Pretty Boy Floyd

by Larry McMurtry

Overview

The time is 1925. The place, St. Louis, Missouri. Charley Floyd, a good-looking, sweet-smiling country boy from Oklahoma, is about to rob his first armored car.

Written by Pulitzer Prize–winner Larry McMurtry and his writing partner, Diana Ossana, Pretty Boy Floyd traces the wild career of the legendary American folk hero Charley Floyd, a young man so charming that it's hard not to like him, even as he's robbing you at gunpoint. From the bank heists and shootings that make him Public Enemy Number One to the women who love him, from the glamour-hungry nation that worships him to the G-men who track Charley down, Pretty Boy Floyd is both a richly comic masterpiece and an American tragedy about the price of fame and the corruption of innocence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780743230186
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	01/07/2003
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	689,656
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Larry McMurtry (1936–2021) was the author of twenty-nine novels, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning Lonesome Dove, three memoirs, two collections of essays, and more than thirty screenplays. He lived in Archer City, Texas.

Hometown:

Archer City, Texas

Date of Birth:

June 3, 1936

Place of Birth:

Wichita Falls, Texas

Education:

B.A., North Texas State University, 1958; M.A., Rice University, 1960. Also studied at Stanford University.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Andy Solomon Chicago Tribune An absorbing tale...vivid [and] vibrantly realized...

Dave Goldsmith The Plain Dealer Excellent...Without romanticizing the bank robber, the authors create a sympathetic picture of a farm boy who wanders into the crooked life and can't get back out.

John Skow Time Like Lonesome Dove, Pretty Boy Floyd beguiles the reader with a golden haze of lovely lies.

Bruce R. Simon Richmond Times-Dispatch The prestigious talents of Larry McMurtry, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Diana Ossana have spun a convincing, forceful biographical novel, Pretty Boy Floyd, which sheds light upon Charley Floyd's brief, outlandish, and self-destructive life.

Editorial Reviews

Andy Solomon Chicago Tribune An absorbing tale...vivid [and] vibrantly realized...

Dave Goldsmith The Plain Dealer Excellent...Without romanticizing the bank robber, the authors create a sympathetic picture of a farm boy who wanders into the crooked life and can't get back out.

John Skow Time Like Lonesome Dove, Pretty Boy Floyd beguiles the reader with a golden haze of lovely lies.

Bruce R. Simon Richmond Times-Dispatch The prestigious talents of Larry McMurtry, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Diana Ossana have spun a convincing, forceful biographical novel, Pretty Boy Floyd, which sheds light upon Charley Floyd's brief, outlandish, and self-destructive life.

From the Publisher

Pulitzer Prize winner McMurtry and screenwriter Ossana recreate the life of a charming St. Louis country boy who becomes a notorious bank robber during the Depression. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

McMurtry (The Evening Star, LJ 6/1/92) and screenwriter Ossana initially wrote a screenplay based on the life of Pretty Boy Floyd and then decided to expand the story into a novel. The novel retains the tone of a script: it's heavy on dialog and has little character development. Pretty Boy Floyd took on the status of a folk hero in the 1920s, but here he comes across as a cartoon. He's a petty criminal out of control, surrounded by women who can't resist him and stupid accomplices. The women are mostly whores with hearts of gold or long-suffering wives, eager for a few special moments with their man. While this is certainly not McMurtry's best work, his reputation should elicit demand for this novel in public libraries. [Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates.]-Jan Blodgett, Davidson Coll., N.C.

Library Journal

Excellent…without romanticizing the bank robber, the authors create a sympathetic picture of a farm boy who wanders into the crooked life and can't get back out…Let's hope this will not be the last effort in this fruitful collaboration.
—Cleveland Plain Dealer

Dave Goldsmith

The prestigious talents of Larry McMurtry, Pulitzer Prize—winner, and Diana Offana have spun a convincing, forceful biographical novel, Pretty Boy Floyd, which sheds light upon Charley Floyd's brief, outlandish, and self—destructive life…
—Richmond Times—Dispatch

Bruce R. Simon