Was the West really hell on horses and women? Not always. This collection of short stories refutes the traditional stereotypes of women in western fiction--the pure schoolmarm, the soiled dove with a heart of gold, the worn and weary settler's wife--to show that both male and female authors have created strong and interesting women in western fiction, both past and present.
Four major women authors--Mary Hallock Foote, Willa Cather, Mari Sandoz, and Dorothy Johnson--are represented by several selections each. Individual stories follow by Gertrude Atherton, Mary Austin, Jeanne Williams,...