the landscape, the people and the lives they lead.
Follows the titular Virginian through the eyes of a visiting green-horn from the East, showing the experience and character of him. A kind of friendship grows between them over the years and the latters naivety is slowly eased.
Mostly the novel is about the Virginian's feud with another cow puncher called Trampas and his meeting and romance of Molly Stark Wood who comes to Medicine Bow as a schoolteacher.
Good characterization, well written descriptions of the landscape, the people and the lives they lead.
papertownian's review against another edition
3.0
Owen Wister’s 1902 novel The Virginian: A horseman of the plains is a quintessential western in every sense of the word. It is easy to understand how this novel is considered the first of this genre, the father of all westerns. Within this novel, there is a strong, quiet, world-wise hero, school marm love interest, and cattle rustlers. Any fan of the western genre ought to read this classic, they are bound to be entertained by the old-fashioned writing style that feels contemporaneous with the world of the wild west. Our hero, The Virginian, is a man of his word and proves it with both his lady love, Ms. Molly Stark, and his nemesis, Trampas. The reader will look forward to how all of the traditional western tropes are woven throughout this novel, take a stroll down memory lane and drink in the nostalgia!
lieslindi's review against another edition
BR2018-07: A western.
More of a romance than a western, with more spooning than gun-fightin' or cow-punchin' or cattle-rustlin', which is kindly* funny for a book whose protagonist doesn't enjoy Jane Austen. Naive in its construction, because how does the first-person narrator know things for which he was not present, when the Virginian is no chatterbox? Stunts like that I can't forgive even in novels a century earlier in the form's existence. By 1903 Wistler should have known better.
The text is peppered with casual racisms, e.g. American Indians are ignorant, stupid, cruel, and criminal; the difference in lynching of African-Americans being worse than lynching of criminals on the frontier only because bureaucracy is absent on the frontier; the inability to distinguish among non-white faces; the assertion that the family of someone with an unusual name has been white for a hundred years.
Also I'm stumped why "the Virginian" is heralded as the hero of Wyoming when much is made of most of its (white) residents being newcomers. Wouldn't most of the characters have met people migrating from all states east of the Mississippi?
An engaging read with sentences and paragraphs so well constructed that they just carry you along, like the Mississippi, without the snags of mountain creeks.
* I say "kindly" instead of "kinda" when I've been reading Cormac McCarthy or westerns.
More of a romance than a western, with more spooning than gun-fightin' or cow-punchin' or cattle-rustlin', which is kindly* funny for a book whose protagonist doesn't enjoy Jane Austen. Naive in its construction, because how does the first-person narrator know things for which he was not present, when the Virginian is no chatterbox? Stunts like that I can't forgive even in novels a century earlier in the form's existence. By 1903 Wistler should have known better.
The text is peppered with casual racisms, e.g. American Indians are ignorant, stupid, cruel, and criminal; the difference in lynching of African-Americans being worse than lynching of criminals on the frontier only because bureaucracy is absent on the frontier; the inability to distinguish among non-white faces; the assertion that the family of someone with an unusual name has been white for a hundred years.
Also I'm stumped why "the Virginian" is heralded as the hero of Wyoming when much is made of most of its (white) residents being newcomers. Wouldn't most of the characters have met people migrating from all states east of the Mississippi?
An engaging read with sentences and paragraphs so well constructed that they just carry you along, like the Mississippi, without the snags of mountain creeks.
* I say "kindly" instead of "kinda" when I've been reading Cormac McCarthy or westerns.
skjam's review against another edition
4.0
“When you call me that, smile!”
When the Easterner who would become known as “the Tenderfoot” came to Wyoming at the behest of Judge Henry, he didn’t know what to expect. What he got was the acquaintance and eventually friendship of the man called “the Virginian”, one of Judge Henry’s hired men. Soft-spoken but with a steely core, the Virginian would do battle with less good men, and win the heart of a woman of character. This is his tale.
This American classic was originally published in 1902 (though parts were written much earlier) and is considered by some to be the first “adult” Western novel, as opposed to the cheap adventure books primarily aimed at young readers that did much to shape the Western genre. It’s based in large part on Owen Wister’s own experiences visiting the West in the 1880s to recover from bouts of ill health. The Virginian himself is a fictional character, but men of his type were among Wister’s friends.
Neither the Virginian nor the Tenderfoot are ever actually named; at one point the Virginian is called “Jeff” but he disclaims this as a friendly nickname due to his Southern heritage. One of the first things we learn about the title character is that while he’s willing to cheerfully accept verbal abuse from his friends, the same words from a relative stranger will spark a definitely unfriendly reaction. (This is the outward manifestation of the start of enmity between the Virginian and the low-down Trampas.)
Much of the novel is also taken up with romance. Mary Stark Wood is a schoolmarm from New Hampshire, come West to escape the expectation that she will marry the young man who’s interested. She’s of excellent family descent, and rather proud; learning to let go of that pride and admit she loves the Virginian enough to go through life with him is part of her character arc.
The Virginian, for his part, does not rest on his laurels as a man of action, even though rescuing Mary from a bad situation does spark her attention in the first place. He works at improving his vocabulary and knowledge of literature and philosophy so that he can be a better husband. Not so surprising, as Mary’s intellect is part of what attracted him in the first place.
Fans of Western action need not fear boredom, however. There are rustlers and horse thieves about, and not every situation can be settled with words or a practical joke. (Some readers may find the baby-switching prank too much for their forgiveness.)
There’s some period sexism and racism. The latter is perhaps most pointed up when Scipio le Moyne makes a point of telling the Tenderfoot that his family “has been white for a hundred years.” Back in the 1880s, “Scipio” was most often a black man’s name, after Scipio Africanus. Another issue that comes up is cruelty to animals, particularly in the person of horse “trainer” Balaam.
The book is dedicated to Wister’s good friend, Theodore Roosevelt, and was written when the memory of the Old West was still fresh–Mr. Wister mentions that some parts in the final chapter were originally written in present tense, but the passage of time before publication required they now be past tense.
Overall, this is a fine example of American writing, of equal interest to fans of Westerns and romance. Highly recommended.
When the Easterner who would become known as “the Tenderfoot” came to Wyoming at the behest of Judge Henry, he didn’t know what to expect. What he got was the acquaintance and eventually friendship of the man called “the Virginian”, one of Judge Henry’s hired men. Soft-spoken but with a steely core, the Virginian would do battle with less good men, and win the heart of a woman of character. This is his tale.
This American classic was originally published in 1902 (though parts were written much earlier) and is considered by some to be the first “adult” Western novel, as opposed to the cheap adventure books primarily aimed at young readers that did much to shape the Western genre. It’s based in large part on Owen Wister’s own experiences visiting the West in the 1880s to recover from bouts of ill health. The Virginian himself is a fictional character, but men of his type were among Wister’s friends.
Neither the Virginian nor the Tenderfoot are ever actually named; at one point the Virginian is called “Jeff” but he disclaims this as a friendly nickname due to his Southern heritage. One of the first things we learn about the title character is that while he’s willing to cheerfully accept verbal abuse from his friends, the same words from a relative stranger will spark a definitely unfriendly reaction. (This is the outward manifestation of the start of enmity between the Virginian and the low-down Trampas.)
Much of the novel is also taken up with romance. Mary Stark Wood is a schoolmarm from New Hampshire, come West to escape the expectation that she will marry the young man who’s interested. She’s of excellent family descent, and rather proud; learning to let go of that pride and admit she loves the Virginian enough to go through life with him is part of her character arc.
The Virginian, for his part, does not rest on his laurels as a man of action, even though rescuing Mary from a bad situation does spark her attention in the first place. He works at improving his vocabulary and knowledge of literature and philosophy so that he can be a better husband. Not so surprising, as Mary’s intellect is part of what attracted him in the first place.
Fans of Western action need not fear boredom, however. There are rustlers and horse thieves about, and not every situation can be settled with words or a practical joke. (Some readers may find the baby-switching prank too much for their forgiveness.)
There’s some period sexism and racism. The latter is perhaps most pointed up when Scipio le Moyne makes a point of telling the Tenderfoot that his family “has been white for a hundred years.” Back in the 1880s, “Scipio” was most often a black man’s name, after Scipio Africanus. Another issue that comes up is cruelty to animals, particularly in the person of horse “trainer” Balaam.
The book is dedicated to Wister’s good friend, Theodore Roosevelt, and was written when the memory of the Old West was still fresh–Mr. Wister mentions that some parts in the final chapter were originally written in present tense, but the passage of time before publication required they now be past tense.
Overall, this is a fine example of American writing, of equal interest to fans of Westerns and romance. Highly recommended.