Book details
The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales / With Condensed Novels, Spanish and American Legends, and Earlier Papers
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Stored record
Metadata
- Gutenberg ID
- 6373
- Title
- The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales / With Condensed Novels, Spanish and American Legends, and Earlier Papers
- Language
- en
- Book source
- Project Gutenberg
- Description max 80 words
-
Bret Harte's collection blends frontier humor with gothic romance and poignant war stories. From the haunted halls of Sloperton Grange to the tragic fate of a drummer boy in the Civil War, these tales explore themes of destiny, innocence lost, and the harsh realities of life on the American frontier.
- Summary up to 500 words
-
Bret Harte's anthology *The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales* offers a sweeping panorama of human nature, blending the supernatural with the brutal realities of existence. The collection opens with the gothic romance of Lady Selina, a woman haunted by her family's dark history and plagued by guilt over past crimes, including poisoning her sister and drowning her maid. As she prepares for a fateful wedding, she is tormented by spectral visitors and the looming threat of her own hidden sins, culminating in a dramatic confrontation where she must choose between destroying her children to erase her past or facing her destiny. The narrative then shifts to the rugged mining town of Smith's Pocket, where the murder of a schoolmaster ignites a frenzy of mob justice against an accused stranger named Waters. The story captures the volatile atmosphere of the frontier, where rumors swell into tragedy and the community swings between skepticism and violent indignation. Interspersed are condensed legends, such as the Spanish tale of Prince Bulleboye, who uses magical tricks to settle debts and outwit merchants, showcasing Harte's skill in adapting diverse cultural traditions. The anthology culminates in the deeply moving story of Rupert, a sickly boy mocked for receiving a drum as a Christmas gift. Haunted by phantom drumbeats that signal his impending death, Rupert eventually finds himself on a battlefield during the Civil War. There, he discovers the drum was a messenger from beyond, guiding him to join the ranks of fallen soldiers. Dying on the field, he hears the reveille and sees the glory of the army, accepting his fate with peace. Together, these stories showcase Harte's mastery of atmosphere, character, and the intersection of the supernatural with the harsh truths of human existence.
- LLM editorial rating
- 4.2/5
- Download URL
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6373.epub.noimages
- Local file path
-
data/epubs/pg6373.epub - Downloaded at
- 2026-08-19 21:15 UTC
People
Authors
- Bret Harte
Classification
Categories
- Frontier and pioneer life
- Western stories