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Abstract:
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Although largely forgotten today , adventure novelist Mayne Reid , an Irish -born veteran of the United States' war with Mexico , was a household name on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean during the mid -to -late nineteenth century . A prolific writer , Reid authored more than fifty " ;romances , " ; some of which were reportedly based on his own experiences while traveling and working in the southwestern United States during the early 1840s . Approximately half his works were aimed at the juvenile market .
This study builds on previous biographies of Reid , both published and unpublished , to form a more complete picture of the author's life than has heretofore been available . Several hitherto unknown or forgotten facts have been included . This study also looks at Reid's impact on the generation that formed his legion of " ;boy readers , " ; his contribution to the myth of America's " ;Wild West , " ; and his enduring popularity in the former Soviet Union . |