The novel of the American West

John R. Milton

The chief concern of this study is what the author calls the capital W Western novel -- the serious work of literature which is as well written and as significant as the major novels of any other region, but which has gone relatively unnoticed or has been misunderstood by critics because it has been confused generically with the lowercase w western: the popular, formula western hacked out for the mass market. - Jacket flap.