''Desperados'' is a 1979 fact and fiction novel by Ron Hansen that chronicles the rise and fall of the Dalton Gang. The novel is told in the form of a fictional memoir written in 1937 by 65-year-old Emmett Dalton, the last surviving member of the gang. The novel's main characters are the Daltons —

Bob Dalton Robert Rennick Dalton (May 13, 1869 – October 5, 1892), better known as Bob Dalton, was an American outlaw in the American Old West. Beginning in 1891, he led the Dalton Gang, whose varying members included three of his brothers. They were kn ...

(the leader of the gang), Emmett Dalton, Gratton "Grat" Dalton, William M."Bill" Dalton, and Eugenia Moore AKA Florence Quick, Bob's girl friend and the gang's strategist. The primary action of the novel takes place between the murder of Frank Dalton (the oldest brother) in November, 1887, up to and through the gang's destruction trying to simultaneously rob two banks in Coffeyville, Kansas on October 5, 1892. It was adapted into a

TV miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

of six hours written by Robert Knott, produced by Josh Maurer and Alixandre Witlin, and developed by FX. According to Robert E. Morsberger, it is "the best fiction I have read about western outlaws".

References

{{US-novel-stub 1979 American novels Novels about outlaws of the American Old West Dalton Gang Alfred A. Knopf books