The Virginian, written by Owen Wister and published in 1902, is widely considered to be the first genuine Western novel. In it we find the first examples of what have become archetypical Western characters and situations. A stranger arrives in Medicine Bow, Wyoming, and is met at the station by a tall, dark cowboy referred to only as “The Virginian”. Together they travel 263 miles to the ranch of Judge Henry, where the cowboy is employed as a ranch hand and later a foreman. Along the way the visitor, dubbed the "Tenderfoot", comes to learn the ways of the West and appreciate the quiet dignity of his escort. We learn that the cowboy has a nemesis by the name of Trampas, a gambler who constantly attempts to provoke him, only to be met with a consistently reserved and high-minded response. There is a classic moment when the cowboy responds to an insult by Trampas by laying his pistol on the table and saying, “when you call me that, smile”. The cowboy is also enamored of Miss Molly Stark Wood, a pretty, young schoolmarm from back east, with whom he is always the perfect gentleman and who he aims to make her “love him before we get through”. The story centers on the many incidents in the mythic life of the title character, replete with love, hate, action, violence, friendship and revenge, anchored by the emotional and moral burdens resulting from the hanging of a close friend, a cattle thief. The book is among the 50 all time bestsellers, has been adapted six times for films, and inspired the long-running NBC-TV series by the same name.