The Adventures of Breckinridge Elkins Volume 2: Ultimate Edition collects the riotous, over-the-top novel A Gent from Bear Creek. And this volume does not only have Breckinridge Elkins, you’ll get Bearfield Elston, Buckner J. Grimes and Pike Bearfield as well — Howard’s unique brand of humorous Western fiction.
Presented in restored, corrected form, the book includes the original stories as well as a few drafts, synopses, and unfinished fragments. With an introduction by James Reasoner and cover art by Mark Wheatley, this updated edition supersedes the original print run and is no longer limited in quantity. Edited by Rob Roehm and Paul Herman.
Contents
- iii • Acknowledgments
- vii • Make ’Em Laugh
- ix • Introduction • by James Reasoner
The Adventures of Breckinridge Elkins
Bearfield Elston
- 235 • A Elston to the Rescue
Buckner J. Grimes
- 255 • Knife River Prodigal
- 271 • A Man-Eating Jeopard
- 289 • Ring-Tailed Tornado
Pike Bearfield
- 309 • A Gent from the Pecos
- 327 • Gents on the Lynch
- 347 • The Riot at Bucksnort
- 365 • While the Smoke Rolled
Miscellanea
- 385 • West Is West • (A handwritten homework assignment, got a C+)
- 387 • West Is West • (As published in The Tattler, 1922)
- 389 • Mayhem and Taxes • (originally untitled, unfinished)
- 399 • The Peaceful Pilgrim
- 417 • Letter: March 1, 1935 • (John F. Byrne to Viola Cooper)
- 419 • “Ring-Tailed Tornado” • (untitled synopsis)
- 421 • Draft of Letter: April 21, 1936 • (REH to Jack. Byrne)
- 423 • The Diablos Trail • (unfinished)
- 431 • “A Gent from the Pecos” • (untitled synopsis)
- 433 • “Gents on the Lynch” • (untitled synopsis)
- 435 • “While the Smoke Rolled” • (untitled synopsis)
Notes
Edited by Paul Herman and Rob Roehm.
All of the Howard stories contained in The Adventures of Breckinridge Elkins, Volume 2, come from Howard’s original typescripts, except “A Elston to the Rescue” and “West is West.”
Sources for “A Elston to the Rescue” from first publication in Star Western, September 1936 (as “The Curly Wolf of Sawtooth”); and “West is West,” from first publication in The Tattler, December 22, 1922. “A Gent from Bear Creek” is taken from the OAK retype used for the American edition of the novel. A small number of stories survive only in partially complete final drafts; where necessary, missing text has been supplied from earlier drafts. These include “A Man-Eating Jeopard,” “The Riot at Bucksnort,” and “Mayhem and Taxes.”
NEW TO THIS EDITION: The original handwritten homework version of “West is West,” and the first draft of “The Riot at Cougar Paw.”
Ultimate Edition – print-on-demand
Volume 1
The 1st editions:
| Year : | March 2026 |
| Book No. : | None |
| Edition : | 2.0 Ultimate Edition |
| Format : | Hardcover with dust jacket |
| Pages : | xxii plus 438 |
| Cover : | Mark Wheatley |
| Illustrations : | None |
