Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Eugene Manlove Rhodes was an American author known for his contributions to Western literature, born on January 19, 1869, in Tecumseh, Nebraska. Raised by homesteader parents, Rhodes moved to New Mexico in his youth, where he worked as a cowpuncher and pursued limited formal education. His literary career began with poetry published in 1896, followed by short stories and novels that resonated with readers for their authenticity and moral depth. Rhodes preferred his works to be seen as reflective of genuine Western life rather than mere "Westerns," emphasizing themes of honor and integrity. He was noted for his meticulous style and sophisticated plotting, drawing comparisons to literary greats like Edgar Allan Poe. After spending time in New York, he returned to New Mexico, later relocating to California due to health issues. Rhodes passed away on June 27, 1934, and is remembered as one of the finest Western writers of his time, successfully blending everyday experiences with literary artistry.
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Subject Terms
Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Writer
- Born: January 19, 1869
- Birthplace: Tecumseh, Nebraska
- Died: June 27, 1934
Biography
Eugene Manlove Rhodes was born in Tecumseh, Nebraska, on January 19, 1869, the son of two homesteaders, Colonel Hinman Rhodes, formerly of the Union Army, and Julia Manlove Rhodes, a well-educated woman. When Eugene was five, his parents moved to another homestead in Cherokee, Kansas. There Eugene started school. After failing in various business ventures, in 1881 Colonel Rhodes relocated to Engle, New Mexico. Fortunately, Eugene was a voracious reader, for he had little more formal education; at thirteen, he was working as a cowpuncher. However, in 1888, Eugene was admitted to the University of the Pacific in San Jose, California. By working as a janitor and living meagerly, he managed to remain there for two years, but then he returned to his life as a cowboy. Eventually he established his own homestead.
In 1899, Rhodes married May Louise Davison Purple, a widow whom he had met and courted by correspondence. She had two sons, and her marriage to Rhodes produced another son, Alan Hinman. A daughter died before her second birthday. By June, 1900, the family was living in Tularosa, New Mexico, and on Rhodes’s ranch in the San Andres mountains. After three years, however, May Louise took the children to Appalachin, New York, to visit her parents, and in 1906, her husband joined her. For the next two decades, he ran Mutton Hill Farm and pursued his literary career.
Rhodes’s first published work, a poem about a rancher, appeared in 1896 in the periodical Land of Sunshine. More poems followed. In 1901, his first short story was published. His works attracted the attention of another writer, Henry Wallace Phillips, who persuaded Rhodes to collaborate with him on several short stories for the prestigious Saturday Evening Post. From 1910 on, Rhodes also wrote novels, many of which were serialized in the Post before being published in book form.
Rhodes did not like to have his works classified with the popular potboilers called “Westerns.” His works were authentic; they reflected his familiarity with daily life in the West and with the way Westerners thought, felt, and talked. Rhodes was also a scrupulous stylist. His plotting was superb; his mysteries were as carefully contrived as those of Edgar Allen Poe and Robert Louis Stevenson. His consciousness of the literary tradition was evident in his frequent and effective use of allusions. Rhodes also differed from those other writers in that his books had a moral purpose. He hoped that his readers would adopt the code of honor of the Old West, where most men believed in telling the truth; protecting the weak, especially women and children; remaining loyal to friends, whatever the cost; and always putting principle above profit.
Rhodes and his wife returned to New Mexico in 1926, but because of their increasingly fragile health, in 1931 they moved to Pacific Beach, near San Diego, California. Rhodes died of a heart attack on June 27, 1934, and was buried in Rhodes Pass in the San Andres Mountains. He was generally considered the finest of the Western writers of his era, both because his fiction rang true and because in it he so skillfully united the everyday world and the world of books.