Owen Wister, The Virginian

Almost baroque in its efforts to evoke a "Western" style, and not at all subtle in its insistence on the need for women to submit to men.  On the whole a textbook example of rejection of Eastern culture as false, the transformational effect of the wild landscape, the struggle of masculinity to establish itself, and the subjugation of women  The linguistic and narrative skills of the Virginian are fun:  the tall tale about the frog farms is a particularly entertaining scene, and it is striking that most of the conflicts between Trampas and the Virginian take place in words.