Jones Wister

Born in Philadelphia in 1860, Owen Wister grew up in a prominent family and was educated at Harvard. He first planned a career in music, but after health problems and travel in the American West, he turned more fully to writing.

Wister became the author most closely associated with early Western fiction. His 1902 novel The Virginian brought him lasting fame and is widely remembered as a foundational work of the genre, helping establish many of the themes and character types that later became staples of Western novels and films.

Along with fiction, he also wrote essays and nonfiction, and his work kept a strong interest in American history, manners, and regional life. He died in 1938, but his books remain important to the story of how the Western became a major American literary form.