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Historical fiction set in the 'Wild West'

21 years ago

Hi! I'm looking for any recommendations for books set in the American west in the 1800's or early 1900's. I recently read "Sacajawea" by Ann Lee Waldo and "Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry; I loved them both and am looking for books along those same lines. Any recommendations would be helpful! Thanks!

Kelly

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Comments (19)

murraymint11
21 years ago
What about 'The Last Crossing' by Guy Vanderhaeghe?

Jane
UK
friedag
21 years ago
I second Jane's recommendation of The Last Crossing and will add Vanderhaeghe's earlier book, The Englishman's Boy.

There's always A.B. Guthrie's classics: The Big Sky and The Way West.

Ivan Doig has written historical fiction about the early years of his native Montana. Dancing at the Rascal Fair is the one that I liked best. Doig's nonfiction about his Scottish ancestors who settled in Montana is very affecting, too.

Also, there's Thomas Berger's Little Big Man.
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rosefolly
21 years ago
My absolute favorite writer of western (and pioneer) historical fiction mostly wrote short stories. Her three collections are hard to find. Keep your eyes open for Dorothy M. Johnson's books The Hanging Tree, Indian Country, and Flame on the Frontier. The movies A Man Called Horse and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance were both based on short stories she wrote. She's a marvellous writer, occasionally reminding me a bit of O. Henry. She also wrote some nonfiction, but I have not read any of that work.
friedag
21 years ago
I just thought of a few more:

Gwen Bristow's Jubilee Trail and Calico Palace are two of my all-time favorites.

Not quite as far west, but "wild" none the less, are Susan Dodd's Mamaw: A Novel of an Outlaw Mother (about Zerelda Cole James Samuel, mother of Frank & Jesse James, and kinswoman of the famous Cole clan) and Ron Hansen's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

I don't know if you are interested in Mormon history, but Gerald Grimmett's The Ferry Woman: A Novel of the Mountain Meadows Massacre is riveting, I think.

Oh, and another absolute favorite is These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901, Arizona Territories by Nancy E. Turner. There's a sequel to this but I haven't read it.
smallcoffee
21 years ago
1000 White Women by Jim Fergus
gandbb
21 years ago
My first choice didn't take a moment's thought: Danicing at the Rascal Fair.
pam53
21 years ago
Rosefolly- I looked up Dorothy M. Johnson on amazon and ordered 4 of her books. Thanks for letting me know about her!
rosefolly
21 years ago
Pam53, do let me know what you think of her books. I think of her as a forgotten gem of a writer.

Rosefolly
woodnymph2_gw
21 years ago
"Giants in the Earth" by O.E. Rolvaag (Norwegian family settles in the Midwest and struggle with blizzards, memories of home, pioneer farming, etc.)

Also, Willa Cather's novels, such as "My Antonia" capture the feel of the old West and are exquisitely written.
rule34
21 years ago
"Let the Hurricane Roar," by Rose Wilder Lane (daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder). Long out of print but may be available through abebooks.com.
Anything by Zane Grey, but particularly "To the Last Man."
"Each Bright River" by Mildred Masterson McNeilly, about the settlement of the Pacific Northwest in the 1840s and 1850s.
janalyn
21 years ago
I went through a western phase in my late teens and read a lot of Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour. Another book from that time was "The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing."
carolyn_ky
21 years ago
Santa Fe Trail and The Great Adventure by Janice Holt Giles.
pam53
21 years ago
Rose-from the reviews I read while purchasing her books I think many others feel the same as you do. Many people seem to see her writing as wonderful and that she has been largely overlooked. I can't wait to get those books! Pam
maryanntx
21 years ago
Definately One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus.
idaho_farmgirl
19 years ago
There's s new novel out called Melinda and the Wild West. It's historical fiction set in 1896. It's got several true experiences in it along with one chapter about Butch Cassidy robbing the bank in Montpelier, Idaho. It's got adventure, a bit of history, and soft romance.

Good Luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Make Believe
cindydavid4
19 years ago
This happens to be my least fav genre to read (with the exception of Romance), however, my husband loves it and seconds the recommendation for Zane Grey, Larry McMurtry and Louis L'Amour.

>Another book from that time was "The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing."

Read it and loved it

Also check out the link below. It takes you to a thread of another book forum. I suspect you'd find a lot of ideas just browsing.

Now, non fiction I've got: Any of the writings of Isabella Bird, an 19th century emigre in the midwest. The book I have of hers is a classic: A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (1873, compiled and published 1960)
Also a book by Joanna L Stratton called Pioneer Women:voices from the Kansas frontier.

Here is a link that might be useful: literature of the wild wild west
madcity
19 years ago
One author not yet mentioned...Allan W. Eckert. Wrote stunning stories of the expansion westward.
The Frontiersmen. The first in the seven-volume Winning of America series tells the stories of Simon Kenton, who opened the Northwest, and Tecumseh, the Shawnee chief who tried to stop the white man's westward expansion. The series of historical novels combines scholarship and historical fiction by employing authentic dialogue taken from diaries and other historical sources.
bwilliams5980
19 years ago
"The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton" by Jane Smiley was really wonderful. And "The Virginian" by Owen Wister is probably considered by many as THE classic western - and deservedly so. (And I just saw it listed on dailylit.com - Thanks, Martin, for spreading the word about that site - I am so excited.) I'd also second the Willa Cather nomination. Good luck - hope you find many books you'll love!
Brenda
granjan
19 years ago
I also loved Jane Smiley's book. And I've always loved Cather's Death comes for the Archbishop.

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