Jesse: A Novel of the Outlaw Jesse James

by Max McCoy

Escaping a 1882 assassination attempt thanks to a switched identity, outlaw Jesse James survives to narrate the story of his life for Missouri's most famous storyteller, Mark Twain, in a vivid and engaging historical novel. Original.

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 6, 1999

About the author

Max McCoy is an award-winning journalist and author. He’s won awards for his reporting on unsolved murders, serial killers, and hate groups. In addition to his daily newspaper work, Max has written for publications as diverse as American Photographer, True West, and The New Territory. He’s the author of four original Indiana Jones adventures for Lucasfilm/Bantam and the novelization of the epic TNT miniseries, Into the West. His novels, including Damnation Road, have won three Spur awards from the Western Writers of America. His novels, Hellfire Canyon and Of Grave Concern, have also been named Kansas Notable Books by the state library. He's a tenured professor of journalism at Emporia State University, in east central Kansas, where he specializes in investigative reporting and nonfiction narrative. He's also director of the university’s Center for Great Plains Studies. His most recent book is Elevations: A Personal Exploration of the Arkansas River, from the University Press of Kansas.

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting spin on a familiar story. You get a better perspective on what turned Jesse into such a monster and how he met his end - or did he?

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jesse: A Novel of the Outlaw Jesse James, Max McCoy (historical fiction, western)
Jeff Book Review #205

"Look here," he said. "I'm not trying to be unkind, but you will either get the hang of this - or it will get the hang of you. Try not to be such a dingus." - Capt. Bill Anderson.

Mark Twain is interviewing an aged Jesse James in this historical fiction by Max McCoy (1999). James' death at the hand of Robert Ford was falsely reported and he seeks out Twain to tell his side of his legend, reasoning "I reckon you and I are the best in our lines."

Jesse describes to us his own birth (as if he could remember it, a fact he himself admits is hard to believe), his family's treatment of its slaves, his childhood and adolescence, his beating and his family's torments at the hands of Yankee thugs in Missouri, his days as a raider in Bloody Bill Anderson's Confederate cavalry unit, his chest wound survival after the war, his first bank robberies, gang dynamics, fights with the Pinkertons, and how he escaped assassination.

Verdict: A fun recap of the life and times of Jesse James. The premise for his survival is fun to just go with and the rest of it reads autobiographical in nature, so a good mix of history, context, and perspective. It actually could have happened this way.. which is a lot to think about...

Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13

[Trekscribbler · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the novel doesn't shed any light on the ambiguity surrounding the death of the infamous Jesse James, the tale that Jesse weaves (purportedly to Mark Twain) leaves one feeling sorry if not compassionate for the outlaw, despite his nefarious deeds. Without having read any other biographical accounts of the life of Jesse James, I can only say that Max McCoy crafted a crisp, entertaining read that seemed to be 'the real McCoy.' Kick back & enjoy!

[Starlet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible story and the way it is written is so captivating--makes you feel like you really knew Jesse James!