Drag Harlan

Charles Alden Seltzer

Drag Harlan is a gunfighter with a fearsome reputation. He is known for his quickness with his guns. A mean, hard country man, he comes quite accidently by a dying man, Morgan. Morgan is cattleman and has left his ranch to his only daughter, Barbara. Seeing honesty in Harlans eyes, Morgan asks him to go to his daughter and protect her from fortune hunters. Thereafter Harlan establishes himself as the protector of Barbara Morgan and deals out punishment to the girls enemies through the lightning flash of drawn guns. A story filled with hard action, toughened cowboys, and sweeping romance from an American author of Westerns Charles Alden Seltzer who also wrote under the pseudonym Hiram Hopkins.

Firebrand Trevison

Charles Alden Seltzer, Charles Alden Seltzer

Charles Alden Seltzer was one of 20th century Americas most prolific authors, and his specialty was Westerns that were so popular in the country in the decades after the frontier had been completely settled. In addition to the books he wrote, Seltzer would have a role in dozens of films as well, making him one of the most instrumental figures in the genre. "Firebrand Trevison is a story about a ranch owner who runs afoul of a land grabber, both of whom are in love with the same girl, the daughter of a railroad owner. Firebrand Trevison is a different kind of cowboy. He stands up for what he believes in despite the law. When Corrigan tries to swindle all the local homesteaders from their land its Treviston who saves the day. Twists and turns in the plot keeps the reader guessing.

Square Deal Sanderson

Charles Alden Seltzer

First published in the year 1922, Square Deal Sanderson was written by one of twentieth centurys most prolific authors Charles Alden Seltzer. This novel was written in the Western genre of writing and marks the latters mastery in the genre. Mary, our heroine, is running the ranch alone waiting for her brother, whom she has not seen in years, to come and help as she is about to loose the ranch to the bad guys. Square Deal Sanderson was a son of the great uncultured primitive West. An old time cowboy, his code was the knightly code of a man of honor. For the sake of Mary, he braved successfully the persecution of a trio of land grabbers who had threatened to wrest her ranch from her. The story throbs with the excitement of the wild life of the range.

The Boss of the Lazy Y

Charles Alden Seltzer

The story concerns a complicated, angry, daredevil son, Calumet Marston, who returns to his boyhood homestead to find his hated father dead and a stranger, a woman named Betty, in charge. Her family had aided his father, and now she is "the boss". He also left a testimony which states that Calumet must give a practical demonstration of reform in character if he wants to inherit his fathers money, and Betty is the one to be the judge of that. Written in the style of the early writers of the modern western, this is a vivid story of the depths to which any person can sink without discipline, charity and love. A classic story that is considered to be Seltzers best work with action and romance trailing at every turn.

The Coming of the Law

Charles Alden Seltzer

Charles Alden Seltzer (15 August 18759 February 1942) was an American writer. He was a prolific author of western novels, had writing credits for more than a dozen film titles, and authored numerous stories published in magazines, most prominently in Argosy. The Coming of the Law is a story of a young eastern newspaper man who goes West to a small town, and takes charge of a run-down newspaper, fights against an association of cattle rustlers for the benefit of the small ranchers, and wins. The hero is very much of a hero and manages to keep the peace and do justice without using his revolver. A little above the average of western stories, interesting, very exciting in parts and with some good local color. This is a western as only Seltzer could write it.

The Ranchman

Charles Alden Seltzer

In the style of the early writers of the modern western, the Charles Alden Seltzer paints a vivid story of the depths to which any person can sink without discipline, charity and love. This is one of the best Seltzers work. He wrote his westerns from the experience of living on his uncles ranch in New Mexico. Seltzers best works also include The Two-Gun Man, The Boss of the Lazy Y, etc. Many of his novels were turned into Hollywood movies. The Ranchman is a rootin-tootin western love story. Non-stop action, good guys and bad guys, and no shortage of gun-fighting to keep you guessing until the end whether the hero will actually get the girl. A real page turner, with action and romance trailing at every turn.

The Range Boss

Charles Alden Seltzer

In this 1916 western by American writer Charles Alden Seltzer, Ruth Harkness inherits a western ranch from her uncle. Rex Randerson plays the central role as her range boss and rescuer. Randerson meets her on her arrival, rescues her from a mired buckboard and is devotedly in love with her from that moment. Ruth however is engaged to Willard Masten who comes west as a member of her party. Masten who is a double dyed villain finds companions of his own caliber in Chavis and Pickett two typical bad men and there is much gun play before the story comes to an end with Ruth and her range boss happy in their mutual love and understanding. Seltzers Western novels are jam-packed with action, adventure, and romance.

The Trail Horde

Charles Alden Seltzer

If you enjoy the works of Charles Alden Seltzer then we highly recommend The Trail Horde for your book collection. A classic story that is considered to be Seltzers best work with action and romance trailing at every turn. After losing a ranch, a lone man battles against the rustlers and cattle thievin sidewinders who had grabbed the spread. Plot twists and detailed explanations of characters thoughts and motivations. Charles Alden Seltzer was one of the most successful and prolific Western writers of his day. His books are now lauded for their authenticity, and were widely reprinted and translated during his lifetime, and for several decades after. A number of his novels were adapted for the screen beginning in the silent-film era.

The Trail to Yesterday

Charles Alden Seltzer

Originally published in 1913, it was one of the earliest works of Western fiction by Charles Alden Seltzer and played a significant role in popularizing that genre. A story of the Old West in which an American girl from the East finds herself confronted with a strange type of man dwelling in the shadow of an ancient grudge. Dakota, the man, first convinces her that he is a brute beyond redemption and then gradually wins her back to the belief in his own essential manliness. Before this happens, however, there has been an attempted bribe, an attempted murder that seems the response to the bribe and a wild ride through the night, that ends at Dakotas shack. Highly recommended for lovers of Western fiction.

The Two-Gun Man

Charles Alden Seltzer

Along with Zane Grey and William MacLeod Raine, Charles Alden Seltzer is remembered today as an originator of whats often called the formula western. In it, a cowboy hero, who is fast with a gun, meets and subdues a vicious villain and who also wins the heart and hand of a pretty sweetheart. The Two-Gun Man has all these elements firmly in place. It is set at an unspecified time in the open ranges of the Southwest, somewhere in the neighborhood of Raton and Cimarron, New Mexico. Rustlers are stealing Two Diamond cattle, and the manager is fit to be tied. The range boss claims its the neighbor, but theres no proof. Everyone finds the neighbors sister desirable, but she finds everyone tedious. Will lies, jealousy, double dealing, and maybe even a cold-blooded killing keep Ned Ferguson from uncovering the truth?