Glorious: A Novel of the American West

Cash McLendon #1

by Jeff Guinn

New York Times-bestselling author of The Last Gunfight, Jeff Guinn turns his eye for evocative detail and history to a sweeping novel of the Old West, weaving a compelling tale of life in the Arizona Territory in 1872.

We’ve all got mistakes in our past we’d rather forget.

Cash McLendon has always had an instinct for self-preservation, one that was honed by an impoverished childhood and life with an alcoholic father barely scraping by on the streets of Saint Louis in 1872. He’s always had a knack for finding and capitalizing on the slightest opportunities, choosing the path of financial security over happiness or real friends. He eventually builds himself up from a Saint Louis street urchin to the son-in-law and heir apparent to industrial mogul Rupert Douglass. Though it lacks passion, his life seems securely set: a wife, a career, property, standing.

But when tragedy strikes, all of his plans and his entire future dissolve in an instant. McLendon’s instinct for survival kicks in; he flees Saint Louis, and Douglas assigns his enforcer, an ominous skull-cracker with steel-toed boots, to track him down.

With nothing to lose, McLendon attempts to reconcile with an old flame—a woman he was nearly engaged to but put aside in exchange for the life now in shambles. He heard through the grapevine that she and her father moved their dry-goods store out west, to a speck-on-the-map mining town named Glorious, in the Arizona Territory. There, McLendon tries to win her back, and in the process discovers a new way of life at the edge of the final American frontier. But he can’t outrun his past forever. . . . 

Genres: Westerns, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Action, Novels, Adult Fiction

408 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 6, 2014

About the author

Jeff Guinn is a former journalist who has won national, regional and state awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, and literary criticism.

Guinn is also the bestselling author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction including, but not limited to: Go Down Together: The True Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde (which was a finalist for an Edgar Award in 2010); The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral - and How It Changed the West; Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson; and The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple.

Jeff Guinn is a member of the Texas Institute of Letters, and the Texas Literary Hall of Fame. He appears as an expert guest in documentaries and on television programs on a variety of topics.

Guinn lives in Fort Worth, Texas.

Reviews

[Paul E · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a huge "Western" novel genre man, but I get this book at Barnes and Nobel (hard cover) for $3.99 It started out ok, a little dull but ok. It grew into more dullness and tedium but it was ok. The characters were undefined (I was at page 200 and I could not remember any of the characters names). But still it was ok. After half way through I started reading just the beginnings of paragraphs (did not lose any elements of the plot or story). The characters were all very shallow and morally lost. There never was a climax in the story. And even though I'm almost finished I still was going to give it a 2.5 rating which I generally mark as a 3. but the ending was so utterly ridiculous and completely unrealistic (might as well been an alien martian man or woman coming down to save the day) I came away feeling 'What a Waste of Time!' 2 stars is freaking generous! Now I know why this hard cover book was under 4 bucks!

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have mentioned many times before how much of a fan of Westerns that I am. Thus the reason that I was excited to get a copy of this book back when it was released. However when I started reading it, I was not feeling it as much as I had hopes for. So I stopped reading the book and forgot about it until recently. Thus I picked the book up again to start reading it. I only read a few more chapters before I put the book down but this time for good. There was nothing exciting about it or the people in it. The story seemed to move along slowly and the old world of Arizona was not given much details. Which I was most looking forward to.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Total disclosure: I am not a fan of Old West stuff. I jumped at the chance to interview Jeff Guinn because I loved "Manson" so much. But I read "Glorious" so I could at least say I read it and not insult him.

Boy, am I ever glad I read it. I love it! Cash McLendon is now one of my favorite protagonists -- an heroic but flawed fellow. The women in the book are some of the strongest you'll ever meet -- especially Chinese immigrant Sydney "Doc" Chau. What a gutsy broad she is!!

I can honestly say that, although the ending was totally satisfying, I didn't want it to be over. I could have read about these people and the little town of Glorious for a whole lot longer. Luckily for me, at least Cash McLendon will be back.

You can hear my interview with Jeff Guinn here:
http://annehollidaysbookblog.blogspot...

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a goodreads firstreads winner of the book "Glorious:A Novel of the American West" This turned out to be a pretty good book. It takes place mostly in the 1870s. the main character is Cash McLendon. He grew up poor always having to find a way to survive. some of the choices he made for survival while growing up involved betraying those who trusted him. When He meets Rupert Douglas a wealthy Industrialist, he is taken in eventually forced to marry Mr.Douglases daughter. a tragedy happens and McLendon must leave. He ends up in Glorious a small town in Arizona territory. He wants to find Gabrielle a young woman he knew and cared about in St. Louis where he grew up. He had heard that Gabrielle, his former girlfriend has moved to Glorious with her father. Most of the book takes place in Glorious a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. McLendon quickly makes friends with the town people, also hoping to rekindle a romance with Gabrielle.
A lot more goes on in this book. many prospectors arrive to try and find silver that is rumored to be in the area. A wealthy man by the name of MacPherson, a greedy wealthy man who intends on taking over the tiny town of Glorious. add to this some colorful characters from the town.the rumor of apache Indians being nearby. this makes for a good story. I like Historical books that take place in different eras. Jeff Guinn gives a good description of what the town of Glorious may have been like during the 1870s. A interesting read with good characters.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Jeff Guinn’s non-fiction work ever since I read Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde, his informative and exceedingly readable account of the Barrow Gang. When I saw he had written a couple of western fiction tales I wanted to try them so now I have.

If this first one is a true indicator of the rest of the series, I can emphatically say, I will be reading every book in the series, and any other fiction he decides to produce in the future. Jeff Guinn is a knowledgeable guy, a researcher extraordinaire with the nonfiction credits to prove it. It certainly shows up in his fiction as well. While the town of Glorious, Arizona is fictional it bears all the markings of a wannabe silver mining bonanza town. They haven’t struck silver yet, but the handful of town founders have put everything in their hopes and dreams.

The plot features Cash McLendon, a man on the run who makes the journey from St. Louis to Glorious, AZ Territory in 1872, chasing after a girl, a lost love. We’re not sure what he is running from in the opening pages, but we do get a nice flashback sequence later on that thoroughly grounds him in our hearts and minds. When he arrives in Glorious, he meets an oddball bunch of characters, and it is clear he doesn’t belong there. A true fish out of water, Cash has never held a gun or ridden a horse, but he does have that sense of stick-to-itiveness that is characteristic of the people of the West. As the novel unfolds, Cash, as well as us readers, come to love these townspeople and all their foibles. So, when the danger comes in the form of a prosperous power-hungry rancher intent on becoming lord of the territory and all its potential silver deposits, we genuinely fear for the townspeople’s futures.

I really enjoyed this one. Unlike many of today’s readers, I read a lot of westerns and have experienced the entire range of the genre, from literary masterpieces like Lonesome Dove to the adult westerns like Longarm and Edge, to the latest potboiler yarn by the current house name authors. This one falls somewhere in between. It has some action but leans more toward the slow build-up of suspense rather than full-on 6-shooter action. The real draw is the charm of the town of Glorious and its realistic, if sometimes quirky, characters. Real life characters make an appearance too, most notably Ike Clanton who plays a major role. Cash McLendon is a wonderful character, a man who learns to know what it is that he really wants from life, working toward it, making mistakes along the way, and still finding ways to take the nobler path even when it conflicts with his own goals.

The end of the novel leaves Cash and everybody else in a precarious situation so I need to procure book two pronto. Greatly looking forward to reading it and the rest of the series.

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing book. This book had interesting characters and decent plot but it didn't come together for me. It was predictable and slow paced. I did finish reading the book, but my heart wasn't in it. Recently I had read Larry McMurtry's book The Last Stand Saloon, which was sooooo much better.

[Karyn Niedert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was provided the opportunity to read "Glorious" by Jeff Guinn by Goodreads, and wish to thank them and the author/publisher for this book.


Genre: Western/Historical Fiction

Series: Standalone (as of May 2014)

Summary: Cash McLendon is a self-serving gent, having grown up poor and neglected by an alcoholic father in 1870’s St. Louis. His love for beautiful and smart Gabrielle is abandoned when he is offered the chance to marry into a wealthy family. A tragic accident befalls the newlyweds, and Cash flees St. Louis before he’s forced into an early grave.

Cash drifts west, hoping to reconnect with Gabrielle. He finds her in a dusty little bump in the road called Glorious in Arizona Territory. Cash attempts to win her back, making good friends and dangerous enemies which threaten Cash’s chance at happiness and the livelihood of all the good folks in Glorious. In trying to be a better man, Cash finds that doing the right thing might be the end of him yet.

Review and Opinion: “Glorious” swept me right into the story from the first page. Guinn set an ominous tone early on, and it was easy to envision 1870’s St. Louis and the dusty Western frontier. His character development of Cash McLendon continued throughout the book, making him an unlikely hero but a likeable character nonetheless. Readers will enjoy the banter between McLendon and the supporting characters. Guinn did a very good job in creating McLendon as a flawed human being who learned from his mistakes.

Glorious is described beautifully as a harsh outpost in the American West. The townspeople and prospectors are drawn out in vivid words, and by the time the story ends, readers will feel as if they have made some good friends in this frightening but exciting town. Although I’m not a huge fan of Westerns, I really did enjoy this book and plan to read Jeff Guinn’s other novels.

FYI: Other books by Jeff Guinn

Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson

Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde

The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral-And How It Changed the American West

The Autobiography of Santa Claus

How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas

Our Land Before We Die

[Esme · Rating 2 out of 5]

I eagerly sought this out because I enjoyed Guinn's masterful nonfiction, unfortunately his talents did not translate to this novel. This book was slow to start, and plodded along without much of note happening. First I was a hundred pages into it, and thinking the villain he had fled from in St. Louis would should surely show up soon, then I was two hundred pages into it, thinking the same. Then I get to the climax and it seemed constructed solely to set up a sequel, so I felt cheated, and I am certainly not going to spend another 300+ pages churning the same ground like a luckless prospector hoping for a pay out, I'm going to cut my losses right here.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

This guy is not "the next Louis L'Amour." Protagonist was slow and dim-witted. Guinn had no flair for the beautiful countryside, prose was flat, conversations peppered with gratuitous cursing. The ending was unimaginative in the extreme, like the author hit his contracted number of pages and speed writing. No wrapping up any storylines. L'Amour could tell a vibrant story and know how to end it, with very colorful characters without extensive profanity.

[William Howle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a tiresome book and if I was not so stubborn, would have stopped halfway through. The book drags on and the ending leaves you hanging. I am a fan of western books and this is a sad excuse. I understand a sequel has been written, the cover praise falls into the category of "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me" therefore no sequel for me.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A traditional western with a solid focus on the characters and their relationships as they build a new community on the frontier.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glorious isn't exactly a western. It also isn't exactly a historical novel. It just happens to be a novel set in the American West. It defies solid categorization. Still, it is a really good novel. It has the flavor of the American west (with some exception for how often the author chooses to have characters drop F-bombs-- not an unknown word, just not used to the extent the author chooses to do so!)

Cash (odd choice of a name) is a poor boy, making ends meet in St. Louis. He often makes excuses for his father, a drunk, who frequently misses work due to his alcoholism. Eventually, Cash takes on work at a factory and promptly becomes an informant for the owner-- ratting out his fellow employees when they speak of union organizing. Eventually, he moves up to other responsibilities and goes to work for a wealthy man doing much the same work. He becomes a persuader-- and eventually marries the daughter- while shunning the real love of his love, the daughter of an Italian immigrant. An incident occurs that causes his wife to die through his negligence. Sadly, the father blames him and plots revenge. This revenge is to be meted out by a leg breaker, a violent man with steel-toed boots dubbed "Killer Boots." Eventually, he goes west to the town where his love has relocated in hopes of winning her back.

Glorious is a construct of the author's imagination. It is somewhat based on the historical Tombstone, is in Arizona... There he finds and befriends people.

The one element of historical novel introduced is the presence of the Clantons. Ike Clanton is portrayed as a far more intelligent person than his real-life counterpart actually was. This was the one real sore point of the story for me. Ike Clanton as something more than the dull-witted, follower just didn't ring true to me.

Cash eventually uncovers a plot to take over the town-- and the author creates a cleverly plotted scheme that I thoroughly enjoyed. Everytime the townspeople figure out a way to block him they are thwarted and outwitted.

Guinn builds a good story, advances it with quality plotting, and brings it to a satisfying conclusion that is unpredictable. In fact, he sets it up for Cash to have more adventures in the American West, and I have the next installment ready to follow up.

This is a wonderful novel, worth reading. Falls short of being fantastic, but is really very, very, good!

[Alex Weirich · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Glorious is a good book about the Wild West. Cash McLendon is the main character of the book. He is the son of an alcoholic and he had a difficult life. He grew up on the streets in St. Louis, Missouri. When he got older he made himself a success and met and married the daughter of an important and very rich man named Rupert Douglass. Something very bad happens and Cash runs away to the West after finding out an old girlfriend and her father have a store in a small mining town. He tries to hide out there, but Rupert Douglass and his men go searching for him.


I think this is a good book for young adults to read as it has action, drama, and adventure. If you like stories that involve the Wild West and suspense, this is the book for you. It has great locations and paints a good picture of what the mining towns and the settlement of the Old West was really like. The characters are very interesting and played a great role in the story and bringing the West to life.

[Doug Hauser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I happened along to this Book by accident. I have been reading C.J. Box's "Joe Pickett" books and was in between books so I browsed up and down the rows of local library and stumbled across "Glorious" and am glad I did. I will admit that chose it at least partially because of the jacket cover, so marketing does matter LOL. The reason I'm writing this review is because I found the book to be one of the best fictional books that I've read in a long time. It reminded me a lot of "Lonesome Dove" because of the how the author really brought the character to live by exploring them greatly. I was kind of upset at the ending until I found out that two more books in the series are available. I look forward to reading them both.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard for me to choose a star rating for this western. It has a pretty typical plot: small town in a territory has trouble with big businessman who wants to take over; outsider shows up and finds himself helping out. The writing is a little clunky at times. It's full of misogyny and casual racism, and there is a charactery with a learning disability who is misused. That's all typical for the 1880s, which is when this novel takes place, but it was still icky to read. However, I did enjoy it. I thought of it as an easy fluff read for when my brain needed a break. I really like westerns, and this is a decent one. I'm going to check out the next one in the series.

[Jason Wills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Glorious is not written poorly, but it had a few components that I didn’t like.

Even the most naive protagonist should begin to learn something through their experiences. It seemed as if all protagonists were incredibly naive and constantly making choices that put them into increasing danger.

I won’t give details to avoid spoilers, but I felt quite a few plot points were weak.

I like good westerns, but although this was an attempt to describe a realistic western town, I think it misses the mark.

[Jane Comer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cash McLendon escapes to the Arizona terriotory after his wife, the daughter of his boss a prominent, businessman in St. Louis, dies accidentally. Cash takes a stage to Glorious, Arizona a very small settlement catering to prospectors looking for silver. None has been found; so there are only four establishments in the town, but one is a dry goods store run by McLendon's former girlfriend. He goes to Glorious to try to win her back. The story reveals the extreme hardships suffered by prospectors and others in the early 1870s.

[Mal Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I did like the story as a whole, this book left me wanting to find a Louis L'Amour title that I've not yet read. Given the time period, and his previous history, one would think that the main character would be more adaptable to western living. Also, the trap that was sprung at the end didn't seem totally plausible when you take into account all that had gone before. Down the road I may wish to dive into the sequel and see what happens next to Cash McClendon. We shall see.

[Edward Sanchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never thought I would hear the terms vaquero and references to Culloden Moor in the same book but low and behold here it is! I didn't like the ending too much as I felt that the town characters would have reacted in the way they did and the left field appearance of someone from earlier in the story. The character introductions were great and I enjoyed the battle of wits between the town folks and the Culloden ranch.

[Bob Grant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not terribly exciting and no feel of a western saga like Lonesome Dove. Seemed to have limited plot lines. Character development was ok. Maybe setting up for the sequel. I haven’t decided if I was hooked enough to read it. I’m guessing the author probably does better at non fiction. I’ll probably try one of them first.

[Randy Wambold · Rating 2 out of 5]

A ham fisted book just shy of unreadable. For some reason it kept reminding me of Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer - which I read to impress a girlfriend 30 yrs ago and found preposterously bad. Glorious' characters feel like wooden cut outs and the plot "twists" are so obvious I began to wonder if I was supposed to see them coming. I am a big fan of literary westerns and there are so many good ones out there, and ones I'm still discovering, I wish I hadn't come across this book and felt obligated to finish it. Two stars only because I did somehow manage to stay with it and finish.

[MAYO · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel's nothing but a good ol' Western! The storyline gives you the chance to feel what it was like living in a rugged frontier community trying to make something of itself. It has the quintessential mix of suspense, adventure, and outlaw appeal. I'm excited to read the other two books in this trilogy!

[Cody Ponsler · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Western I’ve read (fiction) and there will be many more. Really felt the towns struggle and am ok that everything wasn’t neatly tied up. McClendon wasn’t going to get a happy ending and the people of Glorious only delayed their fate. Only slight complaint is the climax was a little rushed. Still loved it.

[Brian Krouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huh, an interesting read.

Let’s start with, I thought about the story a lot when I wasn’t reading it. I wanted to find out what was coming. I feel like the ending was to sudden though.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Guinn's biographical work and not much of a Western fan but I'm glad I gave this a shot. The story meanders but it was a nice world to meander in. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting approach to examining the characters in Arizona in the late 1800s. The characters were believable, and the plot kept me trying to figure out the next twist. There are sure to be more stories about Cash McLendon, and I'll be looking for them.

[Christina Farr-Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

horribly boring. very slow.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

A very good book. Hope McLendon will be cleared of the charges.

Can't wait to read Buffalo Trail!!!!

[Joel Lantz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was such a great book right up to the last page. Nothing like finishing a book and having absolutely no idea what becomes of most of the characters.

[Michael Marcela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written. A bit slow at the start but engaging nonetheless. Enjoyed it!