Telegraph Days - by Larry McMurtry (Paperback)

About the Book

Returning to the big Western themes that have made him famous and beloved, Pulitzer Prize winner McMurtry recreates the bygone days of the old gunfighters in this "New York Times" bestseller--a panoramic, sweeping novel told in the voice of Nellie Courtright, a courageous young woman.

Book Synopsis

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lonesome Dove comes a big, brilliant, unputdownable saga of the Old West, told in the spunky courageous voice of a young woman named Nellie Courtright.

When twenty-two-year-old Nellie Courtright and her teenage brother Jackson are unexpectedly orphaned by their father's suicide on his new and unprosperous ranch, they make their way to the nearby town of Rita Blanca, where Jackson manages to secure a job as a sheriff's deputy, while Nellie, ever resourceful, becomes the town's telegrapher.

Together, they inadvertently put Rita Blanca on the map when young Jackson succeeds in shooting down all six of the ferocious Yazee brothers in a gunfight that brings him lifelong fame, but which he can never repeat because his success came purely out of luck.

Propelled by her own energy and commonsense approach to life, Nellie meets and almost conquers the heart of Buffalo Bill, the man she will love most in her long life, and goes on to meet, and witness the exploits of, Billy the Kid, the Earp brothers, and Doc Holliday. She even gets a ringside seat at the Battle at the O.K. Corral, the most famous gunfight in Western history, and eventually lives long enough to see the West and its gunfighters turned into movies.

Full of life, love, shootouts, real Western heroes, and villains, Telegraph Days is Larry McMurtry at his epic best.

Review Quotes

"A darn good read: an entertaining spoof about the Wild West that brings alive the romance of outlaws, gunfighters and shootouts.... McMurtry has created a modern-day dime novel, a romantic knock-up of the West -- proof that an old-fashioned oater can be as much fun to read as a literary work." -- "The Washington Post"

"Entertaining." -- "The Washington Post"

"More laughs and a lot more sex.... An easy, breezy read." -- "Kirkus Reviews"

"Most readers won't be able to help cracking a smile.... As purposely over-the-top as an episode of "South Park"." -- "Publishers Weekly"

"Sassing her way through a series of sometimes improbable adventures that just happen to put her in the middle of famous moments in history, Nellie proves herself irresistible." -- "Library Journal"

"This rollicking epic is filled with excitement and humor, tinged with sadness and a longing for the past." -- "Booklist"

"Entertaining."

-- "The Washington Post"

About the Author

Larry McMurtry (1936-2021) was the author of twenty-nine novels, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lonesome Dove, three memoirs, two collections of essays, and more than thirty screenplays. He lived in Archer City, Texas.