Widely considered the first true Western novel, The Virginian, published in 1902 by Owen Wister, is historical fiction. The saga of the Wyoming Territory of the 1870s centers on a young cowboy known only as the Virginian, who uses intelligence, toughness, and integrity to help tame the land, vanquish its worst criminals, and win the heart of a headstrong woman. One of the 50 biggest-selling novels of all time, The Virginian was reprinted in 2009; the ebook version of that edition is the basis for this guide.

Plot Summary

The narrator, an East-coast dandy barely 20, travels by train to Wyoming, where he spends the summer as a guest at Judge Henry’s Sunk Creek Ranch in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The narrator’s escort, the Virginian, is a tall, black-haired cowboy with a deep Southern accent and a sly wit. The narrator feels intimidated yet fascinated by this exemplar of the West. 

They meet in Medicine Bow, Wyoming. After some hijinks in town, punctuated by a tense standoff between the Virginian and a cruel cowboy named Trampas, the Virginian and the narrator travel to the ranch, where the narrator proves himself ignorant of ranching skills, earning the nickname “the tenderfoot.” The Virginian and the narrator work and hunt together and gradually become friends until the narrator returns east. He corresponds with the Virginian by mail.  

The Virginian takes an interest in the region’s new schoolteacher, Molly Wood. She resists his courtship, as he’s a rough-edged cowboy, but she finds herself drawn to him for his warmth and nobility of spirit. They go on rides together, bantering and flirting. The Virginian borrows from her book collection and educates himself. He pursues her for three years, but Molly refuses to relent.

On his way to the ranch again, the narrator encounters the Virginian in Omaha. The cowboy is on his way to Chicago with a trainload of cattle to sell and a crew of unruly ranch hands. On his return, the Virginian finds the narrator and two companions stranded at a train station, and he offers them a lift. They share the caboose with the ranch crew, which includes Trampas, who tries to incite the other cowboys to mutiny. The Virginian quells the uprising by relating a tall tale that makes a fool of Trampas. At the ranch, the Virginian wins a promotion to foreman.

Balaam, a nearby rancher, must return horses he has borrowed from Judge Henry. The Virginian accompanies him. They take a shortcut across rugged mountains; urging his horse faster, Balaam beats the animal until it collapses, whereupon the Virginian gives the rancher a thrashing. On their way down from the mountains, Indians attack them. Balaam escapes, but the Virginian disappears.

Molly decides to return home to Vermont to quell her yearning for the Virginian. On a ride in the hills, she discovers him wounded and unconscious, brings him to her cabin, and nurses him back to health. The Virginian, knowing she plans to leave and believing he can never make her happy, tells Molly that she must go home. Realizing how much she loves him, Molly instead agrees to marry him.

Judge Henry, sends the Virginian and a posse after cattle rustlers. They capture two, one of them an old friend of the Virginian’s, but his duty compels him to go through with the hanging. The narrator catches up with the Virginian, and they travel through the Teton mountains, the Virginian haunted by his recent vigilantism. They discover that two of the rustlers are just ahead of them on the trail; they give chase, but one escapes and the other is found murdered. They realize the escapee is Trampas.

Molly and the Virginian ride to a small town for their wedding, but Trampas shows up and challenges the Virginian to a duel. He must accept, but Molly promises to leave him if he does. The Virginian prevails, kills Trampas, and Molly rushes to the Virginian’s arms. They marry and spend their honeymoon in the mountains. The couple visits Molly’s relatives, whose disapproval turns to admiration. In the years that follow, the Virginian and Molly have many children and become prominent and prosperous.

The Virginian depicts the American cowboy as a hero of strength, skill, wit, and iron integrity. The story depicts tawdry frontier towns filled with rough-edged settlers, vast ranches alive with hard work and rowdy companionship, and beautiful landscapes. The book’s archetypes have marked the American psyche and inspired countless novels, plays, movies, television shows, artwork, clothing, and songs redolent with the romance of the Old West.

As a young man, Owen Wister made several trips to Wyoming. He was a lifelong friend of President Theodore Roosevelt, a fellow Western enthusiast. Wister gave up his law career to pen numerous books, including a noted biography of President Ulysses S Grant. He adapted The Virginian into a play and saw it twice made into motion pictures. The book has since been filmed several more times and forms the basis for a long-running TV series.