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Arizona
KELLAND'S MOST ASTONISHING, TOUCHING, AND PERSONALLY REVEALING WORK - WITH A HARD-HEADED HEROINE WHO CONQUERS A STATE - FILLED WITH ENOUGH MYSTERY, ROMANCE, AND GUNPLAY FOR TEN AVERAGE WESTERNS, PLUS PIE!
"Kelland has done a masterful job weaving fact and fiction together. An ambitious undertaking." -The Arizona Republic
The epic story of the first European settlements in Arizona, and the woman who led the way, as only Kelland could have told it.
"Kelland's Phoebe Titus stays true to her name (Phoebe was the moon titan in Greek mythology). This Phoebe is a titan in the early days of Tucson. Although she does slowly fall in love with Peter Muncie (there is always an element of romance in Kelland's books), she does not turn into a girlie-girl just to win his affections. In fact, he respects and loves her for her strength and stubbornness. There's a scene right about the middle of the novel where bandits break into Phoebe's ranch, tie her up, threaten her life and rob her life's savings of $15,000. I cringed, expecting this to be the chance for Peter Muncie to return and rescue his now damsel in distress girlfriend. But he doesn't! He arrives late. She has to survive on her own wits and strength. Does this robbery change her mind from being a rancher in lawless Tucson? No. She changes her tactics slightly but she continues pressing on to make a living in a city she loves. Phoebe manages to stay true to herself and still find love and start a family (because she wants to, not because she feels she has to). Once again Kelland has delighted me with a novel full of realistic and interesting characters." –5stars Sarah Sammis, Goodreads
Arizona is one of Clarence Budington Kelland's best and most important novels, replete with mystery, thrills, historical accuracy – and in the romance of the two lead characters a touching and charming portrait of the passionate, amusing, and completely off-beat relationship of his own mother, herself a hardheaded businesswoman, and father, an easy-going geek who worshiped her with all his heart.
"Arizona is an exciting and rapid action yarn of life around Tucson in the early days of that settlement. Quite against the rule for such tales Mr. Kelland makes a woman his central figure. She is a true Kelland heroine who combines comeliness and a strong, resourceful nature. When Phoebe Titus and her old father reach Arizona on their way to California they are held up there by the sickness of Mr. Titus and are practically without funds. Phoebe makes pies and sells them for a dollar per pie; when enough dollars have accumulated she branches out into freighting and mining on the side and proves herself to be one of the best men of the lot. Mr. Kelland has placed his central story against a background of Indian fighting, scouting, double dealing, and all the other accessories of Western life in the 1860s when the Civil War was adding to the general involvements and handsome Government officers were crossing the plains and so furnishing heroes for Western romances. Phoebe marries one of them but it is her career of business conquest rather than love which gives "Arizona" its briskly individual quality." –The Saturday Review of Literature
"Kelland has done a masterful job weaving fact and fiction together. An ambitious undertaking." -The Arizona Republic
The epic story of the first European settlements in Arizona, and the woman who led the way, as only Kelland could have told it.
"Kelland's Phoebe Titus stays true to her name (Phoebe was the moon titan in Greek mythology). This Phoebe is a titan in the early days of Tucson. Although she does slowly fall in love with Peter Muncie (there is always an element of romance in Kelland's books), she does not turn into a girlie-girl just to win his affections. In fact, he respects and loves her for her strength and stubbornness. There's a scene right about the middle of the novel where bandits break into Phoebe's ranch, tie her up, threaten her life and rob her life's savings of $15,000. I cringed, expecting this to be the chance for Peter Muncie to return and rescue his now damsel in distress girlfriend. But he doesn't! He arrives late. She has to survive on her own wits and strength. Does this robbery change her mind from being a rancher in lawless Tucson? No. She changes her tactics slightly but she continues pressing on to make a living in a city she loves. Phoebe manages to stay true to herself and still find love and start a family (because she wants to, not because she feels she has to). Once again Kelland has delighted me with a novel full of realistic and interesting characters." –5stars Sarah Sammis, Goodreads
Arizona is one of Clarence Budington Kelland's best and most important novels, replete with mystery, thrills, historical accuracy – and in the romance of the two lead characters a touching and charming portrait of the passionate, amusing, and completely off-beat relationship of his own mother, herself a hardheaded businesswoman, and father, an easy-going geek who worshiped her with all his heart.
"Arizona is an exciting and rapid action yarn of life around Tucson in the early days of that settlement. Quite against the rule for such tales Mr. Kelland makes a woman his central figure. She is a true Kelland heroine who combines comeliness and a strong, resourceful nature. When Phoebe Titus and her old father reach Arizona on their way to California they are held up there by the sickness of Mr. Titus and are practically without funds. Phoebe makes pies and sells them for a dollar per pie; when enough dollars have accumulated she branches out into freighting and mining on the side and proves herself to be one of the best men of the lot. Mr. Kelland has placed his central story against a background of Indian fighting, scouting, double dealing, and all the other accessories of Western life in the 1860s when the Civil War was adding to the general involvements and handsome Government officers were crossing the plains and so furnishing heroes for Western romances. Phoebe marries one of them but it is her career of business conquest rather than love which gives "Arizona" its briskly individual quality." –The Saturday Review of Literature
278 pages
First published January 1, 1939
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About the author
Clarence Budington Kelland
248 books8 followersReporter and Sunday political editor, Detroit News, 1903-07; editor, The American Boy. 1907-15.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 1, 2024
A magnificently entertaining Western adventure. Checked out this book from inter-library loan from Carnegie Public Library.
October 21, 2007
Arizona is another of a large number of Clarence Budington Kelland novels I rescued from being tossed out in 2003. I have been slowly reading and releasing them, although this one I plan to to keep for a number of reasons. I finally got around to reading it for the "Books to Movies" challenge.
Arizona was published in 1939 and then adapted to film in 1940. In the film version, Phoebe Titus gradually embraces her femininity when she falls in love for Peter Muncie, a man who can't decide whether he should set down his roots in Arizona or California. As I hate with a passion stories where a woman changes drastically to win her man's love, I was dreading a bit this book. I was afraid I would finally have found a book by Kelland that I didn't like.
I was wrong and foolish. The film may have fallen into Hays code era cliches, but Kelland's Phoebe Titus stays true to her name (Phoebe was the moon titan in Greek mythology). This Phoebe is a titan in the early days of Tucson. Although she does slowly fall in love with Peter Muncie (there is always an element of romance in Kelland's books), she does not turn into a girlie-girl just to win his affections. In fact, he respects and loves her for her strength and stubbornness.
There's a scene right about the middle of the novel where bandits break into Phoebe's ranch, tie her up, threaten her life and rob her life's savings of $15,000. I cringed, expecting this to be the chance for Peter Muncie to return and rescue his now damsel in distress girl friend. But he doesn't! He arrives late. She has to survive on her own wits and strength. Does this robbery change her mind from being a rancher in lawless Tucson? No. She changes her tactics slightly but she continues pressing on to make a living in a city she loves. Phoebe manages to stay true to herself and still find love and start a family (because she wants to, not because she feels she has to.)
Once again Kelland has delighted me with a novel full of realistic and interesting characters. The copy I read needs to be rebound before it will be strong enough to be released in the wild. For that reason and because I do want to keep a couple Kelland books for my own collection, I will be holding onto Arizona for the time being.
Arizona was published in 1939 and then adapted to film in 1940. In the film version, Phoebe Titus gradually embraces her femininity when she falls in love for Peter Muncie, a man who can't decide whether he should set down his roots in Arizona or California. As I hate with a passion stories where a woman changes drastically to win her man's love, I was dreading a bit this book. I was afraid I would finally have found a book by Kelland that I didn't like.
I was wrong and foolish. The film may have fallen into Hays code era cliches, but Kelland's Phoebe Titus stays true to her name (Phoebe was the moon titan in Greek mythology). This Phoebe is a titan in the early days of Tucson. Although she does slowly fall in love with Peter Muncie (there is always an element of romance in Kelland's books), she does not turn into a girlie-girl just to win his affections. In fact, he respects and loves her for her strength and stubbornness.
There's a scene right about the middle of the novel where bandits break into Phoebe's ranch, tie her up, threaten her life and rob her life's savings of $15,000. I cringed, expecting this to be the chance for Peter Muncie to return and rescue his now damsel in distress girl friend. But he doesn't! He arrives late. She has to survive on her own wits and strength. Does this robbery change her mind from being a rancher in lawless Tucson? No. She changes her tactics slightly but she continues pressing on to make a living in a city she loves. Phoebe manages to stay true to herself and still find love and start a family (because she wants to, not because she feels she has to.)
Once again Kelland has delighted me with a novel full of realistic and interesting characters. The copy I read needs to be rebound before it will be strong enough to be released in the wild. For that reason and because I do want to keep a couple Kelland books for my own collection, I will be holding onto Arizona for the time being.
February 16, 2019
Picked this 1935 book up after seeing the 1940 movie of the same name, starring Jean Arthur and William Holden. I didn't realize that the movie was just a snippet of the story, which not only covers hauling precious freight through hostile territory, but also surviving in the harsh desert, fighting a guerrilla war that no one wins, and building a home in a lawless territory.
Phoebe Titus was en route to California when her father's illness forced a permanent stop in Tuscon. To survive (eventually on her own), Phoebe bakes pies; later she invested her pie money and uses their wagon to earn more money. She discovers she has an entrepreneurial spirit, and is able to build on her nest egg, and even plan ahead - predicting successfully that the the local fort will be emptied to support the Northern Armies in the Civil War. She's a straight shooter, and a good business partner; she's not as facile, though, at dealing with underhanded men, or men who are interested in her personally.
It's a strikingly good story about an independent-minded woman in the west. You don't run into many westerns from this time period that put a woman in the starring role, and the author's surprisingly sympathetic rendering of Cochise and Mangas Coloradas is downright groundbreaking. I did find Phoebe's "uneducated dialect" as created by the author (which oddly vanished when she spoke to Native Americans or Mexicans) tiresome (seriously, how often can she "git a go'in' "? I pity the typesetter), but ultimately forgivable. Good tale, ahead of its time.
Phoebe Titus was en route to California when her father's illness forced a permanent stop in Tuscon. To survive (eventually on her own), Phoebe bakes pies; later she invested her pie money and uses their wagon to earn more money. She discovers she has an entrepreneurial spirit, and is able to build on her nest egg, and even plan ahead - predicting successfully that the the local fort will be emptied to support the Northern Armies in the Civil War. She's a straight shooter, and a good business partner; she's not as facile, though, at dealing with underhanded men, or men who are interested in her personally.
It's a strikingly good story about an independent-minded woman in the west. You don't run into many westerns from this time period that put a woman in the starring role, and the author's surprisingly sympathetic rendering of Cochise and Mangas Coloradas is downright groundbreaking. I did find Phoebe's "uneducated dialect" as created by the author (which oddly vanished when she spoke to Native Americans or Mexicans) tiresome (seriously, how often can she "git a go'in' "? I pity the typesetter), but ultimately forgivable. Good tale, ahead of its time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews