''The Lone Star Ranger'' 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 ...

published by

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontie ...

in 1914. The book takes place in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, the Lone Star State, and several main characters are Texas Rangers, a famous band of highly capable law enforcement officers. It follows the life of Buck Duane, a man who becomes an outlaw and then redeems himself in the eyes of the law. The novel was dedicated to the Texas Ranger John Hughes.

Plot introduction

Buck Duane is the son of a famous outlaw. Though an outlaw is not always a criminal, if the Rangers say he is an outlaw, it's just as bad – he's a hunted man. After killing a man in self-defense, Duane is forced to 'go on the dodge'. Duane turns up at an outlaw's hideout, still revolting at the idea of outlawry. Worse still, all the men he kills haunt him, for years. At the outlaw hideout, he meets a kidnapped, beautiful young woman and desires to see her free. In the second part of the book, Duane joins the Rangers, who want him to help to clear the frontier of major cattle rustlers and bank robbers, in return for the governor's pardon of his illegal deeds.

Characters

* Buckley "Buck" Duane – The main protagonist. A young, gunslinging outlaw with a good heart who never kills an innocent man. * Luke Stevens - A friendly outlaw who befriends Buck shortly after he is forced to flee his hometown. * Bland - an outlaw gang leader who runs a large cattle rustling operation out of a lawless community in a valley. * Kate Bland - the cruel wife of Bland. * Euchre – an aged outlaw who takes in Buck following his arrival at Bland's community. * Jennie - a girl held captive by the Blands. * "Jackrabbit" Benson - a wanted criminal who runs a taproom within Bland's community. * Chess Alloway - an outlaw lieutenant in Bland's gang. * Hardin - an outlaw gang leader who leads a gang of cattle rustlers. * Cheselidine - an elusive outlaw chief. * Rodney Brown - an unscrupulous and vindictive cattle rustler. * King Fisher - a prominent outlaw gang leader with a reputation. * MacNelly – a Texas Ranger captain who seeks out Buck.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The novel has been adapted at least four times to film: * ''The Lone Star Ranger'' (1919 film), American silent film western directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring William Farnum * ''The Lone Star Ranger'' (1923 film), American silent film western directed by Lambert Hillyer and starring Tom Mix * ''The Lone Star Ranger'' (1930 film), American western film directed by A.F. Erickson and starring George O'Brien * ''

Lone Star Ranger ''Lone Star Ranger'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by James Tinling and written by William Conselman Jr., Irving Cummings Jr. and George Kane. The film stars John Kimbrough, Sheila Ryan, Jonathan Hale, William Farnum, Truman Bradley ...

'', a 1942 American western film directed by James Tinling and starring John Kimbrough

Comic book

In 1949,

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

published a comic book adaptation called "The Ranger" in ''

Four Color ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', was an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...

'' #255, written by

Gaylord Du Bois Gaylord McIlvaine Du Bois (sometimes written DuBois) (August 24, 1899 – October 20, 1993) was an American writer of comic book stories and comic strips, as well as Big Little Books and juvenile adventure novels. Du Bois wrote ''Tarzan'' for De ...

References

External links