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The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
‘They travelled west for gold, hope and liberty. Liberty’s exactly what they’re gonna get.’
Journey into the Wild West, 1890, in this classic story of good versus evil, of law versus the gun, of one man versus Liberty Valance. A tale of love, hope and revenge set against the vicious backdrop of a lawless society.
When a young scholar from New York City travels west in search of a new life he arrives beaten and half-dead on the dusty streets of Twotrees. Rescued from the plains, the town soon becomes his home as he finds the love of a local girl. This love gives him purpose in a broken land, but is it enough to save him from the vicious outlaw who wants him dead?
He must make the to turn and run or to stand for what he believes, to live or to fight… to become the man who shot Liberty Valance.
Journey into the Wild West, 1890, in this classic story of good versus evil, of law versus the gun, of one man versus Liberty Valance. A tale of love, hope and revenge set against the vicious backdrop of a lawless society.
When a young scholar from New York City travels west in search of a new life he arrives beaten and half-dead on the dusty streets of Twotrees. Rescued from the plains, the town soon becomes his home as he finds the love of a local girl. This love gives him purpose in a broken land, but is it enough to save him from the vicious outlaw who wants him dead?
He must make the to turn and run or to stand for what he believes, to live or to fight… to become the man who shot Liberty Valance.
88 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2005
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April 12, 2022
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a republication of some of the best stories of Dorothy Johnson, America's most unrecognized genius of short fiction. Two of these four stories are taken from Indian Country (later published as Man Called Horse https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...) a brilliant collection of Western tales that deserves to be back in print. Three of them were made into successful movies. All four of these tales show the mark of genius that was typical of Johnson's work.
Time Magazine compared Dorothy Johnson's work to Bret Harte and Mark Twain, and this was no hyperbole. As works of literature, her Western short stories are nearly without peer, and they are often better than many histories in accurately portraying the detail and nuance of Native, frontier, and Mountain Man cultures.
The first of the four stories in this volume, A Man Called Horse, is a tale of a young man raised in a wealthy Eastern family who went West, was captured by Crow Indians, and spent several years living among them. It details the ways in which he changed to adapt and survive, and the lessons that he learned from the experience. This theme of whites living with Indians and the effect the dramatic change of culture could have was one of Johnson's favorites, and one she captured better in her writing than anyone else. This story was made into a movie in 1970, starring Richard Harris.
In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance we see another of Johnson's recurring themes - the less than noble truth that often was concealed by the heroic legends that grew out of the West. It is the story of a young greenhorn who rose to fame and fortune on the back of a legend that was a lie. This story was made into the classic 1962 movie, the last by the great director John Ford, and starred John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart.
Lost Sister returns to the theme of whites living among the Indians, but this time we see it from the perspective of a family being reunited with a sister who had lived as a native for thirty years after being captured as a child. Nowhere is the clash of cultures better shown than in this story of the painful attempt to re-integrate this family member who had gone completely native over the years, and who only desired to return to the life and place she knew as home.
The final story in this collection, The Hanging Tree, is an expertly told tale of the tangled lives and fates of three people in a gold mining camp. It explores how those who went west often were cut completely loose from their past, freely re-invented themselves, and lived lives where the personal myths or nightmares that they created for themselves had more power than reality. This story was made into the 1959 movie starring Gary Cooper (in his final role), Karl Malden, and a young George C. Scott.
If you are a fan of tales of the American West this collection will thrill you and leave you hungry and searching for more of Dorothy Johnson.
Time Magazine compared Dorothy Johnson's work to Bret Harte and Mark Twain, and this was no hyperbole. As works of literature, her Western short stories are nearly without peer, and they are often better than many histories in accurately portraying the detail and nuance of Native, frontier, and Mountain Man cultures.
The first of the four stories in this volume, A Man Called Horse, is a tale of a young man raised in a wealthy Eastern family who went West, was captured by Crow Indians, and spent several years living among them. It details the ways in which he changed to adapt and survive, and the lessons that he learned from the experience. This theme of whites living with Indians and the effect the dramatic change of culture could have was one of Johnson's favorites, and one she captured better in her writing than anyone else. This story was made into a movie in 1970, starring Richard Harris.
In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance we see another of Johnson's recurring themes - the less than noble truth that often was concealed by the heroic legends that grew out of the West. It is the story of a young greenhorn who rose to fame and fortune on the back of a legend that was a lie. This story was made into the classic 1962 movie, the last by the great director John Ford, and starred John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart.
Lost Sister returns to the theme of whites living among the Indians, but this time we see it from the perspective of a family being reunited with a sister who had lived as a native for thirty years after being captured as a child. Nowhere is the clash of cultures better shown than in this story of the painful attempt to re-integrate this family member who had gone completely native over the years, and who only desired to return to the life and place she knew as home.
The final story in this collection, The Hanging Tree, is an expertly told tale of the tangled lives and fates of three people in a gold mining camp. It explores how those who went west often were cut completely loose from their past, freely re-invented themselves, and lived lives where the personal myths or nightmares that they created for themselves had more power than reality. This story was made into the 1959 movie starring Gary Cooper (in his final role), Karl Malden, and a young George C. Scott.
If you are a fan of tales of the American West this collection will thrill you and leave you hungry and searching for more of Dorothy Johnson.
January 15, 2019
I came across Dorothy M Johnson by tracing all those old western movies of my youth back to their sources, and what a find it has been- three short stories and a novella of immense quality. I guess we could call them Western fiction as they do center on the Old West and did give rise to all those western movies, but really that is a real misnomer. They are really creative and thoughtful stories about life and people and they deserve to be reread and reread.
June 9, 2013
My first experience of Dorothy Johnson's work—and it was excellent. These four Western stories are wonderfully well-written, and not run-of-the-mill, either; the concept of each is original and attention-holding. My favorite was "The Hanging Tree," a novella-length story set in a gold-mining camp, with its unique, carefully-drawn characters and slowly but surely unfolding plot. I've never seen the movie, and now I don't really feel I want to; I believe it's considerably different from the original story—and anyway, fresh from reading it, I can hardly imagine any film adaptation justly capturing the unforgettable characters of Frail, Rune and Elizabeth.
Of the other three shorter stories, "Lost Sister," the story of a woman returned to her family after forty years of captivity among the Indians, is the best, I think. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" probably seems a little sketchy because I've seen the movie, and the short story is a mere seed of the idea that was developed into a screenplay—but taken as itself, just as a short story, it's a pretty good one. "A Man Called Horse," the story of a man taken captive by Indians who integrates into the tribe as a means of survival (and planned escape), is probably my least favorite of the four by comparison, but is just as skillfully executed as the rest.
I'll certainly be reading more by Dorothy Johnson.
Of the other three shorter stories, "Lost Sister," the story of a woman returned to her family after forty years of captivity among the Indians, is the best, I think. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" probably seems a little sketchy because I've seen the movie, and the short story is a mere seed of the idea that was developed into a screenplay—but taken as itself, just as a short story, it's a pretty good one. "A Man Called Horse," the story of a man taken captive by Indians who integrates into the tribe as a means of survival (and planned escape), is probably my least favorite of the four by comparison, but is just as skillfully executed as the rest.
I'll certainly be reading more by Dorothy Johnson.
January 4, 2015
Months and months ago, before I even started talking about how I had to go to Montana, my mother gave me this book. "You have to read it!" she said, a recommendation which confused me greatly. Why did my mother, who generally picks books for me pretty well, think short stories from the Wild West were something I should be reading? I read the first story and felt uncomfortable about colonialism and put it down.
But then I went to the Wild West and picked it up again. And it resonated a little more. Okay, a LOT more.
Reviews of these stories say that Dorothy M. Johnson makes it clear that that's How Things Really Were in the Wild West. I was skeptical of this claim. It's fiction, after all, and she was born in 1910, after the days of the Wild West had passed. The reviews also said she creates full characters and can easily slip her point of view from settler to pioneer woman to Indian. I shall examine these claims.
This book consists of a novella and three short stories: "A Man Called Horse," "Lost Sister," and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." "A Man Called Horse" involves a white guy trying to figure out how to escape from the Indians. "Lost Sister" is about a forty-something woman who is returned to her family after growing up with the Indians, having been captured by them at a young age. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" is about people shooting each other to defend themselves and taking credit and being indebted to people and having your legacy go unnoticed.
These stories were okay, but I wasn't crazy about them. "A Man Called Horse" made me uncomfortable about colonialism. The other two were fine, but didn't really stick with me.
However, the novella, "The Hanging Tree," really drew me in. This story, I think, is a masterpiece. A doctor confronting a grim destiny. A woman settling in a place where it is clear she does not belong. A teenager coming of age. The greed induced by a gold rush. The mob mentality it's easy to create among a bunch of people far from home who don't understand their surroundings.
It's a beautifully written story, delicately interweaving various themes and plot points with also just some crazy things that have nothing really to do with the plot, like runaway mules running down the restaurant for the prospectors and causing it to catch fire. (THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS IN THE WEST.)
And...this may sound strange...but I really believe that this is what it was like in the Old West. This is what my summer would have been, if you took out the lodge, replaced it with a gold rush, took out most of the women, and took it back in time 140 years. Also, you would have to make things even more lawless and add a lot more violence.
So I highly recommend "The Hanging Tree" as an excellent piece of Western literature. The other stories, personally, I could take or leave. But that could be because, as I've said before, I'm not much of one for short stories except for those of Jhumpa Lahiri.
But then I went to the Wild West and picked it up again. And it resonated a little more. Okay, a LOT more.
Reviews of these stories say that Dorothy M. Johnson makes it clear that that's How Things Really Were in the Wild West. I was skeptical of this claim. It's fiction, after all, and she was born in 1910, after the days of the Wild West had passed. The reviews also said she creates full characters and can easily slip her point of view from settler to pioneer woman to Indian. I shall examine these claims.
This book consists of a novella and three short stories: "A Man Called Horse," "Lost Sister," and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." "A Man Called Horse" involves a white guy trying to figure out how to escape from the Indians. "Lost Sister" is about a forty-something woman who is returned to her family after growing up with the Indians, having been captured by them at a young age. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" is about people shooting each other to defend themselves and taking credit and being indebted to people and having your legacy go unnoticed.
These stories were okay, but I wasn't crazy about them. "A Man Called Horse" made me uncomfortable about colonialism. The other two were fine, but didn't really stick with me.
However, the novella, "The Hanging Tree," really drew me in. This story, I think, is a masterpiece. A doctor confronting a grim destiny. A woman settling in a place where it is clear she does not belong. A teenager coming of age. The greed induced by a gold rush. The mob mentality it's easy to create among a bunch of people far from home who don't understand their surroundings.
It's a beautifully written story, delicately interweaving various themes and plot points with also just some crazy things that have nothing really to do with the plot, like runaway mules running down the restaurant for the prospectors and causing it to catch fire. (THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS IN THE WEST.)
And...this may sound strange...but I really believe that this is what it was like in the Old West. This is what my summer would have been, if you took out the lodge, replaced it with a gold rush, took out most of the women, and took it back in time 140 years. Also, you would have to make things even more lawless and add a lot more violence.
So I highly recommend "The Hanging Tree" as an excellent piece of Western literature. The other stories, personally, I could take or leave. But that could be because, as I've said before, I'm not much of one for short stories except for those of Jhumpa Lahiri.
October 4, 2017
This caught my eye in the reshelving area of one of the libraries where I work. I hadn't read a western in a while, and I have fond memories of watching the movie version of "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," so I thought I'd take the book out for a ride. This is a rare short-story anthology where I really enjoyed every story: no nags here, just hardy little mustangs. The spare writing style kept me a little removed from the characters, but pulled me along swiftly through the tightly-built plots. I was pleasantly surprised to find a theme of love (familial and romantic) running throughout the tales.
October 7, 2024
Two of my favorite Westerns are the Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and a Man Called Horse. The concept were the invention of Johnson, but these two movies are better than the two short stories. The Hanging Tree is a novella and is a superb story. The three main characters prove that there is good in mankind. It is a great Western, but honestly I have never seen the movie. The Lost Sister quite simply is a great short story. So with this compilation, you have three excellent short stories and a very good novella. Dorothy Johnson’s works have stood the test of time and they are not just good Westerns, they are great fiction even for people who do not read Westerns.
April 17, 2011
I had to study this book with the worst teacher I've ever had (very few people will actually make fun of someone because they are going through pre-cancer treatments, but this guy is a standout). That aside, this short story was excellent! Very cool story about developing Western culture. The main character is attacked and robbed by local bad-guy Liberty Vallance. He tries to go the legal route only to discover that the lawless west without this particular avenue. So the real hero (John Wayne) shoots Liberty Valance and let's the weaker man take the credit. The point is that if the West is to have a culture then it needs men of reason and law, not passion and violence. The short story gives us very dishonorable heroes whereas the movie cleans it up.
Man, I wish we had talked about ANY of this in class!
Man, I wish we had talked about ANY of this in class!
September 6, 2025
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, based on a story by Dorothy Johnson
If John Ford is the director, James Stewart and John Wayne have leading roles, this film is necessarily a must see fare.
Indeed, one could wonder why it is not better known and it was only nominated for an Academy Award, in a technical category.
James Stewart is Ransom Stoddard, who returns at the beginning of the film to the small town of Shinbone, where he is asked for an interview that would reveal an intriguing story that might dispel the myth.
Ransom Stoddard recalls his arrival in the town, decades before, with his law books, travelling on a stagecoach.
He is a young idealist who has very little, if anything in common with the archetypal image of the present-day solicitor, the object of so many defamatory jokes.
Yong Ransom Stoddard is the epitome of so many Character Strengths as to seem, if not perfect, at least an Ubermensch- Bravery, Creativity, Citizenship, Love of Learning, Perspective, Humility, Curiosity, Persistence, Humor, Integrity, Kindness, Self- regulation and almost any other quality we can think of.
The coach is attacked by robbers, a woman is pushed when Stoddard stands up to the armed scoundrels, asking them what kind of men are they and affirming that he will see that they face the punishment of the law, when the leader starts beating the brave, but reckless traveler, who has to be cared for in a serious condition after the attack.
The perpetrator is well known and the sheriff, all the men and women are afraid of Liberty Valance, with the exception of Tom Doniphon aka The Duke aka John Wayne, the most popular and loved actor in America for decades.
Tom refers to the injured stranger as Pilgrim and a complicated relationship will be established between the two men, who would both seek the attention and affection of Vera, a strong woman working in her parents’ restaurant, where Ransom works to pay for the medical care he had received.
In this restaurant walks the infamous Valance, with his two hatchet men, causing like is his way a disturbance and then sending the waiter Stoppard to the floor, with his plate of steak and potatoes.
Tom Doniphon steps in with his gun and tells the villain to get down and pick up the food from the floor, explaining that he is not alone against the three hoodlums, for he has his assistant, Pompey, holding a shotgun at the door.
The confrontation ends when The Pilgrim kneels to the floor and gets the stake and shouts that it is preposterous to kill or be killed over a piece of meat, a philosophy which is strongly embraced by this hero, who believes in the law and not the use of force, which everybody in Shinbone declares is the only way to impose and face people like Liberty, his gang and the rich people up north, who seem to be in cahoots with the criminals.
Dutton Peabody is another hero in the story and he represents the prestige, importance, role of the press in writing about the truth, even or especially when it is so dangerous to publish stories about killers and their crimes, and he is the one to invite Ransom to use his newspapers office as premises for his activities as lawyer.
The Pilgrim also works as a teacher, with a full class of people that do not know how to write and who also learn about the constitution, the Bill of Rights and the works of democracy from this Angel of Justice.
In secret, Ransom is also trying to learn the ways of this wild territory, taking a gun out, twice a week, trying to become a reasonable shooter, only to be taught a lesson by Tom, who emphasizes how dangerous, deadly Valance is.
Ransom Stoddard acts beyond giving lessons and teaching reading, English and the rules of democracy, but he is essential to the organizing of elections for representatives that would promote and defend the rights of the population south of the barbed wire and when he proposes that Tom Doniphon is elected, the latter refuses and suggests The Pilgrim in his place, a nomination that is unanimously accepted, together with that of Dutton Peabody.
The newspaper man, editor and superhero publishes the news about the most recent killings committed by Valance and his thugs, only to be ambushed in his office and then tortured nearly to death by the monsters.
This new atrocity provokes the wrath of the promoter of peace and lawful, serene methods and he is out on the street with his pistol to confront and hopefully kill the Devil that threatens the safety and lives of the people.
Ransom Stoddard walks the main street and faces Liberty Valance, who shoots the unskilled lawyer in his arm, then throws the gun away and is on the verge of making a new killing, targeting “right between the eyes” , when, pure magic and incredible reversal of fortune has Ransom on top and famous as…The Man Who Killed Liberty Valance.
This is not the epilogue in this fascinating western, which takes the audience to more elections, where Ransom is accused by a political adversary of avoiding the law and being a hypocrite for saying that the law must be abided and then taking a life, in cold blood, shooting down Main Street.
This has an immense impact on the lawyer, who leaves the election room and is evidently bent on abandoning this democratic project, when he is turned back by his romantic competitor, who explains what happened in the now famous killing of the vicious Valance and helps the hero become the senator we have met in the beginning of this masterful work of art.
If John Ford is the director, James Stewart and John Wayne have leading roles, this film is necessarily a must see fare.
Indeed, one could wonder why it is not better known and it was only nominated for an Academy Award, in a technical category.
James Stewart is Ransom Stoddard, who returns at the beginning of the film to the small town of Shinbone, where he is asked for an interview that would reveal an intriguing story that might dispel the myth.
Ransom Stoddard recalls his arrival in the town, decades before, with his law books, travelling on a stagecoach.
He is a young idealist who has very little, if anything in common with the archetypal image of the present-day solicitor, the object of so many defamatory jokes.
Yong Ransom Stoddard is the epitome of so many Character Strengths as to seem, if not perfect, at least an Ubermensch- Bravery, Creativity, Citizenship, Love of Learning, Perspective, Humility, Curiosity, Persistence, Humor, Integrity, Kindness, Self- regulation and almost any other quality we can think of.
The coach is attacked by robbers, a woman is pushed when Stoddard stands up to the armed scoundrels, asking them what kind of men are they and affirming that he will see that they face the punishment of the law, when the leader starts beating the brave, but reckless traveler, who has to be cared for in a serious condition after the attack.
The perpetrator is well known and the sheriff, all the men and women are afraid of Liberty Valance, with the exception of Tom Doniphon aka The Duke aka John Wayne, the most popular and loved actor in America for decades.
Tom refers to the injured stranger as Pilgrim and a complicated relationship will be established between the two men, who would both seek the attention and affection of Vera, a strong woman working in her parents’ restaurant, where Ransom works to pay for the medical care he had received.
In this restaurant walks the infamous Valance, with his two hatchet men, causing like is his way a disturbance and then sending the waiter Stoppard to the floor, with his plate of steak and potatoes.
Tom Doniphon steps in with his gun and tells the villain to get down and pick up the food from the floor, explaining that he is not alone against the three hoodlums, for he has his assistant, Pompey, holding a shotgun at the door.
The confrontation ends when The Pilgrim kneels to the floor and gets the stake and shouts that it is preposterous to kill or be killed over a piece of meat, a philosophy which is strongly embraced by this hero, who believes in the law and not the use of force, which everybody in Shinbone declares is the only way to impose and face people like Liberty, his gang and the rich people up north, who seem to be in cahoots with the criminals.
Dutton Peabody is another hero in the story and he represents the prestige, importance, role of the press in writing about the truth, even or especially when it is so dangerous to publish stories about killers and their crimes, and he is the one to invite Ransom to use his newspapers office as premises for his activities as lawyer.
The Pilgrim also works as a teacher, with a full class of people that do not know how to write and who also learn about the constitution, the Bill of Rights and the works of democracy from this Angel of Justice.
In secret, Ransom is also trying to learn the ways of this wild territory, taking a gun out, twice a week, trying to become a reasonable shooter, only to be taught a lesson by Tom, who emphasizes how dangerous, deadly Valance is.
Ransom Stoddard acts beyond giving lessons and teaching reading, English and the rules of democracy, but he is essential to the organizing of elections for representatives that would promote and defend the rights of the population south of the barbed wire and when he proposes that Tom Doniphon is elected, the latter refuses and suggests The Pilgrim in his place, a nomination that is unanimously accepted, together with that of Dutton Peabody.
The newspaper man, editor and superhero publishes the news about the most recent killings committed by Valance and his thugs, only to be ambushed in his office and then tortured nearly to death by the monsters.
This new atrocity provokes the wrath of the promoter of peace and lawful, serene methods and he is out on the street with his pistol to confront and hopefully kill the Devil that threatens the safety and lives of the people.
Ransom Stoddard walks the main street and faces Liberty Valance, who shoots the unskilled lawyer in his arm, then throws the gun away and is on the verge of making a new killing, targeting “right between the eyes” , when, pure magic and incredible reversal of fortune has Ransom on top and famous as…The Man Who Killed Liberty Valance.
This is not the epilogue in this fascinating western, which takes the audience to more elections, where Ransom is accused by a political adversary of avoiding the law and being a hypocrite for saying that the law must be abided and then taking a life, in cold blood, shooting down Main Street.
This has an immense impact on the lawyer, who leaves the election room and is evidently bent on abandoning this democratic project, when he is turned back by his romantic competitor, who explains what happened in the now famous killing of the vicious Valance and helps the hero become the senator we have met in the beginning of this masterful work of art.
August 18, 2025
Sapphire Detective on The Hanging Tree
Man, it's been a while since I've done one of these hasn't it? It seems a bit strange to be doing it for something that only has four stories, and doubly so when I have two stories I rank equally on my arbitrarily numbered list, but so it is. "Liberty Valance" is a great story that got adapted into a great movie, and that's part of the reason why I'm not talking about it. Just go watch the movie or read the story if you want to experience it. Why I chose to talk about The Hanging Tree, aside from the fact that it's the whole reason I got out this collection, is purely because the movie adaptation is nowhere near as good as "Liberty Valance's" is, so I want to do the story some justice, as the novelette made up for every thing that I think stumbled in the movie.
Simply put--and so I don't go into a tirade about the limitations of the Hays Code; I am a film buff first and literary buff second, even if those can trade places frequently in my estimations--the novelette was allowed to explore darker and more realistic ideas than even a movie as late into the loosening of the strangle hold of the Hays Code was (the film version came out the year before Psycho hit screens, the novelette the same year Vertigo did). By having the story being so frequently told from the subjective POVs of Doc Frail, Rune, and Elizabeth, each with their own dark existential fears bearing down on them, especially the paralleled fixations of Frail and Elizabeth on the titular Tree (though for different reasons), we're able to live in the shadow cast by the darkness in this town--and honestly in the microcosm of the West in general--a darkness cast by greed. The preacher wasn't far off in his ramblings late in this story. I could go on for paragraphs about how greed and fortune in one form or another permeates every facet of this plot, but that would spoil the exploration of reading for any of you potentially out there that stumble on this!
Overall, worth the reading, most of the collection. "A Man Called Horse" didn't strike me as strongly as the other stories did, but the other three are certainly worth the price of admission. And then go watch The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, what I'd argue as John Ford's last great movie. Maybe skip the film for The Hanging Tree, or try that too, you may like it better than I did!
---------------
"A Man Called Horse" - 3/5
"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" - 4.5/5
"Lost Sister" - 4/5
The Hanging Tree - 4.5/5
Overall rating: 4/5
Favorite Story: The Hanging Tree and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"
Least Favorite Story: "A Man Called Horse"
Would I own/re-read?: Potentially.
TW: Varies from story to story, but death is present in all of them, as is the brutality of frontier life. "A Man Called Horse" has kidnapping and minor gore. "Liberty Valance" has violence. "Lost Sister" has a broken family because of kidnapping at a very young age. And The Hanging Tree has mob violence, depictions of PTSD in multiple forms, indentured servitude, and minor gore.
Does the animal die?: All of the stories, except maybe "Lost Sister," feature animals getting injured or being killed in some capacity, namely horses in attacks that happen on stage coaches in at least two of the stories. There's also references to hunting, as was popular in the West.
Man, it's been a while since I've done one of these hasn't it? It seems a bit strange to be doing it for something that only has four stories, and doubly so when I have two stories I rank equally on my arbitrarily numbered list, but so it is. "Liberty Valance" is a great story that got adapted into a great movie, and that's part of the reason why I'm not talking about it. Just go watch the movie or read the story if you want to experience it. Why I chose to talk about The Hanging Tree, aside from the fact that it's the whole reason I got out this collection, is purely because the movie adaptation is nowhere near as good as "Liberty Valance's" is, so I want to do the story some justice, as the novelette made up for every thing that I think stumbled in the movie.
Simply put--and so I don't go into a tirade about the limitations of the Hays Code; I am a film buff first and literary buff second, even if those can trade places frequently in my estimations--the novelette was allowed to explore darker and more realistic ideas than even a movie as late into the loosening of the strangle hold of the Hays Code was (the film version came out the year before Psycho hit screens, the novelette the same year Vertigo did). By having the story being so frequently told from the subjective POVs of Doc Frail, Rune, and Elizabeth, each with their own dark existential fears bearing down on them, especially the paralleled fixations of Frail and Elizabeth on the titular Tree (though for different reasons), we're able to live in the shadow cast by the darkness in this town--and honestly in the microcosm of the West in general--a darkness cast by greed. The preacher wasn't far off in his ramblings late in this story. I could go on for paragraphs about how greed and fortune in one form or another permeates every facet of this plot, but that would spoil the exploration of reading for any of you potentially out there that stumble on this!
Overall, worth the reading, most of the collection. "A Man Called Horse" didn't strike me as strongly as the other stories did, but the other three are certainly worth the price of admission. And then go watch The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, what I'd argue as John Ford's last great movie. Maybe skip the film for The Hanging Tree, or try that too, you may like it better than I did!
---------------
"A Man Called Horse" - 3/5
"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" - 4.5/5
"Lost Sister" - 4/5
The Hanging Tree - 4.5/5
Overall rating: 4/5
Favorite Story: The Hanging Tree and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"
Least Favorite Story: "A Man Called Horse"
Would I own/re-read?: Potentially.
TW: Varies from story to story, but death is present in all of them, as is the brutality of frontier life. "A Man Called Horse" has kidnapping and minor gore. "Liberty Valance" has violence. "Lost Sister" has a broken family because of kidnapping at a very young age. And The Hanging Tree has mob violence, depictions of PTSD in multiple forms, indentured servitude, and minor gore.
Does the animal die?: All of the stories, except maybe "Lost Sister," feature animals getting injured or being killed in some capacity, namely horses in attacks that happen on stage coaches in at least two of the stories. There's also references to hunting, as was popular in the West.
October 22, 2025
This collection of three short stories and one novella was my first contact with Western writer Dorothy M. Johnston, although I was familiar with the old movie (in fact, the theme song for "Who Shot Liberty Vallance?" ran through my head every time I picked up the book).
I had no idea that Liberty Vallance, plus A Man Called Horse, plus The Hanging Tree, were all made into Westerns with some very well-known actors, although I can see that the stories are rich in character and imagery and would appeal to movie people searching for new material, especially back in the day when Westerns were king.
The author certainly didn't romanticize the West. My understanding is that people of that era were quick to shoot first and ask questions later, and there certainly is a pretty hefty body count in these stories. But there is also a genuine desire to understand and interpret the West as it really was.
Although The Hanging Tree is a pretty good yarn, my favourite story is The Lost Sister, in which a white woman raised by an Indigenous tribe is "rescued" and returned to her relatives, who are no more than a bunch of well-meaning strangers, and how traumatic that is for the poor middle-aged woman who by then is completely assimilated. That seemed the most true to life.
I had no idea that Liberty Vallance, plus A Man Called Horse, plus The Hanging Tree, were all made into Westerns with some very well-known actors, although I can see that the stories are rich in character and imagery and would appeal to movie people searching for new material, especially back in the day when Westerns were king.
The author certainly didn't romanticize the West. My understanding is that people of that era were quick to shoot first and ask questions later, and there certainly is a pretty hefty body count in these stories. But there is also a genuine desire to understand and interpret the West as it really was.
Although The Hanging Tree is a pretty good yarn, my favourite story is The Lost Sister, in which a white woman raised by an Indigenous tribe is "rescued" and returned to her relatives, who are no more than a bunch of well-meaning strangers, and how traumatic that is for the poor middle-aged woman who by then is completely assimilated. That seemed the most true to life.
August 31, 2024
This is a collection of stories/novellas by Dorothy Johnson.
The title story was made into a famous movie starring Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne. In Johnson's story the characters aren't as sympathetic. Ranse Foster(Jimmy Stewart) comes off more condescending and snobbish, but just as inept in the book. Bert Barricune (John Wayne) is not as helpful or supportive in the book as he was in the movie. But the plot remains the same.
Dorothy Johnson's writing style is more akin to a newspaper reporter's story on an event than a novelist's inclusion of drama and character. But it works as I found myself filling in what many novelists would have included.
Other stories include; A Man Called Horse about a white man captured by a Native American tribe and treated like a horse who slowly adapts to his captors and becomes accepted by them, The Lost Sister, about a woman who is returned to her white family after living with a Native American tribe for 40 something years, and The Hanging Tree, a portrait of the life of a Doctor/ gunfighter in a mining town
The title story was made into a famous movie starring Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne. In Johnson's story the characters aren't as sympathetic. Ranse Foster(Jimmy Stewart) comes off more condescending and snobbish, but just as inept in the book. Bert Barricune (John Wayne) is not as helpful or supportive in the book as he was in the movie. But the plot remains the same.
Dorothy Johnson's writing style is more akin to a newspaper reporter's story on an event than a novelist's inclusion of drama and character. But it works as I found myself filling in what many novelists would have included.
Other stories include; A Man Called Horse about a white man captured by a Native American tribe and treated like a horse who slowly adapts to his captors and becomes accepted by them, The Lost Sister, about a woman who is returned to her white family after living with a Native American tribe for 40 something years, and The Hanging Tree, a portrait of the life of a Doctor/ gunfighter in a mining town
December 6, 2020
An interesting mix of western stories written by a woman author from Whitefish Montanna. Western Writers of America rated these as among 4 of the 5 best of the twentieth century. I found "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" so interesting because it is only about forty pages long. It is amazing to me how John Ford took this gem of a story and fleshed it out into a full movie with depth and such highly developed characters that the short story by format lacks. "The Hanging Tree" is actually a novella, coming in just below 200 pages, and its characters are highly developed. "A Man called Horse" and "Lost Sister" both deal with white people captured by the Indians who go on to assimilate into their culture. Miss Johnston included her painstaking research in her stories, bringing the west, and especially the Native American culture, to life.
Well worth the read!!
Well worth the read!!
May 11, 2020
I actually only read "The Hanging Tree" so far. I'm not very impressed with the writing, which features so much head hopping there is no mystery at all. The characters are essentially a doctor haunted by his past, a man he presses into servitude to take him down a notch, and an impulsive child-like woman incapable of any agency . It was not an awful story, but it does have everything bad about bad genre fiction: stereotypes, on-the-nose dialogue, tropes (especially the damsel-in-distress), and the diction isn't great either.
October 12, 2025
The Western is really not my genre, but I do love the film version of "Liberty Valance," so I wanted to read its source material. It was really interesting to see how closely the movie managed to follow the original story while offering a somewhat different take on the character of Ranse and adding a lot of material. As for the story itself and the other stories here, they were well-written with complex characters and realistic settings. The Western is still not my genre, but this was a good read nonetheless.
August 18, 2024
I am glad to have discovered Dorothy M Johnson. Her work was referenced by Craig Johnson in a New York Times book review interview. He said she was perhaps the greatest western writer and also no relation. The three stories in this book were made into movies. Not sure how much is still in print. Not available as an ebook. An oversight. Now I want to watch the movies.
January 30, 2025
Read this because a local theater group is doing the play this summer. I don't think it's as good as the classic film (but what could be) but I think has potential to be a really interesting theater experience. It has somewhat more modern sensibilities but still definitely feels like an old Western. I love the idea of theater in this genre.
August 25, 2025
This is a collection of four short western stories by Dorothy M. Johnson, a writer from the middle of the last century of whom I knew nothing until I picked up "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." Her writing is crisp, concise and descriptive. At least three of her novellas were made into movies. I keep finding great writers among this western genre that I failed to discover until middle age.
June 26, 2018
I enjoyed this story very much, was well written and an easy, quick read – but having also seen the movie, it’s not very much the same! I found it interesting and entertaining! Westerns are not in my normal reading but fun for a change of pace!
April 13, 2018
These felt very real-to-life for me. Engaging characters. Stories are short, quick reads that are very fun.
May 15, 2020
Excellent Western stories written in a minimalistic style similar to Hemingway's. Her stories are realistic and well-written. Some of the best Western stories are found in this small book.
October 28, 2020
Wonderful novels about the old west and the challenges of taming the rough country.
January 19, 2021
Dorothy Johnson's stories have their own unique tone. The stories in this book were really great Westerns--not the predictable type. Very enjoyable!
January 6, 2022
Dorothy is so good.
February 5, 2023
As close as we in this country have to legends. Dorothy Johnson’s stories of the old west are powerful in their simplicity, and all the more moving for it.
June 11, 2023
This book consists of four short stories, three of which were made into movies. I did not like any of the stories.
July 14, 2024
Loved it.
June 1, 2022
Short stories about cowboys. Read it on a road trip. Very quick read.
August 9, 2018
I’m partial to westerns, having grown up in the 1950s. All four stories are exceptional with the exception of (gasp!) “Liberty Valance.” I have a theory that one will prefer a story in the medium first encountered, and I’m not a believer in “the book’s always better.”* Anyway, if she’s got more, I’ll read ‘em.
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*See “The Godfather,” “Psycho,” and “Carrie,” but not “The Maltese Falcon” (MF book and MF movie, they’re the friggin’ same), “Bonfire of the Vanities” (okay book terrible movie), “The Shining” (good book; “Hey Stanley, how’re those control issues doing? Naw, I don’t really want to see a movie, I just want to wander around in your subconscious or whatever the Hell it is you’re, what is this place, anyway?”) or, despite it’s critical velocity in the last twenty years “The Birds,” (good short story, mediocre movie except for the last shot, which, I don’t even know how to describe it, uh, GREATEST SINGLE SHOT IN FILM HISTORY?????).
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*See “The Godfather,” “Psycho,” and “Carrie,” but not “The Maltese Falcon” (MF book and MF movie, they’re the friggin’ same), “Bonfire of the Vanities” (okay book terrible movie), “The Shining” (good book; “Hey Stanley, how’re those control issues doing? Naw, I don’t really want to see a movie, I just want to wander around in your subconscious or whatever the Hell it is you’re, what is this place, anyway?”) or, despite it’s critical velocity in the last twenty years “The Birds,” (good short story, mediocre movie except for the last shot, which, I don’t even know how to describe it, uh, GREATEST SINGLE SHOT IN FILM HISTORY?????).
February 15, 2015
This book was EXCELLENT! I am only sorry it took me so long to read these classic short stories (and one novella): "A Man Called Horse" (much different than the movie version I saw), "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (also different from the movie, why the name change to Tom Doniphon?!), "The Lost Sister" (made me think of Quanah Parker, though he did not get captured or die young), and finally my favorite of the four, "The Hanging Tree." I have not see the movie version of this last one, but it is by far my favorite of these. Most likely my favorite because it's longer and so has a chance to develop the characters better. Doc Frail really grows on me and the twist at the end, well, let's just say I almost cried.
November 4, 2014
This is a good book on the Wild West. It starts a a senator comes to a funeral of the man who saved his life. It then flashes back to tell the sorty of what happened. Liberty Valence was the leader of the outlaws, their favorite thing to do was to rob old ladies but when he robbed this stage coach it was his last mistake he would ever make. He then got Tom Doniphon tracking him to eventually kill him. Throughout the story they have posses and towns people helping to find Liberty Valance but Donuphon is the one to do the job.
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