The Literatures of the U.S.-Mexican War: Narrative, Time, and Identity

Appendix. Novelette Titles

appendi n o v e l e t t e t i t l e s These titles represent the three categories as I defined them in Chapter 1. They constitute only a selection of U.S.-Mexican War novelettes. The groupings refer to general tendencies in the plots and characters, and therefore any particular novelette may at times seem to have aspects of a different category. In general, however, the preoccupations of these formula fictions divide along the lines I propose here. c h i v a l r i c Characterized by cross-national marriages, heroic Mexican defenders, and clear references to historical U.S.-Mexican War details—names, dates, places, and so forth. The Secret Service Ship; or, The Fall of San Juan D’Ulloa, 1848, Charles E. Averill The Volunteer; or, The Maid of Monterey, 1847, Ned Buntline The Mexican Ranchero; or, The Maid of the Chapparal, 1847, Charles E. Averill The Prairie Guide; or, The Rose of the Rio Grande, 1850, Newton M. Curtis Inez, the Beautiful; or, Love on the Rio Grande, 1846, Harry Hazel The Vidette; or, The Girl of the Robber’s Pass: A Tale of the Mexican War, 1848, Newton M. Curtis Legends of Mexico (also a frontier tale), 1847, George Lippard f r o n t i e r Characterized by marriages that emphasize reunions or the recovery of lost family members, or both. Mexicans are usually cast as seducers, either sexual, ideological, or both. There are some references to U.S.-Mexican War particulars, but these are usually in the background, often incidental or irrelevant to the story. 2   The Literatures of the U.S.-Mexican War The Hunted Chief; or, The Female Ranchero: A Tale of the Mexican War (also chivalric), 1847, Newton M. Curtis The Heroine of Tampico; or, Wildfire the Wanderer, 1847, Harry Halyard The Chieftain of Churubusco; or, The Spectre of the Cathedral, 1848, Harry Halyard The Flying Artillerist; or,The Child of the Battle-Field: A Tale of Mexican Treachery, [1853?], Harry Hazel The Mexican Spy; or, The Bride of Buena Vista, 1848, Harry Halyard The Mariner of the Mines; or, The Maid of the Monastery [1850?], Arthur Armstrong The Light Dragoon: Rancheros of the Poisoned Lance, 1848, Harry Hazel ’Bel of Prairie Eden: A Romance of Mexico, 1848, George Lippard w e s t e r n ( b a n d i t ) Characterized by an emphasis on the killing of the Mexican bandit over marriages, which may or may not take place. Mexicans are clearly stylized as terrorist criminals, although they often have some association with the Mexican military, and often attack both Mexicans and Anglo Americans. The U.S.-Mexican War exists either in the immediate future or in the immediate past. Zebra Zack; or, The Wild Texan’s Mission, 1861, W. J. Hamilton Putnam Pomfret’s Ward: A Vermonters Adventures in Mexico, 1861, A.J.H. Duganne The Peon Prince; or, The Yankee Knight-Errant, 1861, A.J.H. Duganne Will-O’-The-Wisp: The California Trooper, 1874, Frederick H. Dewey The Blue Band; or, The Mystery of the Silver Star, 1872, J. Stanley Henderson The Prairie Pathfinder; or, The Lost Sister, 1870, Frank P. Armstrong The Captain of the Rifles; or, The Queen of the Lakes, 1879, Mayne Reid ...