Chivalry of Crime

by Desmond Barry

Book Overview

The Chivalry of Crime, is the story of one of America's most compelling figures, the outlaw gunslinger Jesse James. Bringing real and invented characters together in a dramatic and moving story, The... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316120383
• ISBN13: 9780316120388
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 473 Pages
• Weight: 1.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.3" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

The old west as Jesse James knew and lived it

It is amazing that a writer from Wales has written such a wonderful novel of Jesse James and the west that existed in his time. Great dialogue- excellent description of the culture and landscape of the times. he weaves in the reasons for the violence that made up the personna of Jesse James. He describes what happened after the civil war that caused the Younger brothers, Bill Anderson. and Quantrell to wreak such havoc in the border states. The author - Desmond Barry- has written another book soon to be published. I will waste no time in ordering it.

A rip-roaring epic of the Old West.

Desmond Barry's gritty story of Jesse James, his life, companions, and motivations for crime is a haunting, often violent, narrative counterpoised against the quieter tragedy of Joshua Beynon, a young boy living a hard-scrabble existence and in search of a hero. And whereas James comes to thrill at the killing that becomes an easy part of his life, Joshua regrets every day the accident in which he claims a life. As the book unfolds, we learn of the anarchy which characterized much of the post-Civil War frontier, and we meet those who take advantage of it and contribute to it--Quantrill's Raiders, Wild Bill Anderson, Cole Younger, the James brothers, the Pinkertons, and a host of other legends of the West. We learn what, if anything, motivates each of them and cringe at the unimaginable--and casual--bloodshed which is such a part of their lives. And despite the horrors these outlaws commit, we come to understand that underlying all this crime there is a kind of "chivalry," an unvoiced code of expected behavior even among the most vicious of killers. It is this code which Robert Ford, Jesse James's assassin, has broken, and we are not surprised at how he meets his own end. Unlike the previous reviewer, I found it easy to become swept up by the story. I was continually impressed by the author's thoughtful selection of details to illustrate his themes, by the bleak precariousness of the lives lived by ordinary people, and by every man's ability to blur the lines between good and evil to justify his own actions when necessary. Anyone who has ever thought of the Wild West as romantic would do well to study this well-researched and vividly written novel.

Excellent historocal fiction

In 1892 Weaver, Colorado, teenager Joshua Beynon is ecstatic because one of his heroes, the notorious John Ford is in town. Joshua manages to meet the legend. Enjoying the hero worship, John hires the fifteen-year old to do some jobs for him. Joshua finally obtains his life's desire, a gun, but accidentally kills his father. While Joshua sits in jail waiting for his murder trial, John visits him and regales him with the true stories about James and the gang as seen through Ford's eyes. During the Civil War Jesse was part of a marauding group that allegedly avenged Union atrocities, but who were, in reality, even more violent than their Northern counterparts. After the war, Jesse formed the gang that robbed banks, trains, and indiscriminately killed people sometimes just for the excitement and pleasure of murdering someone and getting away with it. He paints a picture of a regal, charming, but psychopathic killer who enjoyed the flow of blood. THE CHIVALRY OF CRIME is an excellent retelling of the Jesse James story narrated by the famous robber's assassin. The story line is crisp, fast-paced, and filled with action as the dichotomy of Jesse James' behavior serves as the focus of the plot. A subplot involving Joshua's trial slows down the tale a bit. However, once that is hurdled, the novel reaccelerates at SST speed to its climax. Debut author Desmond Barry writes an intriguing and triumphant western that debunks the romantic mythos of the late nineteenth century gunslinger.Harriet Klausner

The Chivalry Of Crime

The title says it all, it is self explanatory in its concise, yet powerful statement. Desmond Barry's novel strikes gold with every word. Set in a mining town soon after the conclusion of the Civil War, during the reconstructionist era, the book sings the tale of a young boy who has lost everything. His parents moved to the town from Europe, and was nearly destroyed upon arriving to the town. Joshua's mother was claimed by pneumonia, and his brother and sister died similarly thereafter. He and his father have given up religion, and Joshua has developed an intense hatred of God. His father became a drunkard, drinking until late in the night, and mining all day. Joshua desires passionately to acquire a gun and defy God's commandments. The story revolves around his struggle to acquire the gun, and what he does with it. It is a passionate, well developed novel about hatred, love, and the refusal to be a statistic, another worthless miner. I would reccomend it to anyone who wishes to read a future classic.

The Chivalry In Crime

Desmond Barry's novel strikes gold with every word. Set in a mining town soon after the conclusion of the Civil War, during the reconstructionist era, the book sings the tale of a young boy who has lost everything. His parents moved to the town from Europe, and was nearly destroyed upon arriving to the town. Joshua's mother was claimed by pneumonia, and his brother and sister died similarly thereafter. He and his father have given up religion, and Joshua has developed an intense hatred of God. His father became a drunkard, drinking until late in the night, and mining all day. Joshua desires passionately to acquire a gun and defy God's commandments. The story revolves around his struggle to acquire the gun, and what he does with it. It is a passionate, well developed novel about hatred, love, and the refusal to be a statistic, another worthless miner. I would reccomend it to anyone who wishes to read a good book.