Jean of the Lazy A: Classic Western Fiction

by B.M. Bower

Without going into a deep, psychological discussion of the elements in men's souls that breed events, we may say with truth that the Lazy A ranch was as other ranches in the smooth tenor of its life until one day in June, when the finger of fate wrote bold and black across the face of it the word that blotted out prosperity, content, warm family ties,—all those things that go to make life worth while. Jean, sixteen and a range girl to the last fiber of her being, had gotten up early that morning and had washed the dishes and swept, and had shaken the rugs of the little living-room most vigorously. On her knees, with stiff brush and much soapy water, she had scrubbed the kitchen floor until the boards dried white as kitchen floors may be. She had baked a loaf of gingerbread, that came from the oven with a most delectable odor, and had wrapped it in a clean cloth to cool onthe kitchen table. Her dad and Lite Avery would show cause for the baking of it when they sat down, fresh washed and ravenous, to their supper that evening. I mention Jean and her scrubbed kitchen and the gingerbread by way of proving how the Lazy A went unwarned and unsuspecting to the very brink of its disaster.

Genres: Westerns, Historical Fiction

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1915

About the author

Bertha Muzzy Sinclair or Sinclair-Cowan, née Muzzy, best known by her pseudonym B. M. Bower, was an American author who wrote novels, fictional short stories, and screenplays about the American Old West. Her works, featuring cowboys and cows of the Flying R Ranch in Montana, reflected "an interest in ranch life, the use of working cowboys as main characters (even in romantic plots), the occasional appearance of eastern types for the sake of contrast, a sense of western geography as simultaneously harsh and grand, and a good deal of factual attention to such matters as cattle branding and bronc busting.

Born Bertha Muzzy in Otter Tail County, MN and living her early years in Big Sandy, Montana, she was married three times: to Clayton Bower, in 1890; to Bertrand William Sinclair,(also a Western author) in 1912; and to Robert Elsworth Cowan, in 1921. Bower's 1912 novel Lonesome Land was praised in The Bookman magazine for its characterization. She wrote 57 Western novels, several of which were turned into films.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final book I will complete in 2016 and it was great fun. Yet another in my list of Bower titles, this one appealed to me for many reasons, one of which is that I used to know a horse named Lazy A. No relation to the ranch in the title, but every time I read the ranch name, I thought of that pinto horse I knew. He was stubborn, not too bright, refused to stand tied without pitching a fit, and also refused to go anywhere without his best buddy, a horse named Mule. Lazy A was pretty, and very popular with the young wannabe cowboys who visited the dude ranch, but he also knew
exactly how to behave when any of us wranglers mounted up, so I have happy memories of him.

Anyway, enough about my phantom pinto pony. To the story! Bower had written movie scripts; she was friends with Tom Mix and Gary Cooper, and she used her knowledge of the Hollywood movie-making business as inspiration for story lines in a few novels. This one and the next two on my list, according to Wiki.

So here's the scene: The Lazy A is the home ranch of Jean and her father, with Uncle Carl running the ranch next door. One day a man is found shot dead in the kitchen at the Lazy A, and Jean's father is condemned to eight years in prison for the crime. But did he really do it? And if not, who did? At first I thought the entire story would revolve around these questions, but we skip ahead to three years after the trial and find that while Jean is still convinced of her father's innocence, she does not know what to do next in her search for proof. She only knows that she has to do something to sort out not only the murder but the reason that her Uncle Carl now owns the Lazy A ranch.

While thinking about all of this one day she rides right into the middle of some men rustling cattle. Having grown up on the ranch, and during the last three years learning more than ever about how to handle herself Montana style (thanks to Lite Avery, cowboy and Our Hero) she confronts the men and discovers Hollywood. She had ridden into a movie scene! From here on Jean deals not only with a mysterious snooper in the night, but also with the unusual world of movie making.

Does Jean turn 'Hollywood' herself? Does she forget about her goal of getting the ranch back and proving her father's innocence? Will she ever know as much about Lite Avery Our Hero as she should? (I didn't like him at first, but by the end I would have been willing to fight Jean for him!)

This was an interesting read, slightly different from the usual Bower, but still a good comfy story, and a very satisfying way to finish off my official reading for the year.

[Larry Piper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jean Douglas lives on a ranch out in Montana (I think). Partially under the tutelage of ranch hand, Lite Avery, she learns to ride and rope as well as anyone. One day, her father, Aleck Douglas, comes home to find that someone has been shot and left for dead on their kitchen floor. The local sherif decides that Aleck did the shooting and hauls him off to prison. Jean is sure that he is innocent and seeks to find ways to help exonerate her father.

Along the way, Jean comes upon a film company who are trying to make movies of goings on in the "wild west". The director, Robert Grant Burns, sees that Jean is the real deal in terms of riding and roping, so hires her, initially, as a stunt double, then later on, casts her in various roles. So, she has fun becoming a film star, but misses her ranch and her father and eventually, she and Lite, track down someone who would actually be able to exonerate her father, and they all live happily ever...or something.

I rather liked this book, so I append a plus to my *** rating.

[Christine Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Surprising Good Read

My grandma read this book back in the 1930s and mentioned it in her journal, so I thought, as a way of connecting with her, I'd give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised being an older fashioned story. It's a story of a girl, her father, and a good, loyal ranch hand. A murder mystery, an interesting twist of fate for the girl that, at first glance, you might think had nothing to do with the first part of the story, a distraction. But the writer eventually ties it all in and satisfactorily resolved for the reader, albeit part of the resolution was tragic. A lite, curl up next to a fire kind of read. A book appropriate for girls as young as 14.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was B. M. Bower’s 15th novel, and like her The Phantom Herd a year later, it draws on her knowledge of the movie business. Sixteen-year-old Jean Douglas, the title character, is a no-nonsense daughter of a Montana rancher, Aleck Douglas, who in the opening chapters is wrongly found guilty of murder and sent to prison. With the help of a ranch hand, Lite Avery, she spends the rest of the novel finding the real killer.

Help also comes in the form of a movie company from Hollywood, which hires her as the stunt double for the leading lady of an action-packed western. Able to ride, rope, and shoot with ease, Jean also contributes ideas for making the film more realistic. Before long she is dreaming up scenarios for a Perils of Pauline-style serial, with herself in the starring role...

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