Wild west novel

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The wild west novel ( western novel , wild west ) is a genre of entertainment literature that mostly takes place in the " wild west " of the USA. It has an origin in the American dime novels of the 19th century and also goes back to the European adventure novel . The term "Wildwester" was used mainly in the 1950s as a term for western books, novels and films.

GERSTÄCKER, Hell und Dunkel (Publisher: Neufeld & Henius, around 1900)

development

The story of the Wild West novel begins with James Fenimore Cooper's “Leatherstocking Tales” , which were published between 1823 and 1841 and which appeared soon afterwards in the German translation “Leatherstocking stories” . In the 19th century, German-speaking authors such as Charles Sealsfield , Friedrich Gerstäcker and Balduin Möllhausen took up the American theme and described life on the American frontier in their novels and stories . Her works, originally intended for an adult audience, were well received by readers and found numerous imitators, including Karl May . Many texts were edited for young people. The authors of the second half of the 19th century who specialized in children's and youth literature also kept telling stories about Indians and trappers. In addition to lavishly designed book editions (e.g. by Franz Treller or Sophie Wörishöffer ), Indian adventures in numerous cheap series of books and booklets were popular.

As early as the late 19th century, the pioneering era was transfigured and romanticized as the “Wild West”. The pioneers were primarily the pulps (Dime Novels) about " Buffalo Bill " by Ned Buntline since the 1870s ( "Buffalo Bill Cody - King of the border guards"). Representations of the "Wild West" were particularly popular in trivial literature and the film industry. The clichés that were forming, which are still valid today , were maintained and u. a. backed up by Stuart N. Lake in 1931 with “Frontier Marshal,” a biography of Wyatt Earp .

In Germany these dime novels have been adapted since the early 20th century. Stories from the Wild West appeared in numerous novel booklet series based on the American model (such as Buffalo Bill , Texas Jack or Lassiter ) in German.

In the course of the 20th century, Wild West novels were mostly published as booklets , loan books and, in the decades after the Second World War, also as paperbacks. In part, these were translations from English, but most of these novels were written by German authors - mostly under pseudonyms, whereby the German authors of the 20th century often orientated themselves heavily on American models. At the moment (2015) westerns in Germany appear almost exclusively as trivial novel booklets.

subjects

Wild West novels are set against the background of the history of the US pioneering days, or the so-called Wild West . Most westerns plot a period between the end of the American Civil War and the late 1880s. Typical topics are the cowboys and cattle drives, the clashes between whites and Indians or the enforcement of law and civilization in the West. Frank Gruber names the following basic patterns of action, neglecting some aspects:

  • The Union Pacific Story (construction of the railways),
  • the ranch story (life on a ranch, cowboys, cattle breeding, pasture warfare),
  • the Empire Story (life on a large ranch, pasture warfare),
  • the Revenge Story (revenge for injustice suffered),
  • Custer's Last Stand (cavalry, Indian wars),
  • the Outlaw Story (Famous Outlaws and Criminals) and
  • the Marshal's Story (Sheriff, Marshal and Towntamer).

One could add here z. B. stories about trappers and mountain men or texts that deal with the gold rush and mining.

Well-known authors

English speaking authors

German-speaking authors

literature

  • Jens-Ulrich Davids: The Wild West novel booklet in the Federal Republic of Germany. Origins and structures. 2nd, expanded edition. Tuebingen 1975, OCLC 256085105 .
  • John A. Dinan: The Pulp Western. A Popular History of the Western Fiction Magazine in America. Bear Manor Media, Boalsburg PA 2003, ISBN 1-59393-003-8 .
  • Jeffrey Wallmann: The Western. Parables of the American Dream. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock 1999, ISBN 0-89672-423-9 .

Web links

See also