by Jack Schaefer

Born in 1907 in Cleveland, Ohio, Jack Schaefer studied history as well as classical and American literature throughout his life. He was especially drawn to the history of the western United States, although he did not travel to that area until after he published Shane. His first novel, Shane appeared as a magazine serial before being published in its final hardback version in 1949. It is considered a classic representative of a distinct literary genre, the Western.

Events in History at the Time the Novel Takes Place

Cattle barons. Cattlemen generally moved into frontier territory after explorers and trappers, but before farmers. After the Civil War, many ranchers occupied the Great Plains, moving large cattle herds from Texas to markets up north. During this time the Great Plains was a largely unsettled region with vast expanses of open land claimed by the U.S. government. Ranchers, especially...