The Dude Wrangler

Lockhart, Caroline, 1870-1962Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 417K words
Chapters: 42

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Dude Wrangler by Caroline LockhartAuthor: Lockhart, Caroline, 1870-1962,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 29, 2007

Editor's review

Caroline Lockhart was an American writer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries whose work often takes Western life as its setting. The Dude Wrangler is a public-domain title in the American and Canadian literature class, released free of charge by Project Gutenberg. In the title, "dude" refers to a sightseeing visitor from the East, while "wrangler" is a cowboy who tends horses—a pairing that itself foreshadows the collision between city visitors and the Western ranch country. The work has the brisk tone and character contrasts common to Western narrative of its time, making it a suitable introduction to American Western popular literature. The electronic edition is moderate in length and easy to obtain, serving both as English reading material and as casual reading for those interested in Western themes and ranch-life description. While reading, watch how the author uses dialogue and scene to shape the figure of the "outsider," and note the humor and stereotypes in this kind of genre narrative.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in American Western themes and ranch-life description
Readers who want to understand early American popular literature through public-domain English novels
Students who need moderately difficult English original material for extracurricular reading
Casual readers who enjoy light character contrasts and dialogue-driven narrative

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting serious Western history research or source criticism
Beginners with little English reading experience who need bilingual texts
Readers who prefer modern urban themes and fast-paced plots

Reading tips

First learn what dude and wrangler mean, then enter the story; you will grasp the humor in the character relationships more quickly.
Read in sections by chapter, and briefly note the characters and scene changes after each chapter to avoid confusing them.
When you meet ranch- and horse-related vocabulary, collect it into a small word list for review.
After finishing, compare the "outsider" figure with other Western works to build a reference point for genre reading.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What do dude and wrangler mean in the title?

In the American West of the time, dude meant a city person from the East who came to sightsee and experience the West, while wrangler meant a cowboy who tended horses and assisted with ranch work. Placing the two together in the title suggests the contrast and friction between city visitors and Western ranch characters.

What reading level is this book suitable for?

The work is an English-language popular novel; the language is generally plain, but it includes specialized vocabulary of ranches, horses, and Western life, and the dialogue contains period colloquialisms. Readers with intermediate English reading ability will find it relatively easy to get through; beginners should keep a dictionary at hand.

Is it a serious work of Western history?

No. It is a popular literary work set against Western life, focused on characters and plot rather than historical verification. For Western history, look for historical works instead; this book is better read as a sample of genre literature.

Where can the electronic edition be obtained, and is it free?

The book is released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain e-book and can be obtained free of charge on its website. For specific formats and download methods, refer to the platform page.

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About the author

Lockhart, Caroline, 1870-1962 Author

Caroline Lockhart (1870–1962) was an English-language novelist about whose life relatively little is recorded; public information is limited, and her nationality, education, and writing career cannot be reliably established. Judging from the five works held in the collection, she wrote mainly popular fiction set in the American West. Her representative works include The Fighting Shepherdess, The Lady Doc, The Dude Wrangler, The Man from the Bitter Roots, and ‘Me--Smith’. These titles suggest ranches, shepherds, doctors, outsiders, and mountain wilderness, indicating that her subjects center on frontier life and the conflicts and emotional entanglements of rural communities. Her style tends toward popular storytelling, with an emphasis on plot and characterization, and plain, readable language suited to a general audience. Despite the lack of a confirmed biography or chronology, these works remain useful examples for the study of early twentieth-century American popular Western fiction.