The Wild Ones [Mass Market Paperback]

Matt Braun (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 2002

In the 1870s the frontier was a battleground, where the U.S. Army fought Plains warriors, outlaws terrorized the land, and lawmen took no prisoners. Into the West came a family of New York City stage performers: a widowed father, his son, and a daughter whose beauty and singing voice could make the most hardened frontiersmen weep.

The Fontaine family was not prepared for the the life they found across the Mississippi. From Abilene to Dodge City, they crossed paths with some of the legendary figures on the frontier, from Jesse James to Bill Hickok and General George Custer. All the while, the Fontaines kept searching for a place to settle down--until they set their sights on the boomtown called Denver.

Awaiting Lilian Fontaine in Denver is fame and loss, fortune and betrayal. But between dodge and her destiny are a thousand miles of unconquered country, an outlaw band, and one man who will force the young songstress to give the performance of her life...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Matt Braun is head and shoulders above all the rest who would attempt to bring the gunmen of the Old West to life."-Terry C. Johnson, author of The Plainsman series

"Matt Braun has a genius for taking real characters out of the Old West and giving them flesh-and-blood immediacy." -Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

About the Author

MATT BRAUN is a fourth generation Westerner, steeped in the tradition and lore of the frontier era. His books reflect a heritage rich with the truths of that bygone time. Raised among the Cherokee and Osage tribes, Braun learned their traditions and culture, and their philosophy became the foundation of his own beliefs. Like his ancestors, he has spent most of his life wandering the mountains and plains of the West. His heritage and his contribution to Western literature resulted in his appointment by the Governor of Oklahoma as a Territorial Marshal.

Braun is the author of thirty-eight novels and four nonfiction works, including BLACK FOX, which was made into a CBS miniseries. Western Writers of America awarded Braun the prestigious Spur Award for his novel THE KINCAIDS.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 277 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (January 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312981333
• ISBN-13: 978-0312981334
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #735,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Western To Please Lady Lovers of the West!, February 4, 2002

By 

Evelyn Horan (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wild Ones (Mass Market Paperback)

Knowing that most novels of the Old West, present men protagonists, fast-paced action scenes, guns, violence, shoot-outs and good vs. evil, I was pleasantly surprised to find a lady protagonist, a member of a family of traveling stage performers, and an insightful series of events that reveal Matt Braun's research into the entertainment industry of the late l800s as experienced in the West. Certainly, the plot includes all the elements of a traditional western, however, husky-voiced alto, Lilly Fontaine, "The Nightingale," dazzles and beguiles frontiersman all the way from Kansas City to Denver including such famous folks as Bill Hickock and General George Custer. There is also an unexpected twist toward the end of this exciting and interesting approach to a western novel. I am wonderfully pleased with The Wild Ones! A different and delightful read from a versatile and gifted writer. Don't miss this one!
Evelyn Horan - children's author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl Book One

4.0 out of 5 stars Lively picaresque Western, March 10, 2003

By 

F. J. Harvey "Cricket ,country music and a go... (Birmingham England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wild Ones (Mass Market Paperback)

The Wild Ones takes as its protagonists a troupe of actors and variety artists ,the Fontaines ,who are seeking to rebuild their careers by decamping from the Eastern Seaboard ,to tour in the West.Fontaine -the head of the family-is a flambouyant actor with a penchant for Shakespeare,not shared by his rowdy audiences.Son Chester is an aimiable nonentity and the real star turn is Fontaine's daughter Lillian,a beauty and ,into the bargain a talented singer .It is around the figure of Lillian that most of the action takes place.
During the course of the book she comes into contact with figures of Western myth and legend -including Wild Bill Hickok,Custer,and Cimarron Jordan.She spurns the advances of a smitten cavalry officer,is taken captive along with the rest of the troupe by horse thieves ,and becomes the unwitting cause of exacerbating a range war in Colorado
It is never less than lively and the central role being female gives it an edge over most Westerns-although in "Mattie Silks" Braun did create a memorable woman protagonist earlier in his career.

The book struck me as akin to a TV sitcom "clip show"in that figures of earlier books re-appear and it did cross my mind that ,shrewd old pro that he is Braun was keen to use up old material
Lively and enjoyable