The Life and Adventures of Joaqun Murieta

(Paperback)

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The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta (1854) is a novel by John Rollin Ridge. Published under his birth name Yellow Bird, from Cheesquatalawny in Cherokee, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta was the first novel from a Native American author. Despite its popular success worldwide-the novel was translated into French and Spanish-Ridge's work was a financial failure due to bootleg copies and widespread plagiarism. Recognized today as a groundbreaking work of nineteenth century fiction, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta is a powerful novel that investigates American racism, illustrates the struggle for financial independence among marginalized communities, and dramatizes the lives of outlaws seeking fame, fortune, and vigilante justice. Born in Mexico, Joaquin Murieta came to California in search of gold. Despite his belief in the American Dream, he soon faces violence and racism from white settlers who see his success as a miner as a personal affront. When his wife is raped by a mob of white men and after Joaquin is beaten by a group of horse thieves, he loses all hope of living alongside Americans and turns to a life of vigilantism. Joined by a posse of similarly enraged Mexican-American men, Joaquin becomes a fearsome bandit with a reputation for brutality and stealth. Based on the life of Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo, also known as The Robin Hood of the West, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta would serve as inspiration for Johnston McCulley's beloved pulp novel hero Zorro. This edition of John Rollin Ridge's The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta is a classic work of Native American literature reimagined for modern readers.

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Author Bio

John Rollin Ridge (1827-1867) was a novelist, poet, and member of the Cherokee Nation. Born in New Echota Georgia, Ridge was the son of John Ridge, a prominent Cherokee leader and signatory of the 1836 Treaty of New Echota, which allowed the cession of Cherokee lands and led to the devastation of the Trail of Tears. Following his fathers murder by supporters of Cherokee leader John Ross, Ridge was taken to Arkansas by his mother. In 1843, he was sent to study at the Great Barrington School in Massachusetts before returning to Fayetteville to pursue a law degree. He married Elizabeth Wilson in 1847 after publishing his first known poem, To a Thunder Cloud, in the Arkansas State Gazette. Two years later, Ridge was forced to flee to California with his wife and daughter after murdering a man named David Kell, whom he believed to be involved in his fathers assassination. Out West, he published The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta to popular acclaim, making him the first known Native American novelist. Ridge was a prominent figure in Californias fledgling literary scene, serving as the first editor of the Sacramento Bee and writing for the San Francisco Herald. Controversial for his assimilationist politics, slave ownership, and support of the Copperheads during the American Civil War, Ridge is nevertheless a pioneering figure in Native American literary history.