Ernest Haycox and the WesternWestern fans today may not recognize the name Ernest Haycox (1899–1950), but they know his work. John Ford turned one of his stories into the iconic film Stagecoach, and the whole Western literary genre still follows conventions that Haycox deftly mastered and reshaped. In this new book about Haycox’s literary career, Richard W. Etulain tells the engrossing story of his rise through the ranks of popular magazine and serial fiction to become one of the Western’s most successful creators. After graduating from the University of Oregon in 1923 with a degree in journalism, Haycox began his quest to break into New York’s pulp magazine scene, submitting dozens of stories before he began to make a living from his writing. By the end of the 1920s he had become a top writer for Western Story, Short Stories, and Adventure, among other popular weeklies and monthlies. Ernest Haycox and the Western traces Haycox’s path from rank beginner, to crack pulp writer, to regular contributor to Collier’s and the Saturday Evening Post. Etulain shows how Haycox experimented with techniques to deepen and broaden his Westerns, creating more introspective protagonists (Hamlet heroes), introducing new types of heroines (the brunette vixen, the blonde Puritan), and weaving greater historical realism into his plots. After reaching the height of success with his best-selling Custer novel, Bugles in the Afternoon (1944), Haycox moved away from the financially rewarding but artistically constricting Western formula—only to achieve his final coup with The Earthbreakers, a historical novel about the end of the Oregon Trail, published posthumously in 1952. Reconstructing the career of a popular literary giant, Ernest Haycox and the Western restores Haycox to his rightful place in the history of Western literature. |
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Ernest Haycox and the Western
User Review - Book VerdictErnest Haycox (1899–1950) was an influential writer of historical Western fiction from Oregon whose goal was to master the techniques of the genre. Haycock wrote hundreds of novels, short stories, and ... Read full review
Contents
At the Univeristy of Oregon 19201923 | |
The Early Years in Colliers 19311937 | |
The Historical Western 19371943 | |
A Period of Revolt 19441950 | |
A Career in Perspective | |
The Writings of Ernest Haycox | |
Bibliography | 8 |
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Common terms and phrases
action Adventurers American appeared August Boston Brand Brown Bugles called campus career century changes characters close Collections Collier’s continued critics Custer Davis deal December early editor Ernest Haycox Eugene experience father February feelings fiction figure final followed formula frontier Grey Haycox Papers hero High historical ideas important included individual interest January John Journal July June later leading letter Library literary literature Little living major manuscript March markets months move never novel November October Oregon Daily Emerald Owen Pacific Northwest past period plot popular Portland possible Post Press publication published pulp readers regional reveal Review scene School seemed September serial Short Stories Silver Special student success Sunday Thacher things thinking thought turned University of Oregon wanted West Western Story Magazine Wister writing wrote York young
Bibliographic information
| Title | Ernest Haycox and the Western |
| Author | Richard W. Etulain |
| Publisher | University of Oklahoma Press, 2017 |
| ISBN | 0806159219, 9780806159218 |
| Length | 200 pages |
| Subjects | › Art / Performance Biography & Autobiography / Literary Figures Social Science / Popular Culture |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |