This collection of ground-breaking articles examines problems romance presents in the American Western. Looking a range of films, this book offers readers important and challenging insights into the complicated nature of love and the versatile frontier narrative that address key social, political, and ethical components of the Western genre.
"As the essays in this volume demonstrate, it is love that truly conquered the American frontier. The cinematic West draws its life from tales of passion and heartbreak, sacrifice and betrayal. Matheson is to be congratulated on crafting a volume that illustrates the complexities of cowboy love - a force that, much like the railroad, tamed the wilderness but left deep scars in its path. I highly recommend this collection as an excellent example of the 'film and history' method associated with the eponymous scholarly journal." - Peter C. Rollins, filmmaker and Emeritus Regents Professor, Oklahoma State University, USA
"Sue Matheson's Love in Western Film and Television: Lonely Hearts and Happy Trails certainly ranks among the handful of most important studies of the Western genre. Well-written, superbly researched, insightful, and wonderfully entertaining, Matheson's impressive book explores a topic richly deserving (and woefully lacking) in the scholarly analysis of popular Westerns." - Gary Hoppenstand, editor, Journal of Popular Culture
"Sue Matheson's Love in Western Film and Television: Lonely Hearts and Happy Trails certainly ranks among the handful of most important studies of the Western genre. Well-written, superbly researched, insightful, and wonderfully entertaining, Matheson's impressive book explores a topic richly deserving (and woefully lacking) in the scholarly analysis of popular Westerns." - Gary Hoppenstand, editor, Journal of Popular Culture