The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Short Stories
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Book Overview
In 1870, the young San Francisco-based writer and editor Bret Harte (1836-1902) first compiled a single-volume edition of his rousing stories of life in the Wild West. Entitled The Luck of Roaring Camp, and Other Sketches, the book propelled him almost overnight from local celebrity to American literary lion. Four of the most famous of those tales are included in this collection: the title story, "The Outcasts of Poker Flat," "Tennessee's Partner," and "M'liss."
Additional selections include "A Prot g e of Jack Hamlin" and "An Ing nue of the Sierras," both written later in Harte's life and featuring lively casts of colorful characters in settings ranging from a stagecoach to a Sacramento River steamer. They display the author's enthralling storytelling style at full strength ― crisply observant, rich in ironic humor, and offering an engaging mix of sentiment and wit. Harte's style exercised a deep influence on the American short story genre and set a future course for writers of Western fiction, including Owen Wister and Zane Grey.
Additional selections include "A Prot g e of Jack Hamlin" and "An Ing nue of the Sierras," both written later in Harte's life and featuring lively casts of colorful characters in settings ranging from a stagecoach to a Sacramento River steamer. They display the author's enthralling storytelling style at full strength ― crisply observant, rich in ironic humor, and offering an engaging mix of sentiment and wit. Harte's style exercised a deep influence on the American short story genre and set a future course for writers of Western fiction, including Owen Wister and Zane Grey.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0486272710
ISBN13:9780486272719
Release Date:January 1992
Publisher:Dover Publications
Length:96 Pages
Weight:0.20 lbs.
Dimensions:0.3" x 5.2" x 8.2"
Age Range:14 years and up
Grade Range:Grade 9 and higher
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
Cheering On the Underdog
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
Harte's stories are written with the underdog as the central characters. In "The Luck of Roaring Camp" there is a most motley crew of characters. They all seem to be down and out, or on hard times.When a baby is born in camp, and it's mother dies... the young one brings luck to the camp. Harte's language and characterizations are pure old west. If you enjoy westerns this book is for you. The ironic humor and down and out characters make for entertaining reading.
Excellence
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
Harte's capacity to capture the sense of humanity beneath often typecast characters, deliver an emotional punch ending, and capture the reader's mind's eye with fluid imagery is astounding. Every piece in here is gold...now RUSH and order this book. (pa-da-ching)
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