The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains

The Virginian (1902) is Owen Wister's classic popular romance, and the most significant shaping influence on the Western genre. This edition includes Wister's neglected essay, The Evolution of the Cow-Puncher (1895) and an introduction highlighting the social, gender, and political implications of Wister's mythic West in the context of its actual economic history and Wister's patrician career.