William MacLeod Raine (June 22, 1871 – July 25, 1954), was a British-born American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

who wrote fictional adventure stories about the

American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

In 1959, he was inducted into the

Hall of Great Westerners The Hall of Great Westerners was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1958. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of more than 200 men and women of the American W ...

of the

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native Americans in the United States, American Indian art works and Artifact (archaeology), ar ...

Life

William MacLeod Raine was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the son of William and Jessie Raine. After his mother died, his family migrated from England to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

when Raine was ten years old, eventually settling on a cattle ranch near the

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 ...

-Arkansas border. In 1894, after graduating from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

, Raine left Arkansas and headed for the western U.S. He became the principal of a school in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

while contributing columns to a local newspaper. Later he moved to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he worked as a reporter and editorial writer for local periodicals, including the ''Republican'', the ''

Post Post or POST commonly refers to: *Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal service **Iraqi Post, Ira ...

'', and the ''

Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...

''. At this time he began to publish short stories, eventually becoming a full-time free-lance fiction writer, and finally finding his literary home in the novel. His earliest novels were romantic histories taking place in the English countryside. However, after spending some time with the

Arizona Rangers The Arizona Rangers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, noncommissioned civilian auxiliary that supports law enforcement in the US, state of Arizona. In 2002, the modern-day Arizona Rangers were officially recognized by the State of Arizona when the Leg ...

, Raine shifted his literary focus and began to utilize the American West as a setting. The publication of ''Wyoming'' in 1908 marks the beginning of his prolific career, during which time he averaged nearly two western novels a year until his death in 1954. In 1920 he was awarded an M.L. degree from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

, where he had established that school's first journalism course. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

500,000 copies of one of his books were sent to British soldiers in the trenches. Twenty of his novels have been filmed. Though he was prolific, he was a slow, careful, conscientious worker, intent on accurate detail, and considered himself a craftsman rather than an artist. In 1905 Raine married Jennie P. Langley, who died in 1922. In 1924 he married Florence A. Hollingsworth; they had a daughter. Though he traveled a good deal, Denver was considered his home. In 1928, he ghost wrote with

Billy Breakenridge William Milton Breakenridge (December 25, 1846 – January 31, 1931) was an American lawman, teamster, railroader, soldier and author. Early life Breakenridge was born in Watertown, Wisconsin, to George D. and Elisa Ann Breakenridge. United ...

, the book ''Helldorado: Bringing Law to the Mesquite''. Breakenridge had been a deputy sheriff under

Johnny Behan John Harris Behan (October 24, 1844 – June 7, 1912) was an American law enforcement officer and politician who served as Sheriff of Cochise County in the Arizona Territory, during the gunfight at the O.K. Corral and was known for his opposit ...

in Tombstone,

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

during the period of the

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second shootout between lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys that occurred at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in ...

. Breakenridge had pressed Wyatt for details about his time in Tombstone to add to the book. It was published the year before Wyatt died. and it depicted Wyatt as a thief, pimp, crooked gambler, and murderer. The book stated that the Earps and Doc Holliday aggressively mistreated the guiltless cowboys until they were forced into a fatal confrontation. His description of the 1881 O.K. Corral gun fight stated that the Clanton and McLaury brothers were merely cowboys who had been unarmed and surrendered but the Earp brothers had shot them in cold blood. Wyatt and Josie protested that the book's contents was biased and more fiction than fact. Earp complained about the book until his death in January, 1929, and his wife continued in the same vein afterward. Raine died on July 25, 1954, and is buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver. He was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1959.

Works

*''A daughter of Raasay: a tale of the '45'' (1904) *''Wyoming: A Story of the Outdoor West'' (1908) — filmed as ''

The Man from Wyoming ''The Man from Wyoming'' is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring Jack Hoxie, Lillian Rich, and William Welsh. Plot As described in a film magazine, Jack Halloway (Payton) covets the land of cattlem ...

'' in 1924 *''Ridgway of Montana: a story of today, in which the hero is also the villain'' (1909) *''A Texas Ranger'' (1910) *''Bucky O'Connor: A tale of the unfenced border '' (1910) *''Mavericks'' (1911) *''Brand Blotters'' (1911) *''Crooked Trails and Straight'' (1913) *''The Vision Splendid : A Story of Today '' (1913) *''The Pirate of Panama: A tale of the fight for buried treasure'' (1914) *''A Daughter of the Dons : A Story of New Mexico Today'' (1914) *''The Highgrader'' (1915) *''Steve Yeager'' (1915) *''Yukon Trail: A Tale of the North'' (1917) — filmed as ''

The Grip of the Yukon ''The Grip of the Yukon'' is a 1928 American silent Western film directed by Ernst Laemmle, the nephew of Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle. The film starred Francis X. Bushman and Neil Hamilton, and is based on a story by William MacL ...

'' in 1928 *''The Sheriff's Son'' (1917) *''A Man Four-Square'' (1919) *''The Big-Town Round-Up'' (1920) *''Oh, You Tex!'' (1920) *''Gunsight Pass: How Oil Came to the Cattle Country and Brought a New West'' (1921) *''Tangled Trails: A Western Detective Story'' (1921) *''Man Size'' (1922) *''The Fighting Edge'' (1922) *''Iron Heart'' (1923) *''Desert Feud'' (1924) *''The Desert's Price'' (1924) *''Troubled Waters'' (1925) *''Roads of Doubt'' (1925) *''Bonanza: A Story of the Gold Trail'' (1926) *''Return of the Range Rider'' (1926) *''Judge Colt'' (1927) *''Texas Man'' (1928) *''Colorado'' (1928) *''Moran Beats Back: reprinted in 1974 as Gunsmoke Trail'' (1928) *''Cattle, cowboys and rangers'' (1930) *''The Valiant'' (1930) *''Beyond the Rio Grande'' (1931) *''Rutledge Trails the Ace of Spades'' (1931) *''Under Northern Stars'' (1932) *''The Black Tolts'' (1932) *''Pistol Pardners'' (1932) *''The Broad Arrow'' (1933) *''For Honor and Life'' (1933) *''The Trail of Danger'' (1934) *''Square Shooter'' (1934) *''Roaring River'' (1934) *''Border Breed'' (1935) *''Run of the Brush'' (1936) *''To Ride the River With'' (1936) *''King of the Bush'' (1937) *''Bucky Follows a Cold Trail'' (1937) *''On The Dodge'' (1938) *''Sons of the Saddle'' (1938) *''The River Bend Feud'' (1939) *''Guns of the Frontier; The story of how law came to the West'' (1940) *''Riders of Buck River'' (1940) *''Trail's End'' (1940) *''They Called Him Blue Blazes'' (1941) *''45-caliber law; the way of life of the frontier peace officer'' (1941) *''Clattering Hoofs'' (1942) *''Justice Deferred'' (1942) *''Texas Breed, a Western Novel'' (1942) *''The Damyank'' (1942) *''Hell and High Water'' (1943) *''Gone to Texas'' (1943) *''Courage Stout'' (1944) *''The Fighting Tenderfoot'' (1944) *''Famous Sheriffs & Western Outlaws'' (1944) *''Who wants to live forever?'' (1945) *''Tough Tenderfoot'' (1945) *''Powdersmoke Feud: original title: This nettle danger'' (1945) *''Challenge to Danger'' (1947) *''Cry Murder'' (1947) *''Arizona Guns'' (1947) *''The Bandit Trail'' (1947) *''Ranger's Luck (Whipsaw)'' (1949) *''Jingling Spurs'' (1950) *''The River Bend Feud'' (1950) *''Glory Hole: A rousing tale of Leadville in the frontier days'' (1951) *''West of the Law'' (1951) *''Saddlebum'' (1951) *''Justice comes to Tomahawk'' (1952) *''Dry bones in the valley'' (1953) *''Rustler's Gap'' (1953) *''Guns of the Frontier'' (1954) *''Reluctant Gunman'' (1954) *''High Grass Valley'' (1955)

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:MacLeod Raine, William 1871 births 1954 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers American male novelists Western (genre) writers