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An orphan's coming of age in homestead-era Oregon

Honey in the Horn

by H. L. Davis

1935Easy readFast pace
★ Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 1936

A young orphan wanders through homesteading Oregon, 1906 to 1908

Honey in the Horn is set in homesteading-era Oregon between 1906 and 1908. It follows Clay Calvert, a young orphan, through his coming of age, and it portrays the struggles of pioneers who came west chasing the American Dream.

More about this book

Who

Clay Calvert, a young orphan; Luce, a horse trader's daughter; Wade Shiveley, Clay's stepbrother; Uncle Preston Shiveley, a sheep rancher and toll-bridge owner; and Clark Burdon, a retired gunman.

World

Homesteading-era Oregon, 1906 to 1908.

What makes it different

It was Davis's first novel and won the Harper Prize for best first novel in 1935 and the 1936 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel.

Feel

Rangy and humorous.

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Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition

Behind the book

The title comes from a line in a square dancing tune and appears in the book only in the author's introductory overleaf.

Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

About the author

H. L. DavisAmerican novelist, poet and short-story writer, born in Douglas County, Oregon. His first novel, Honey in the Horn, won the 1936 Pulitzer Prize.