A Gent from Bear Creek

by Robert E. Howard, Tim Kirk (Illustrator)

Hillbilly Breckenridge Elkins tells of his quiet life, fighting in the neighborhood. "A Gent from Bear Creek" is the title of both an original short story, and a novel created by combining several already published short stories with new material. Published stories were altered a little to create chapters with a continuous story line.
Chapters are:
1 Striped Shirts and Busted Hearts (new)
2 Mountain Man
3 Meet Cap'n Kidd (new)
4 Guns of the Mountains
5 A Gent from Bear Creek
6 The Feud Buster
7 The Road to Bear Creek
8 The Scalp Hunter
9 Cupid from Bear Creek
10 The Haunted Mountain
11 Educate or Bust (new)
12 War on Bear Creek
13 When Bear Creek Came to Chawed Ear (new).

Genres: Westerns, Pulp, Fiction, Short Stories, Humor, Adventure, Fantasy

223 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 4, 1937

About the author

Robert Ervin Howard was an American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. Howard wrote "over three-hundred stories and seven-hundred poems of raw power and unbridled emotion" and is especially noted for his memorable depictions of "a sombre universe of swashbuckling adventure and darkling horror."

He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.

—Wikipedia

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book by Howard that was published; it appeared in England a year after his death. It's hard to believe that the man known for creating so many iconic adventure and fantasy characters first book was a humorous Western. It's a fix-up novel comprised of thirteen stories that flow from one to the next, all featuring Breckenridge Elkins, a bigger-than-life tall-tales character like Paul Bunyan or Pecos Bill. The stories appeared in Action Stories magazine 1934-1936 and were slightly revised for the book publication. Howard's sense of humor is on full charge and display, though there are some excellent action scenes and clever plotting. It's very different from his usual fare, but quite amusing.

[Rodrigo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divertidas historias sobre el "oso" de Bear creek, que personaje, jaja.
Muy entretenido. Recomendable para desconectar de otras lecturas mas tediosas.

[Димитър Цолов · Rating 5 out of 5]

Томчето включва девет хумористични уестърн разказа, публикувани в списание Action Stories в интервала 1934-1936 и издадени година след смъртта на Робърт Хауърд (1937) в Англия, вече обединени хронологично под заглавието на един от тях - A Gent from Bear Creek.

Прави впечатление, че в българското издание са отпаднали четири от общо тринадесетте оригинални истории, а преводът е от руското Джентльмен с Медвежьей речки, Янус, 1992... При все това Наташа Стоянова, упомената като преводач, е свършила прилична работа.

Да се върнем на книжлето. Стилът е ярък и жизнерадостен, точно както тръби задната корица, а аз бих добавил, че притежава и един Барон Мюнхаузевски размах. Героят Брекенридж Елкинс може да изпие десетки литри с царевично уиски, да разруши солидна дървена постройка с голи ръце, да отнесе ята от сачми и куршуми, без това по никакъв начин да се отрази на боеспособността му. То се знае, не е особено интелигентен, но спазва собствен планински кодекс на честта, думата му на две не става, а лошите хора, имали неблагоразумието да се озоват на пътя му, ще си изпатят подобаващо... През цяото повествование върви и една небрежно загатната романтична нишка и Брек ще свърши куп глупости в опити да впечатли дамата на сърцето си Глория... Действието се води от първо лице, похват, който много харесвам, но до момента май не бях срещал при Хауърд. Историите, макар и лековато-наивни, без съмнение умишлено търсен от автора ефект, са изключително забавни, с хитроумни обрати, идеални за разпускане в напрегнатото ежедневие. Определено харесах!

[Иван Иванов]

Превод от руски??? Мислех, че този номер сме го оставили в 90-те години. Иначе похвално е желанието да се издадат непреведените неща на Хауърд, но ако няма да го правите като хората, по-добре недейте!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are humorous stories set in the West as told in the fast-paced style of Robert E. Howard. The hero of the stories is the enormous mountain man Breckinridge Elkins of Bear Creek, Nevada. Being a big, dumb man, he gets into a lot of trouble, but his mighty strength saves him time after time.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is humorous. The 'gent' is an ignorant, somewhat dim, bumbling, super strong hillbilly. He means well, but just seems to stumble into trouble. Only his great strength, a smart girl friend (who's usually mad at him) & a lot of good fortune manage to get him out. I love the book & chuckle my way through it every few years. My wife's opinion of my sense of humor is pretty poor (warped, childish, low) though, so your mileage may vary.

[Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A long time ago my grandpa handed me a copy of this book and said, "Boy, when i get so fed up with the world and with all the stupid people in it i take this book, hop in the van, go out to the campground and laugh an laugh."

There are very few things in this world that speak to my own personal sense of humor as strongly as this book does. Hulking oafish protagonist who thinks hes refined? Check. Popeye the Sailor style conflict resolution("Oh yeah? WHAM")? Check. Lighthearted shenanigans including but not limited to old timey boxing, drinkin contests and putting on fancy airs? Check.

What more could anyone possibly want

[Roman Kurys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who knew Robert Howard had written something other then “Conan”?

Well, I’m sure lots of people knew.(know).
I didn’t, so it caught my attention and I began reading it just because.

At first I was beyond confused. And then once it clicked it became really funny. Story is told from the perspective of Breckinridge Elkins who is not the brightest tool in the shed, but good at his core.
Much like Conan, he is a big, powerfully built guy, much like a grizzly bear who is all about drinking, fighting and his family.

The book is set in the West in the mountains so it does feel very much like a western, and since it’s really a collection of short stories it’s very easy to pick up and put down.

There isn’t much of a plot to this thing either, we just follow Breckinridge around his travels and enjoy his adventures while having a good laugh at what is happening. And many times the laugh is because of the absurdity of the things that are happening. And it gets pretty darn absurd.

Oh, a side note:
I’ve seen a few reviews of this published in other languages and it puzzled me. I cannot fathom how someone can translate this properly in any other language. This story is so distinctly American that a whole lot of the linguistic flavor could be lost in translation or lost on someone who is not familiar with this side of the world history. So I might pick up at some point a Ukrainian or a Russian translation of this just to see how it compares.

If you’re wondering: I’m not sure why I think of things like these while reading, or why I even add it to my review, for that matter. But here we are. I’ve written it and you’ve read it so there’s no turning back now.

All in all, I thought this was a solid read.
If you’re looking to break the monotony of your “I usually read xx” this is a good one to mess with.
Just be prepared for the quirkiness.


Roman

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely hilarious story about super hillbilly Breckenridge Elkins. His antics are unbelievable and he winds up in the most unlikely circumstances due to mistaken identity either on his part or about him

[East Bay J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been on a bit of a Robert E. Howard kick lately, rediscovering his work and enjoying his writing. I found A Gent From Bear Creek not long ago and, having enjoyed The Last Ride so much, I snapped it up.

I didn’t read Howard’s non-fantasy writing as a kid. I was pretty into and kept well busy with Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane, etc. Reading these other genres from Howard has done nothing if not impress the heck out of me.

The thing is, Howard was able to smoothly and successfully shift his writing style to match his stories. A Gent From Bear Creek is a fantastic example. These tall tale style of stories remind me of some of Twain’s writing, both in the easy flow of the writing and the humor. Breckinridge Elkins is a larger than life character, like so many that Howard brought to life. Unlike the others, however, Elkins is not a brooding, melancholy adventurer. Good natured and doing his best in life, Elkins gets into one devilish scrape after another. Maximum carnage and hilarity ensues and the reader is invited to join the fun. I’m just so impressed with Howard’s writing after reading A Gent From Bear Creek. It’s exciting to discover a previously unknown aspect of a favorite author’s writing.

I’d recommend this to anyone who likes tall tales, humorous writing or just a good, fun read.

[Phil Syphe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although best known for Conan the Barbarian, Robert E. Howard’s Brekinridge Elkins’ comedy westerns are my favourites.

The character of Elkins is laughable yet loveable. What he lacks in brains and common sense, he makes up for with heart and size. He’s as big as Conan, if not bigger, and neither man nor beast can equal him.

The general theme of an Elkins’ tale is that the gullible hero is asked to do someone a favour, which turns out to be a wild goose chase, resulting in Elkins causing mayhem at every step. We get a mixture of violence and conflict, all brushed with humour.

Howard isn’t renowned for comedy, yet I’ve not come across another writer who can equal his wit and timing. He beats all the well-known humourists by a long shot, in my opinion. There’re many laugh-out-loud moments, with very few dull ones.

The story “Mountain Man” is my favourite short – period. I did read this plus all but two stories in this collection previously, so I only read the couple that were new to me, namely the first and last ones.

Individually, I’ve rated these stories three, four, or five stars, but felt that collectively they deserve five stars for sure.

An hilarious read by a genius author.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best I have read by Robert E. Howard. I don't know who is responsible for editing this into a unified narrative, but it shows how *good* a Howard novel would have been if he had a real editor to work with as well. I don't know if the first British edition of this book is the same, and who edited that, though I do know it was the first book of Robert E. Howard's work that was published. Fantastic and fun. These stories constantly made me laugh. These are tall tales, where everything is larger than life, like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill. Will written and very amusing.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining listening 🎧

I listened to this as part of The Breckenridge Elkins Stories: Western Short Stories by Robert E. Howard. It is a classic western short story with a little romance, action, misdirection, and violence with great endings.

Robert E. Howard is one of my favorite authors. I started back in the 1960s reading Conan paper backs for like $0.10 each. I would highly recommend this author and his series. 2023

[Phil Syphe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The short tale features Breckenridge Elkins facing more wild goose chases and cross purposes.

There's the usual blend of comedy and action but, although I did like this tale, at times it felt lacking in some way.

[Анатолій Волков · Rating 3 out of 5]

Вот очередное повествование Р. Говарда о супермене, теперь в образе траппера, жителя Дикого Запада по имени Брекенридж Элкинс. Данный субъект немного отличается от медведя гризли, но говорят, что совсем немного, а по силе так и кажется вовсе его превосходит.
Этот роман собран из нескольких рассказов Р.Говарда (кажется, любимого жанра автора) и представляют из себя на редкость однотипных историй о человеке постоянно влипающим в передряги, но исключительно благодаря своей силе, скудоумию и удаче, постоянно выходящим сухим из воды. Говоря о том, что рассказы однотипные я имею в виду сюжет, просто автор в каждой истории повторяет одни и те же сюжетные ходы, меняя только действующие лица и иногда места.
1. Герой, сохнущий по местной красотке, получается от нее отворот-поворот в купе с мешком насмешек, грозится ей что докажет, что он парень хоть куда и отправляется на поиски хоть куда, это первая завязка рассказов.
2. Вторая завязка кто-нибудь из многочисленных родственников героя дает ему задание – пойти туда-то, принести то-то и наш герой бравым галопом бежит исполнять просьбу.
3. Герой по ходу дела постоянно хохмит какой он дескать джентльмен и какой добрый малый и что видели ущерб, нанесенный им людям и даже целым поселка это дело не его рук, а так получилось и вообще сами виноваты, чего это они под руку подвернулись.
4. Зачастую оказывается, что его боевые задания вообще не имеют смысла, например, отправляют его постоять за честь родственника, найти и обезвредить обидчика. Брекенридж находит и обезвреживает, но как правило не того и очень сильно, а потом оказывается, что и обезвреживать то никого не надо и что все напутали или попросту надули.
5. А вот надуть этого «джентльмена» смог бы и ребенок, вот уж где голова пуста как кочан гнилой капусты, не уважение делать суперменов и в то же время не наделять их зачатком сообразительности, смотреться они тогда будут убого (камень в сторону автора).
6. Наломав дров наш, герой оказывается в глубокой ж… Но легким росчерком пера автора и наделенный убойным везением, он выпутывается из своих бед, латает шкуру и вперед за новыми приключениями
Вот примерно из таких компонентов состоят все рассказы о Брекенридже Элкинсе, прочитав один вы поймете, о чем будет история в других. Причиною все бед/подвигов героя конечно же является женщина, не будь ее наш герой так и седел бы у себя на речке и ломал бы хребты медведям и кугуарам, но нет же шерше ля фам, мать ее за ногу.
Что радует в этом всем, так это довольно иногда забавный юмор, но даже он не спасает от чувства разочарования.
Что еще примечательно в рассказах Говарда так это то что они почти всегда оканчиваются хеппи-эндом, вот так и тут герои получат то что хотят, накажут злодеев и театральная постановка, а все происходящее напоминает сцены из шапито.

[Stuart Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breckinridge Elkins is the biggest, toughest man in the settlement of Bear Creek, located in the Humbolt Mountains of Nevada between the sprawling metropli of War Paint and Chawed Ear. He's twice as strong as on ox and nearly half as smart. These are his stories, which all revolve around his goal to marry Glory McGraw. And why not? There's not a gal in the whole Humbolt Mountain Range that is taller, can cook a b'ar steak better, or can swing an axe harder than Glory McGraw.

Breckinridge is basically the model for Mongo from "Blazing Saddles", if Mongo was bigger and stronger. Both of them can knock out a horse with one punch, and both of them get plumb mad when they get shot, except Breckinridge doesn't mind so much unless it's in the ear. "Nothing makes me madder than getting shot in the ear." Breckinridge is also more easy-going and perlite than Mongo, and there's 19 men who once said different who will now agree to that just as soon as their jawbones knit up enough for them to talk.

Breckinridge has a series of adventures on his insane horse Cap'n Kidd, mostly involving mistaken identity, which he generally resolves by breaking things and people, although one time he dispatches a room full of angry men by throwing a live cougar at them. He is also quite lucky. For instance, he avoids significant injury when falling off a wall by landing on the stone floor head first, thus not fracturing any important limbs.

These are stories printed in pulp magazines in the 1930's collected and rewritten as a connected novel. They are hilarious, and it's astounding that the same man who wrote Conan wrote these clownish antics. It's silly fun like Paul Bunyan or Br'er Rabbit or even Gargantua and Pantagruel. REH's use of fake slang is easy to read and quite funny, and example being when the preacher shows up "to join these two in the bonds of acrimony". Fake slang is usually jarring and unrealistic, but here as a comedy element it's spot on.

Good for many laughs and great escapist reading.

[William Corrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book and couldnt put it down. The adventures that Elkins gets into are bigger than life and the story telling is wholesome to the point where I plan to read this to my kids someday. Howard shows his capability for comedy with this one

[Michael Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel but actually 13 comedy stories of backwoods America. To use a saying, Elkins is as strong as an ox and almost as smart. He is uneducated, and gullible too, as shown in the last story where he is framed for a stagecoach robbery.
Glory McGraw of Bear Creek loves him but Elkins is too dumb to realise it, till she saves him from being hung by a lynch mob. His search for other women leads him to many troubles.
Elkins is said to be six feet six, but is probably taller, and is broad enough to be mistaken for a (brown) bear in low light.
In his many fights, he breaks bones and limbs and jaws as he mops up the floor with normal sized people. He is shot a number of times but ignores anything that is not fatal, and buckshot is just a minor nuisance to him. He can also smash through log cabin walls.
Early on he gains a horse that suits his great size. Cap'n Kidd is as outsized and as tough as his owner is, and is feared by other horses, cougars and other animals and will take a bite out of anything or anyone that gets too close to him.
This like all the other Howard stories is excellent and it is a choker that Howard committed suicide at age thirty, when he could have had maybe forty or more years of writing other books. Things got on top of him, notably a severely sick mother, who died the day after he shot himself.
Howard stopped writing stories for Weird Tales because the THIEVES there owed him so much money for his stories that they had published.
Frank Gruber in his book THE PULP JUNGLE tells of us that writers of the time struggled to get paid for the stories they wrote. A popular artist (whose names escapes me) had teeth drop out because he lived on cornflakes and water, all he could afford.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now, it’s right well known west of the Brazos, and east of it alser, that Robert E. H’ard is famous for his “Conan” stories, and they is mighty fine sword an’ sorcery stuff. But the one thing Conan ain’t got none of is a sense of hoomer. That ain’t the case with Breckenridge Elkins, a late 19th cent’ry hillbilly of Bear Creek, Nevada. These stories is funny, if’n you like these sorts of things. Elkins, who tells his tall tales hisself, is kinda like Jethro from “The Beverly Hillbillies” with the size an’ strength of L’il Abner. He is allus gettin’ hisself into one scrape after another, what with outlaws in disguise, an’ b’ars and poomers and sech. Breck Elkins is the biggest and strongest man in Bear Creek or even Chawed Ear, and he kin beat the bad guys with boulders or jest his fists. Chews a lotta ears, too. Most every story. Think of L’il Abner with blood. The connected stories in this here vollum is laid out like chapters and they do kinda tell one big tale with a happy endin’, though I won’t be doin’ no spoilers hyar. Robert E. H’ard writ this in the late 1930s and you kin see some of’em as like a B-movie comedy of the time, and it’s too bad they didn’t make movies of’em, although they’d be hard-pressed fer sure to find a hoss as big and wild as Breck’s hoss Cap’n Kidd. Sure would be nice to see Glory McGraw, with whom Breckenridge has a shall-we-say-stormy relashunship. Well worth a look, although I gotta say I’m takin’ a star off fer a few too many cases of mistook identity. I hope no one of Breckenridge Elkins’ kinfolk takes that amiss and comes fer me guns blazing and feet stompin’, fixin’ to chew my ear somethin’ awful.

[Derek · Rating 1 out of 5]

Last year I came into a quantity of Howard collections, in states ranging from "readable" to "nearly pristine". Sadly, this is one of the excellent-condition ones, leaving me in a quandary about whether to hold on to it as a collectable, or getting rid of it as a genre that I don't enjoy.

My interest was flickering with the humorous-western Pike Bearfield item in The Book of Robert E. Howard (Book 1), but swallowing an entire book length of the stuff was too much indigestion for me. Breckenridge Elkins is a lunkhead, and his adventures are the stuff of broad comedy, usually at his expense.

The "special illustrated edition" part of it is a total of two interior illustrations.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shows us that Robert Howard had a sense of humor too.
Breckinridge Elkins is a good nartured, super strong, knucklehead of a hillbilly who wants nothing more than to hunt, fish and court his girl, but life just seems to get complicated when he gets dragged into helping his various friends and family members or interacting with the 'civilized folk'.

Lots of comedic misunderstandings and catoony fight scenes. Kind of reminds me of 'Lil Abner'.

[Danns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only one chapter left! I'm reading this book before bed to the wife and e are both loving it. The stories suck you in and are full of just outrageous humor. I know after chapter 14 we're both going to be wishing for more. REH truly proves his ability to spin a yarn with these tales of Beckinridge Elkins from B'ar Creek!

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

While amusing, I soon grew tired of the constant effort to translate the main characters words into everyday English. It's not a great story, more of a mildly amusing tale of the adventures of a big, strong, dumb hillbilly and the sticky situations he gets into. It's OK, but nothing to compare to Howard's other books.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes me laugh every time I re-read it. The best book of its kind if there is such a category. Written from the prospective of an unejecated mountin he-bearcat in his own native tongue: "There warn't no use in him bellyaching like he done...I dunno how he expects to get throwed into a blackjack thicket without getting some hide knocked off."

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of Howard's humorous westerns featuring Breckinridge Elkins. I do enjoy the stories, but they'll never be as interesting to me as Howard's fantasy and horror, nor as his serious westerns.

[Javier Lobo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Algo diferente a lo que el maestro Howard nos tiene acostumbrados, pero muy divertido, con momentos de acción en la mejor línea del autor, con giros imprevistos, una trama ágil e hilarante.
Pese a ser un fiel seguidor de su Conan, esta obra no me decepcionó en absoluto.
Muy recomendable.

[Jay Daze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny gent! Completely different from Conan, except for all the violence...

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

my dad said this was a good book. personally i have not read it.
but in the middle of no where he would just start busting out laughing.
where can i find it at?

[Tom Nittoli · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic time! I can't wait to buy my own copy of this book when I got to Powell's in April!

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manages to transcend pulpy rabble-rousing with strength of character.
Despite Breckinridge Elkins' oafish ignorance and his proclivity for solving problems with violence (as he has no other tools), he is always the best man in the room.
It's a nice lesson that unusual intelligence is not a prerequisite for greatness.
The story mocks the notion that blood is thicker than water as Breckinridge is hardly able to live his own life--thanks to the relentless demands of his family and the lie that he owes them something simply for bearing him.
It's hilarious, in large part thanks to the first person perspective, which gives a distorted view of events as they're filtered through the eyes of Breckinridge Elkins--who sees himself as a fine gentleman (while others see him as an enormous violent ox).
Given the light and silly treatment throughout, I didn't expect the story to have the real emotional impact it sneakily built to as I realized how much I actually cared.