1,99 €
Niedrigster Preis in 30 Tagen: 1,99 €
Niedrigster Preis in 30 Tagen: 1,99 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
- Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
- Sprache: Englisch
In "His Name His Fortune," Max Brand masterfully weaves a compelling narrative that explores themes of identity, ambition, and the socio-economic aspirations of the American West. Set against the vivid backdrop of frontier life, the novel chronicles the journey of its protagonist as he navigates the treacherous waters of fortune and fame, showcasing Brand's characteristic flair for rich descriptions and dynamic character development. This work is situated within the tradition of early 20th-century Western literature, punctuated by the author's ability to intertwine action with deep moral inquiries, thus enhancing its literary gravitas. Max Brand, the pen name of Frederick Schiller Faust, was one of the most prolific writers of early Western novels, coming from a diverse background that includes medicine and journalism. His own experiences in the West alongside his keen observational skills inform the depth and authenticity of his characters' struggles and triumphs. A keen commentator on the human condition, Brand's life reflected the very pursuits of fortune he writes about, underscoring his credibility and insight into the era's ethos. This novel is highly recommended for readers interested in Western literature and those who appreciate a profound exploration of personal ambition within a richly textured historical setting. "His Name His Fortune" promises to captivate those who seek not only adventure but also an underlying critique of the American Dream. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists. - A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing. - A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings. - Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life. - Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance. - Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
Ähnliche
His Name His Fortune
Table of Contents
Introduction
In a hard country where reputations travel faster than truth, a man’s name can be currency, compass, and curse, and His Name His Fortune follows the perilous arithmetic by which identity becomes capital, rumor compounds interest, and every step toward survival requires choosing between the self one claims and the legend others spend in one’s stead, across landscapes of rough justice and wary hospitality, where silence shouts, first impressions harden into verdicts, and the price of a misstep is measured in blood or exile; here, fortune is less about gold than the fragile equity of character and the perilous credit of fame.
Max Brand, the pen name of Frederick Schiller Faust, was one of the most prolific voices in American popular fiction, especially known for Western narratives that merged swift action with moral inquiry. His Name His Fortune stands within that tradition, drawing on the motifs of the frontier—wide ranges, tense towns, and the tacit codes that govern both. While precise dates and venues can vary across Brand’s vast bibliography, this work belongs to the early-to-mid twentieth-century era in which his stories reached readers in magazines and later in book form, reflecting the energy and accessibility of pulp-era storytelling.
At its core is a simple, gripping premise: a figure whose name has become a passport he never exactly sought, a protection that also paints a target. The opening movement places him at the juncture of rumor and necessity, where chance encounters and half-known histories force difficult choices. As opportunities and threats accumulate, the protagonist must decide whether to lean into the legend that opens doors or to reclaim a quieter, riskier honesty that might close them. The book invites readers into a world where introductions are negotiations, and where every alliance is shadowed by what the name implies.
Brand’s style favors momentum without sacrificing texture. Scenes arrive with clear stakes, terse dialogue, and decisive action, yet they are threaded with moments of observation that illuminate motive and consequence. The mood alternates between taut immediacy and reflective calm, giving the landscape, weather, and crowded interiors a role in the drama. Readers can expect crisp pacing, set pieces that escalate cleanly, and a narrative voice that trusts the audience to infer more than it states. The effect is cinematic but humane: the violence feels consequential, the quiet beats carry weight, and the story’s pulse remains steady even in turbulence.
Several themes intertwine to give the book its resonance. The tension between reputation and reality drives both plot and psychology, testing how far a person can steer a story others insist on telling. Questions of justice—formal and informal—surface in conflicts over loyalty, debt, and the limits of mercy. The book examines how communities enforce belonging through praise and suspicion, and how a single misreading can set events in motion that are hard to stop. Fate and choice, law and honor, solitude and fellowship: each opposition emerges not as an abstract debate but as a lived dilemma with human costs.
These concerns travel well beyond the frontier frame, which is partly why the work continues to feel timely. In an age when reputations are minted, amplified, and challenged at speed, the idea that a name can precede—and even endanger—its owner remains potent. Readers may recognize the seduction of a ready-made persona that delivers access while narrowing possibility, and the courage required to renegotiate that identity. The story’s interest in earned trust, in the fragility of standing within a community, and in the price of performance speaks to contemporary debates about image, accountability, and the ethics of belonging.
Approached as an entry point to Max Brand or as a return to a celebrated storyteller, His Name His Fortune offers a compact, engaging ride: suspense that grows from character, conflicts that hinge on moral choice, and a steady current of empathy beneath the hardships. Without disclosing its later turns, it is enough to note that the book sustains its inquiry into what a name is worth—and what it costs—through shifting alliances and hard-won insight. Readers will find a narrative that entertains while asking enduring questions, and that leaves the aftertaste of dust, resolve, and hard-earned clarity.
Synopsis
The story opens on the American frontier as a solitary horseman rides into a tense town carrying a name that precedes him. That name, inherited rather than earned, is rumored to unlock a long-disputed fortune and stir up old grudges. The newcomer seeks no spectacle, yet his arrival instantly divides the street: some see a long-awaited heir; others see an interloper threatening the order they profit from. Max Brand sets the stage with brisk incidents—guarded greetings, sidewise questions, and a few unguarded glances—establishing that the sign above a man’s head can weigh as heavily as a loaded holster in a country built on reputation.
Before he can claim anything, the protagonist must learn what his name means to people who have lived with it in his absence. He encounters wary allies: a seasoned hand who remembers the old days, a practical town merchant, and a skeptical observer who tests his nerve. He also meets opposition from men who have shaped local fortunes during the vacuum the name left behind. The landscape of claims includes a valuable spread, a line of credit in human loyalty, and enemies who prefer ambiguity. Letters, rumors, and half-finished stories sketch a legacy that is as much burden as it is promise.
To be seen as more than a signature, the newcomer takes work that puts him among rough stock and rougher tempers. Small trials—breaking a mount no one wants, enduring a provocation that invites hot lead—gain him attention while revealing the practical weight of a name. It opens doors, but it also paints targets. His approach remains measured: he listens more than he speaks, moving cautiously across fault lines he did not create. Nearby, a steadying figure offers common sense, while a sharp-eyed antagonist watches for weakness. The question isn’t only whether the fortune exists, but whether he deserves the right to seek it.
Pressure mounts when the interests that prospered in the name’s absence start losing patience. A cattle drive goes wrong in a way that feels arranged; a fence line is cut where none should be; and night riders test the newcomer’s resolve. He answers without reaching for an easy reputation: he chooses steady work, careful preparation, and a willingness to face trouble in daylight. Conflicts escalate from whispers to open challenges. The town’s informal court—the saloon, the street, the railhead—begins to judge him by actions rather than by gossip, even as the men invested in confusion push toward a showdown.
Understanding that proof matters as much as grit, the protagonist hunts for the chain linking his name to the fortune. He follows a trail of documents, witnesses, and half-forgotten landmarks across arroyos and into mountain country, where an older story emerges: an agreement never finished, a debt not settled, and a ledger someone wants erased. Along the way, he navigates tests of trust—accepting help from those with their own reasons, refusing it when the cost is too high. The journey reveals that the fortune is more than money or land; it binds lives, and unraveling it threatens the delicate balance of the region.
A reversal strikes just as certainty seems near. The very name that opened doors becomes a liability, clouded by doubts seeded with precision. With papers questioned and witnesses shifted, he must rely on what he can do in the present—ride, decide, and stand—rather than what he can prove from the past. A dangerous errand forces him to risk reputation for safety, choosing the welfare of others over an easier claim. In doing so, he earns grudging respect that carries practical weight, even as powerful rivals tighten their circle. The contest begins to pivot from legalities to character under pressure.
As lines harden, the town and the ranges around it become a map of allegiances. Old friends of the vanished era surface, and new alliances form under necessity. The protagonist demands a reckoning set in the open, where leverage cannot hide behind locked desks or hired hands. Key confrontations lay bare motives: profit, pride, and the fear of losing face. He faces a difficult choice between securing immediate advantage and taking a path that may cost him the very thing his name promises. The narrative keeps its pace tight, carrying the reader toward a public test neither side can avoid.
The culminating sequence brings every thread into plain view. The disputed holdings, the accounts, and the stories about the name all converge before witnesses, forcing decisions that leave no room for disguise. Action is swift but clear: a plan is exposed, loyalties are counted, and the question of what truly constitutes ownership is put to practice rather than theory. Without revealing outcomes, the scene underscores the novel’s central tension: whether a man becomes a prisoner of his signature or proves larger than it. Whatever the verdict, it is reached in a manner consistent with the land’s rough but recognizable code.
In the aftermath, consequences fall where they are due, and the town resets around a clarified understanding of who is owed what—and why. The protagonist’s journey resolves the riddle posed at the start: his name may be a key, but it is not the treasure. The book closes on a steady note that recognizes both the value and the limits of reputation. Fortune, in Brand’s handling, is part estate and part character, and the balance between them decides a life’s direction. The overall message is plain: on the frontier, a man’s identity starts with a word, but it is finished by his conduct.
Historical Context
His Name His Fortune is set in the mythicized American West of the late nineteenth century, roughly between the 1870s and 1890s, when the frontier was shifting from open range to fenced ranches and from makeshift camps to incorporated towns. The landscape spans cattle country from Texas and the Llano Estacado up through the High Plains of Kansas and Wyoming, and into mining and desert districts of Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona Territory. This was a place of sparse formal authority and improvised justice, where markets, trails, and railheads linked remote settlements. In such a world, reputation could function as currency, and the authority of a name often preceded the person who bore it.
Railroad expansion transformed the West’s economy and geography. The Pacific Railroad Acts (1862, 1864) propelled construction culminating in the May 10, 1869 driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory Summit, Utah, linking the Union Pacific and Central Pacific. Railheads in Kansas—created by entrepreneurs like Joseph G. McCoy, who established stockyards at Abilene in 1867—channeled Texas cattle to eastern markets. Towns such as Abilene, Ellsworth, Wichita, and Dodge City rose and fell with the cattle trade (circa 1867–1886). The novel’s world mirrors this mobility and speed: characters cross vast distances rapidly, and a protagonist’s fame can arrive at a depot or saloon ahead of him via telegraph and rumor, shaping encounters before they occur.
