Historical Fiction · EpicTwo retired Texas Rangers drive a herd from the border to Montana
Lonesome Dove
Two old Texas Rangers set out to drive a herd of cattle north to Montana
In the late 1870s, Woodrow Call and Augustus "Gus" McCrae, retired Texas Rangers, run a cattle company in the Texas border town of Lonesome Dove. Inspired by tales of Montana, they decide to drive a herd north and start a new ranch there. The book follows the cattle drive and the people who join it.
More about this book
Who
Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae, two retired Rangers, along with Jake Spoon, Newt Dobbs, Lorena Wood, Clara Allen and others.
World
The Texas border town of Lonesome Dove, and the route north to Montana, in the late 1870s as the Old West fades.
What makes it different
McMurtry first wrote it as a screenplay with Peter Bogdanovich, then bought the script back from Warner Bros. for $35,000 and turned it into a novel. It won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and became a 1989 television miniseries with Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones.
Feel
A big, unhurried Western with humor and warmth, and a long road to travel.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Behind the book
The novel grew out of a screenplay McMurtry wrote with Peter Bogdanovich, originally titled Streets of Laredo. McMurtry later bought the script back from Warner Bros. for $35,000 and developed it into a novel.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Lonesome DoveWikipedia