Rebel Spurs

~ 2nd  Novel in the Drew Rennie Series by Andre Norton

rebel.spurs

NOTE: This title has entered the “Public Domain” and is therefore open to any publisher that wants to print it. Many “Print on Demand” publishers have started to release this title. This site has chosen to ignore these published versions and only concentrate on estate sanctioned materials.


Synopsis ~

After suffering defeat in the Civil War Drew struggles to establish his identity and begin life anew in a raw, unsettled land.

 

Write up from the front flap of the dustjacket ~

In 1866 only men uprooted by war had reason to ride into Tubacca, Arizona, a nondescript town as shattered and anonymous as the veterans drifting through it. So, when Drew Rennie, newly discharged from Forrest’s Confederate scouts, arrived leading everything he owned behind him—his thoroughbred stud Shiloh, a mare about to foal, and a mule-he knew his business would not be questioned. To anyone in Tubacca there could only be one extraordinary thing about Drew, and that he could not reveal: his name, Rennie.

Drew had come west from Kentucky to find a father he had thought dead until the year before. Kinship with a man like Hunt Rennie, however—the legendary Don Cazar, owner of a matchless range and prize stallions—was not a claim to be made quickly or lightly. Posing as Drew Kirby the young veteran contrived to get himself and his friend Anse hired as corral hands at Rennie’s Range, but he was hardly prepared for the suspicion and danger which stood between him and his father. As hotheaded as his father, Drew was ready to move on to California—until the day all proof of his Rennie name was stolen from him, and his unwarranted arrest for horse-thieving brought on the accusations of one man whose trust he needed.

Andre Norton’s Ride Proud, Rebel! dramatically portrayed the last year of the Confederacy, when brave men like Drew Rennie met defeat with honor. In this sequel, Drew’s struggle to establish his identity and begin anew in a raw, unsettled land reflects the courage of thousands of rootless men set adrift by the Civil War.

 

Write-ups from fans ~

Drew Rennie, newly discharged from Forrest's Confederate scouts, arrives in Tubacca, Arizona, searching for the father he had thought dead, until a year ago when his aunt revealed the knowledge that his grandfather had concealed from him all his life.  Now he discovers that his father, Hunt Rennie, is the owner of a large ranch and a noted breeder of horses--just like Drew's grandfather back in Kentucky.  (In fact, Drew has arrived with two horses as his legacy from that same grandfather.)  Afraid to reveal his parentage for fear of being taken as a lying fortune hunter, Drew arranges to have himself and his friend Anse Kirby hired as ranch hands to the locally important Don Cazar--a.k.a. Hunt Rennie.  But Drew incurs the enmity of the man who thinks of himself as Hunt Rennie's adopted son, and the local Army post commander--who hates "Johnny Reb" passionately and doesn't much like Hunt Rennie either.  Drew winds up with his identity papers stolen and finds himself accused of horse thievery.  It takes Anse and another friend's efforts to clear him of these charges; it is helped by the loyalty of Drew's stallion, Shiloh, to prove his innocence. ~ SL

 

Several months (maybe a year) after the end of Ride Proud Rebel, Drew Rennie leaves Kentucky and heads for Arizona to find his father. Unsure of his welcome, he adopts the name Drew Kirby in honor of his Texan buddy Anson Kirby whose fancy Mexican spurs he wears. His horses are pure blood Kentucky racing stock, his mare foaling soon after reaching the closest town to his father's spread. Of course, troubles are not far behind his arrival. He falls afoul of the town bully who happens to be Drew's father's foster son. The commander of the local Army post hates former Confederate soldiers and there is a group of bushwhackers and bandits lead by one who claims to be a Confederate officer.
He meets his father and races his horse against his father's best horse and wins. Still incognito, he hires on with his father as a ranch hand. When Anson Kirby shows up (each thought the other had been killed in the war), he accidentally blurts Drew's real name in front of the town bully who immediately sets out to ruin Drew. And then all hell breaks loose. This book does not require reading Ride Proud Rebel, but it sure helps make things less confusing. ~ PG

 

Reviews ~

Kirkus Reviews ~ Issue: Sept. 1st, 1962
After fighting for the Confederate army in the Civil War, Drew Rennie goes to Arizona in search of his father. The two have never met. Drew decides to assume a pseudonym and to go to work on his father's ranch in order to give himself time to determine whether or not to divulge his identity. On the ranch Drew becomes involved in the bitterness of post-war animosity, in the detection of horse thieves, and in the usual ranching problems of the Southwest. In traditional Andre Norton fashion, the prose and dialogue are well-done, and the plot is carefully and cleverly constructed.

 

Various reviews ~ For more info and other listings see Articles Over the Years

2020 by Judith Tarr

 

Dedications and Acknowledgements ~

For Henry Peart
and Carroll Collins
who share my interest
in "The West."

 

Bibliography of English Editions ~

  • (1962) Published by World, HC, WP862, LCCN 62013944, $3.50, 224pg ~ cover by Peter Burchard {Yellow Cloth Boards, # 2259 on Rear of Dust Jacket, Library Edition – Green Cloth Boards, Pictorial Front}
  • (1962) Published by Nelson, Foster & Scott ~ Canada
  • Rebel Pride (2015) Published by Positronic Publishing, TP, 978-1-51540-245-9, $12.99, 332pg ~ Print-on-demand ~ Omnibus containing Rebel Spurs and Ride Proud Rebel! ~ Also available as Digital Media for $1.99
  • (2017) Published by Open Road Media, DM, 978-1-504-04918-4, $1.99, 218pg ~ cover by unknown
  • Rebel Pride (2018) Published by Positronic Publishing, HC, 978-1-51542-220-4, $24.99, 332pg ~ Print-on-demand ~ Omnibus containing Rebel Spurs and Ride Proud Rebel!

View the 1962 Copyright application

View the 1978 Fawcett contract ~ had to be released from contract because book was now in the public domain

View the 1985 Contract release

For information on editions currently available visit the Book Store

View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://andre-norton.com/works-of-a-master/series-of-a-master/the-drew-rennie-series/259-rebel-spurs#sigProId910194ecf2

 

 

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