The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
Encyclopedia
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters is a Pulitzer Prize
-winning novel written by Robert Lewis Taylor
, which was later made into a short-running television series
on ABC
from September 1963 through March 1964, featuring Kurt Russell
as Jaimie.
for Fiction the following year. In it, the young Jaimie (spelled with two "i"s) accompanies a wagon train headed from St. Louis, Missouri
, to California
after the 1849 Gold Rush
.
to California with commentary by his father, a Scottish doctor with an effervescent personality whose judgment is often clouded by his weakness for gambling and strong drink.
The novel contains, in graphic detail, some intense Native American
customs, especially rite of passage
.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning novel written by Robert Lewis Taylor
Robert Lewis Taylor
Robert Lewis Taylor was an American author and winner of the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.Taylor was born in Carbondale, Illinois and attended Southern Illinois University, which now houses his papers, for one year. He graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor...
, which was later made into a short-running television series
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (TV series)
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters is a 26-episode western television series based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Robert Lewis Taylor. The show aired in the 1963-1964 television season and was produced by MGM Television....
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
from September 1963 through March 1964, featuring Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
as Jaimie.
Plot introduction
Taylor's realistic novel -- despite the Tom-Sawyer-like protagonist and narrator, it is aimed at an adult audience and contains episodes that would have kept it off any school list at the time -- was published in 1958 and won the Pulitzer PrizePulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for Fiction the following year. In it, the young Jaimie (spelled with two "i"s) accompanies a wagon train headed from St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
after the 1849 Gold Rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
.
Plot summary
The novel alternates between Jaimie describing his journey by wagon trainWagon train
A wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. In the American West, individuals traveling across the plains in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance, as is reflected in numerous films and television programs about the region, such as Audie Murphy's Tumbleweed and Ward Bond...
to California with commentary by his father, a Scottish doctor with an effervescent personality whose judgment is often clouded by his weakness for gambling and strong drink.
The novel contains, in graphic detail, some intense Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
customs, especially rite of passage
Rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....
.
Publishing history
- Doubleday & Company. 1st edition. 1958. ISBN 1-141-39958-X. (may also be: ISBN 0-385-04930-7.)
- Pocket. 1960. Paperback. ISBN 1-122-55331-5.
- Arbor House. 1985. Paperback. ISBN 0-87795-756-8.
- Main Street Books. Paperback reissue edition. 544 pages. December 1, 1992. ISBN 0-385-42222-9.
- Chivers Audio Books. Audio cassette. October 1993. ISBN 1-56054-867-3.
Trivia
For several episodes of the TV series, The Osmonds were cast as the singing sons of the Kissel family.External links
- IMDB entry for Jaimie McPheeters television series
- Photos of the first edition of The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters