(1892-1944) Also wrote as: George Owen Baxter, Walter Butler, George Challis, Evan Evans, John Frederick, Frederick Frost, David Manning, Peter Henry Morland
The man who would do as much or more than anyone to popularize the mythical dimensions of the American West and to make cowboy fiction the most popular of all pulp genres professed to find the actual West “disgusting,” and wrote most of his popular tales of cowboys and the American frontier while sprawled amidst the Renaissance splendors of his villa near Florence, Italy. Max Brand was the best-known pen name—one of 18—belonging to pulp wordsmith extraordinaire Frederick Schiller Faust. An inexhaustibly creative figure who could write in all genres and could produce as many as 20,000 words in a day, Max Brand was one of the most popular writers of the 20th century. Faust as Brand wrote spy stories, horse racing stories, historicals, doctor stories (he was the creator of Dr. Kil-dare, eventually the hero of a successful movie and television series), and mysteries, but he was best known for his stories of the Old West.
Frederick Faust was an aimless, penniless 24-year-old college-educated poet at loose ends in New York City when he wangled a letter of recommendation from the sister of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) to Robert Davis at Muncey’s. Davis, who disliked the importuning of Faust’s elderly patrons, gave him paper and a plot and dismissed him. Faust stunned Davis when he returned before the end of the day with a completed, professional piece of fiction. The story, “Convalescence,” appeared in the March 1917 issue of All-Story, and an extraordinary career began.
Faust began turning out first-rate pulp fiction, earning $8,281 in the first nine months at the job, an enormous sum of money by the standards of the time. His first western, The Untamed, was published in serial form beginning with the December 1918 issue of All-Story. It set the course for much of his fiction to come. Previously, western literature had been concerned with an aura of realism and a historical context. Faust had no interest in these things. His west was a poeticized location with few reference points to specific times or locales. He used the idea of a violent frontier America as an almost abstract setting for retellings of ancient epics and classical myths. The hero of The Untamed, the mysterious youth “Whistlin”‘ Dan Barry, is explicitly linked to “the great god Pan.” Trailin uses the story of Oedipus, Pillar Mountain the Theseus myth, and Hired Guns is a western version of Homer’s Iliad. Characteristically, when Faust’s developers sent him on a trip out west to soak up atmosphere, he spent nearly all his time inside a hotel room, writing more of his inauthen-tic and phenomenally popular Westerns.
Faust’s production rate was so high that Western Story or one of his other regular markets would print several of his stories in a single issue, each under a different pen name. This, of course, was unknown to the readers, who wrote in to debate the relative artistry of Faust’s various identities— which included, besides Brand, John Frederick, George Challis, George Owen Baxter, David Manning, Nicholas Silver, Martin Dexter, Evin Evan, Evan Evans, Frederick Frost, Dennis Lawton, Nicholas Silver, and Peter Henry Morland. Some names would come to be identified with a certain type of story, as in the historicals and swashbucklers of George Challis. But Max Brand was by far the most frequently used and the most popular of Faust’s multiple identities. “Max Brand” itself was originally created with the help of the playwright Sophie Treadwell (1885-1970), who advanced the theory that the successful pseudonym always consisted of two monosyllables with the same vowel sound in each. Her theory, at least as applied to Max Brand, was proven absolutely right.
Faust personally preferred to write tragic, epic poetry instead of pulp. He was an extremely learned man and not a bad classical poet. He lavished great time and effort on his poetry cycles. But although he was capable of using two-dollar words, he knew that the ones the pulps paid four cents for were the ones that kept him a rich man. In the years before the Great Depression, when fewer pulp titles shared the huge pulp readership, developers could pay their top writers relatively high rates. His pulp income plus many sales to Hollywood meant a good income for Faust. Looking for a residence conducive to the creation of epic poetry, he settled in Italy, buying a villa on the bank of the Arno, overlooking the birthplace of the Renaissance. In the morning he would apply a furious hunt-and-peck technique to a typewriter perched on a desk that once belonged to a Benedictine monastery. In the afternoons, he stretched out in a leather easy chair, quill pen in hand, and worked on poems with such titles as “Dionysus in Hades.” In the evenings he taught himself Greek so he could read Homer in the original. Faust was by all accounts a fascinating, knowledgeable, and generous individual.
During the Great Depression, Faust’s regular pulp markets began to cut their rates. His agent began selling his work to the slick magazines like Collier’s, but Faust disliked the narrative and ideological restrictions they sometimes imposed. He returned to the pulps and their lower rates. When war became imminent in Europe he returned to America and spent some of his last years at the Hollywood studios, earning a large salary as screenwriter for Warner Bros. and MGM. A few years later, with the united States finally at war, Faust pulled some strings and got himself assigned as a combat correspondent, covering the Italian campaign. Accompanying a platoon of infantrymen into battle against an enemy stronghold, facing a heavy artillery barrage, Faust was hit in the chest with shell fragments and died on the battlefield. He was 52 years old. Following his death, the “King of the Pulps” received editorial tributes in a range of international publications, from The Infantry Journal to the London Times. The journalist Quentin Reynolds wrote: “No man could invent so many plots (not even Balzac) or so crowd a few thousand words with action as Max Brand.” Faust’s biographer, Robert Easton, believed the writer was an exemplar of his age: “what Babe Ruth and Red Grange were to sports, Charles Lindbergh to flying, Henry Ford to industry, the expression of an expansive time, when horizons seemed larger and possibilities less limited.”
Max Brand was just one of the many pen names belonging to Frederick Faust, famous for his stories about the Old West.
Works
STORIES
- “Adopted Son, The” (1917);
- “Back to His Own” (1930);
- “Bad-eye” (1918);
- “Bad News for Bad Men” (1934);
- “Bait and The Trap” (1935);
- “Battle for Mike, The” (1925);
- “Beggar My Tailor” (1935);
- “Bells of San Carlos, The” (1938);
- “Beyond the Finish” (1934);
- “Black O’Rourke, The” (1936);
- “Bottle in the Sea” (1937);
- “Brute, The” (1924);
- “Bulldog” (1937);
- “Brain and Brawn” (1919);
- “By Their Work” (1944);
- “Captain” (1935);
- “Cat and the Perfume” (1935);
- “Charlie” (1935);
- “Consuming Fire, The” (1920);
- “Convalescence” (1917);
- “Crazy Rhythm” (1935);
- “Cure of Silver Canyon, The” (1921);
- “Death and Jimmy Warner” (1938);
- “Death of Love, The” (1937);
- “Doctor Kildare’s Hardest Case” (1942);
- “Dust Storm” (1937);
- “Eagles over Crooked Creek” (1938);
- “East Wind” (1941);
- “Emerald Trail, The” (1922);
- “Fighting Coward, The” (1935);
- “Fixed” (1936);
- “Flaming Finish, The” (1938);
- “Gambler and the Stake, The” (1917);
- “Ghost, The” (1919);
- “Gilded Box” (1935);
- “Going Straight” (1925);
- “Golden Coyote” (1930);
- “Great Stroke, The” (1918);
- “Gunfighters in Hell” (1935);
- “Half a Partner” (1939);
- “Hole-in-the-wall Barrett” (1919);
- “Hound of the Hunter, The” (1936);
- “Interns Can’t Take Money” (1936);
- “Islands of Safety” (1935);
- “John Ovington Returns” (1918);
- “Just Irish” (1937);
- “King Charlie One Year Later” (1922);
- “Kinsale, The” (1936);
- “Laughter of Slim Malone” (1919);
- “Last Flight, The” (1938);
- “Little Father of Death” (1935);
- “Lost Garden, The” (1920);
- “Man in the Dark, The” (1924);
- “Man in the Shroud, The” (1935);
- “Man Who Followed, The” (1921);
- “Master and Man” (1924);
- “Mercy Anne” (1933);
- “Mother” (1930);
- “Mr. Cinderella” (1917);
- “No Man’s Friend” (1925);
- “Old Bean, The” (1938);
- “One Way Trail, The” (1922);
- “Outcast Breed” (1934);
- “Outlaws All” (1921);
- “Out of the Dark” (1920);
- “Partners” (1938);
- “Pringle’s Luck” (1937);
- “Receding Brow, The” (1919);
- “Rifle Pass” (1935);
- “Rodeo Ranch” (1923);
- “Rose of India” (1931);
- “Safety McTee” (1923);
- “Sagebrush Cinderella, A” (1920);
- “Saint, The” (1937);
- “Satan’s Gun Rider” (1934);
- “Shiver-Nose” (1930);
- “Silent Witness, The” (1938);
- “Sleeper Pays a Debt” (1934);
- “Sleeper Turns Horse Thief” (1934);
- “Sole Survivor, The” (1917);
- “Something Honest” (1937);
- “Special Occasion, A” (1934);
- “Spot Lester” (1931);
- “Strange Villa” (1935);
- “Sun Stood Still” (1934);
- “Survival” (1943);
- “Taming of Red Thunder” (1942);
- “Thoroughbred” (1935);
- “True Steel” (1939);
- “Two Sixes” (1923);
- “Under His Shirt” (1923);
- “Victory” (1919);
- “Viva! Viva!” (1937);
- “Wedding Guest, The” (1934);
- “Welding Quirt” (1924);
- “Wet Money” (1934);
- “White Hunger” (1930);
- “Whiskey Sour” (1938);
- “Wings Over Moscow” (1935);
- “Woodward’s Devil” (1918);
- “Yellow Dog” (1930)
BOOKS
As Max Brand:
- Alcatraz (1923);
- “Ambush at Torture Canyon (1971);
- Bandit of the Black Hills, The (1949);
- Battle’s End (1990), also published as The Three Crosses;
- Bells of San Filipo, The (1977);
- Big Game (1973); Big Trail (1956);
- Black Jack (1926);
- Black Rider and Other Stories, The (1996);
- Blood on the Trail (1957);
- Bluejay, The (1927);
- Border Guns (1952);
- Border Kid, The (1941);
- Brothers on the Trail (1934);
- Calling Dr. Kildare (1940);
- Cheyenne Gold (1972);
- Children of the Night (1923);
- Chip Champions a Lady (1990), also published as Forgotten Treasure;
- Clung (1924);
- Coward of the Clan (1991);
- Cross Brand, The (1993);
- Dan Barry’s Daughter (1924);
- Danger Trail (1940);
- Dead Man’s Treasure (1974);
- Dead or Alive (1938);
- Desert Pilot (1994);
- Destry Rides Again (1930);
- Drifter’s Vengeance (1973);
- Dr. Kildare Goes Home (1941);
- Dr. Kildare’s Crisis (1942);
- Dr. Kildare’s Search (1943);
- Dr. Kildare’s Trial (1942);
- Fate’s Honeymoon (1926);
- Fightin’ Fool (1939);
- Fighting Four, The (1944);
- Fire Brain (1926);
- Flaming Irons (1948);
- Free Range Lan-ning (1921);
- Fugitives’ Fire (1991);
- Galloping Broncos, The (1950);
- Galloping Danger (1979);
- Gambler, The (1954);
- Garden of Eden, The (1927);
- Gentle Desperado (1985);
- Gentle Gunman (1964);
- Golden Lightning (1964);
- Gun Gentlemen (1924);
- Gunman’s Gold (1939);
- Gun Tamer, The (1929);
- Hair-trigger Kid, The (1951);
- Happy Jack (1936);
- Happy Valley, The (1931);
- Harrigan (1926);
- Hired Guns (1948);
- His Third Master (1925);
- Hunted Riders (1935);
- Invisible Outlaw (1954);
- Jackson Trail, The (1932);
- King Bird Rides, The (1936);
- King of the Range (1935);
- Larramee’s Ranch (1966);
- Lawless Land (1983);
- Long Chance, The (1941);
- Long Chase, The (1960);
- Longhorn Feud, The (1933);
- Luck (1920);
- Luck of the Spindrift (1972);
- Lucky Larribee (1957);
- Man from Mustang, The (1942);
- Man from the Wilderness (1980);
- Mar-bleface (1939);
- Mighty Lobo (1963);
- Mistral (1929);
- Mountain Guns (1985);
- Mountain Riders (1946);
- Murder Me (1995);
- Mystery Ranch (1930);
- New Frontier, The (1989);
- Nighthawk Trail, The (1987);
- Night Horseman, The (1920);
- One Man Posse (1987);
- Outlaw Breed (1955);
- Outlaw of Buffalo Flat, The (1974);
- Outlaw, The (1933);
- Phantom Spy, The (1973);
- Pillar Mountain (1928);
- Pleasant Jim (1928);
- Pride of Tyson (1927);
- Rancher’s Revenge, The (1934);
- Range Jester/Black Thunder (1991);
- Range-land Avenger, The (1924);
- Rawhide Justice (1975);
- Red Bandanna/Carcajou’s Trail (1991);
- Return of Free Range Lanning, The (1995);
- Reward, The (1977);
- Rider of the High Hills (1977);
- Riders of the Plains (1940);
- Riders of the Silences (1920);
- Ride the Wild Trail (1966);
- Rogue Mustang (1984);
- Rustlers of Beacon Creek (1935);
- Sacking of El Dorado, The (1994);
- Seven of Diamonds, The (1935);
- Seventh Man, The (1921);
- Seven Trails (1949);
- Shotgun Law (1976);
- Silvertip (1941);
- Sil-vertip’s Chase (1944);
- Silvertip’s Roundup (1943);
- Silver-tip’s Search (1945);
- Silvertip’s Strike (1942);
- Silvertip’s Trap (1943);
- Singing Guns (1938);
- Single Jack (1950);
- Six Golden Angels (1937);
- Sixteen in Nome (1995);
- Slow Joe (1933);
- Smiling Charlie (1931);
- Smiling Desperado (1953);
- South of Rio Grande (1936);
- Speedy (1955);
- Stingaree, The (1968);
- Stolen Stallion, The (1945);
- Storm on the Range (1978);
- Stranger, The (1963);
- Stranger at the Gate, The (1926);
- Streak, The (1937);
- Tamer of the Wild (1962);
- Tenderfoot, The (1953);
- Thunderer, The (1933);
- Thunder Moon (1969);
- Thunder Moon’s Challenge (1982);
- Tiger (1923);
- Torture Trail (1965);
- Tragedy Trail (1951);
- Trailin (1920);
- Trail Partners (1956);
- Trouble in Timberline (1984);
- Trouble Kid (1970);
- Trouble Trail (1937);
- Twenty Notches (1932);
- Untamed, The (1919);
- Valley of Jewels (1993);
- Valley of Vanishing Men (1947);
- Valley Thieves (1946);
- Valley Vultures (1932);
- Vengeance Trail (1941);
- Whispering Outlaw, The (1926);
- White Cheyenne, The (1960);
- White Wolf, The (1926);
- Wild Freedom (1981);
- Wine on the Desert and Other Stories (1940);
- Young Dr. Kildare (1941)
- As George Owen Baxter:
- Brother of the Cheyenne (1935);
- Donnegan (1923);
- Killers, The (1931);
- King Charlie (1925);
- King of the Range (1935);
- Long, Long Trail, The (1923);
- Shadow of Silver Tip, The (1925);
- Trail to San Triste, The (1927);
- Train’s Trust (1927);
- Whispering Outlaw, The (1927);
- Wooden Guns (1925)
- As David Manning:
- Bandit’s Honor (1927);
- Bull Hunter (1924);
- Bull Hunter’s Romance (1924);
- Mustang Herder, The (1928);
- On the Trail of Four (1927);
- Outlaw Tamer, The (1927);
- Senor Jingle Bells (1928);
- Western Tommy (1927)
- As John Frederick:
- Bronze Collar, The (1925);
- Sword Lover, The (1927)
- As Peter Henry Morland:
- Beyond the Outpost (1925);
- Ronnicky Doone (1926)
As George Challis:
- Bait and the Trap, The (1951);
- Firebrand, The (1950);
- Monsieur (1927);
- Splendid Rascal, The (1926);
- Naked Blade, The (1938)
As Evan Evans:
- Border Bandit, The (1947);
- Gunman’s Legacy (1949);
- Montana Rides (1933);
- Montana Rides Again (1934);
- Outlaw’s Code, The (1954);
- Outlaw Valley (1953);
- Rescue of Broken Arrow (1948);
- Sawdust and Sixguns (1950);
- Smuggler’s Trail (1950)
- As Walter Butler:
- Cross Over Nine (1935);
Night Flower (1936) As Frederick Frost:
- Bamboo Whistle, The (1937);
- Secret Agent Number One (1936)
