Still as exciting and meaningful as when it was written in 1902, Owen Wister's epic tale of one man's journey into the untamed territory of Wyoming, where he is caught between his love for a woman and his quest for justice, has exemplified one of the most significant and enduring themes in all of American culture. With remarkable character depth and vivid descriptive passages, The Virginian stands not only as the first great novel of American Western literature, but as a testament to the eternal struggle between good and evil in humanity, and a revealing study of the forces that guide the combatants on both sides.

Pocket Books' Enriched Classics present the world's greatest literature enhanced for the contemporary reader. This edition of The Virginian has been prepared by Gary Scharnhorst, professor of English at the University of New Mexico. It includes his introduction, notes, a selection of critical excerpts, and suggestions for further reading, as well as a unique visual essay of period illustrations and photographs.

Owen Wister was born in Philadelphia to Owen Jones Wister, a physician, and Sarah (Butler) Wister, daughter of the actress Fanny Kemble. After graduating from Harvard in 1882, Wister spent some time in the West and documented his experiences in a series of diaries. In 1891, after a conversation in which Wister and his former Harvard classmate Theodore Roosevelt discussed the literary potential of Wister's impressions of Western life, Wister began writing stories of America's last frontier, which paved the way for The Virginian. Wister's stories helped establish the cowboy as an archetypal, individualist hero, and The Virginian is widely recognized as the first true Cowboy novel.

Contents

Introduction To the Reader Re-dedication and Preface

II. "When You Call Me That, Smile!"

III. Steve Treats

IV. Deep into Cattle Land

V. Enter the Woman

VI. Em'ly

VII. Through Two Snows

VIII. The Sincere Spinster

IX. The Spinster Meets the Unknown

X. Where Fancy Was Bred

XI. "You're Going to Love Me Before We Get Through"

XII. Quality and Equality

XIII. The Game and the Nation -- Act First

XIV. Between the Acts

XV. The Game and the Nation -- Act Second

XVI. The Game and the Nation -- Last Act

XVII. Scipio Moralizes

XVIII. "Would You Be a Parson?"

XIX. Dr. MacBride Begs Pardon

XX. The Judge Ignores Particulars

XXI. In a State of Sin

XXII. "What Is a Rustler?"

XXIII. Various Points

XXIV. A Letter with a Moral

XXV. Progress of the Lost Dog

XXVI. Balaam and Pedro

XXVII. Grandmother Stark

XXVIII. No Dream to Wake From

XXIX. Word to Bennington

XXX. A Stable on the Flat

XXXI. The Cottonwoods

XXXII. Superstition Trail

XXXIII. The Spinster Loses Some Sleep

XXXIV. "To Fit Her Finger"

XXXV. With Malice Aforethought

XXXVI. At Dunbarton

Literary Allusions and Notes Critical Excerpts Suggestions for Further Reading