''Dutch Uncle'' is a

Western novel Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and ...

written by American author

Marilyn Durham Marilyn Durham (née Wall, September 8, 1930 – March 19, 2015) was an American author of fiction. Her best-known novel is her first, ''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'', which was made into a film of the same name. Early life Durham was born i ...

and published in 1973. The novel followed up Durham's great success with her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''

The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing ''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' is a novel written by Marilyn Durham first published in 1972. Plot The novel is set in the American West in the 1880s, but is not written in a genre style. It is the story of Jay, a man of the West, and his offbe ...

'', another Western also published by Harcourt. The protagonist, Jake Hollander, is an aging gunfighter turned professional poker player who comes into a small

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

town to gamble but, through a series of unlikely circumstances, becomes its marshal and takes two Mexican orphans under his wing. ''Dutch Uncle'', like ''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'', garnered critical praise for its character studies and clean writing style, but although a bestseller was not as great a success as Durham's preceding book; based on the success of ''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'', the movie rights to the book had been committed before Durham had completed ''Dutch Uncle,'' but ultimately the studio declined to make the film.Corrigan, ''Housewife Durham'' Durham's next book, '' Flambard's Confession'', an historical novel set in

Medieval England England in the Middle Ages concerns the history of England during the medieval period, from the end of the 5th century through to the start of the Early Modern period in 1485. When England emerged from the collapse of the Roman Empire, the econ ...

, would not come for almost another decade.

Notes

References

*Corrigan, Sara Ann. "'Housewife Durham found Fame Writing Her Debut Novel." ''The Evansville Press'', August 5, 1987 *Gale Reference Team. ''Biography - Durham, Marilyn (1930-)'', Contemporary Authors (Biography), 2002, Thomson Gale. 1973 American novels Novels about orphans Novels set in New Mexico Harcourt (publisher) books {{1970s-western-novel-stub