Historical Fiction · LightA boy and his gambling father cross the continent to the gold fields
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
A boy tells of the long journey west to California with his father
Jaimie McPheeters, a young boy, describes his journey west with a wagon train from St. Louis, Missouri, to California after the 1849 Gold Rush. His father, Doc Sardius McPheeters, a Scottish doctor with a taste for gambling and drinking, alternates with Jaimie in telling the story.
More about this book
Who
Jaimie McPheeters, the young narrator, and his father, Doc Sardius McPheeters, a Scottish doctor.
World
A wagon train from St. Louis to California after the 1849 Gold Rush.
What makes it different
It was written for adult readers and includes episodes that would have kept it off school reading lists at the time. It won the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and became an ABC television series in 1963, with Kurt Russell as Jaimie.
Feel
Brisk and comic, a Western adventure seen through a boy's eyes.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- The Travels of Jaimie McPheetersWikipedia