Though the book was published some years ago, it seems to be garnering more attention with a rerelease, as well as anticipation of the movie the revenant starring leonardo dicaprio, due out in january 2016. The revenant when willie arrives in indian territory, she knows only one thing. Jul 01, 2002 hugh glass apparently anticipated horace greeleys advice about going west and growing up with the country, for that is precisely what he did. Michael punkes novel the revenant provides muscle and sinew to the. It was on this first adventure that hugh glass fully established himself as a fur trapper. The revenant is a remarkable tale of obsession and the lengths that one man will go to. Oct 06, 2015 one of the stories that i always remembered was the one about hugh glass. Based on a true story, the revenant is a remarkable tale of obsession, the human will stretched to its limits, and the lengths that one man will go to for retribution. As the revenant starring leonardo dicaprio expands nationwide friday, it poses the question of just who the legendary 19thcentury frontiersman really was.
The true story of the leonardo dicaprio movie time. Hugh glass led a storied life at the beginnings of the 19th century. Set in the 1820s, oscar awardwinning the revenant follows frontiersman hugh glass as he journeys through the american wilderness, badly mauled from a bear attack and abandoned by his fellow trappers. Im guessing it follows the factual events of glasss adventures more closely than the revenant, but the theme of being a revenge movie seems accurate. After reading about hugh glass and the real story behind the revenant, check out the life of peter freuchen, another bearwrestling badass. The truth about the revenant, hugh glass and his rifle. Hugh glass the horrific true story of the legendary. Ever since i learned the movie the revenant was based on the life of hugh glass, ive been beside myself with glee. While trapping beavers along the missouri river, the group gets involved in a battle with the arikara tribe, a battle that eventually ropes in the u. Hugh glass fact vs fiction the true story of hugh glass. A person who returns as a spirit after death, a ghost.
The first account came in 1825, in a paper called the port folio see it here. With shocking grit and determination, he sets out on a threethousandmile journey across the harsh american frontier, to seek revenge on the men who betrayed him. Jan 08, 2016 welcome to the globe and mails comment community. Hugh glass the saga of hugh glass by john myers myers lincoln, nebraska. I was actually impressed that this was a true story and i just couldnt pass up the opportunity to read it.
Many years ago i hear about the story of hugh glass and his epic crawl through the wilderness but i only dimly remembered that when i saw this book being hyped. Glasss story was recounted in the film the revenant 2015. He was a white man, whose story was so powerful that it became a tradition among the indians of the american plains. Hugh glass, the true story of the revenant american. Fascinated by glasss story, he began to study his life and times, research that would find its way into his novel, the revenant. The storytelling promise in those words has attracted other writers and filmmakers before the revenant. In 1915, john neihardts poem the song of hugh glass was published. A novel of revenge is a 2002 novel by american author michael punke, based on a series of events in the life of american frontiersman hugh glass in.
The book was reissued in 2015 to correspond with the release of the movie of the same name based on the book. Then, read about the montana guy who was attacked by a grizzly bear twice in one day. While michael punke was reading a book about the american west, he discovered a snippet about hugh glass. Prior to the insane story we are about to tell, hughs background is virtually unknown.
It should be noted again that in real life these men never killed glass s son, so forgiveness would have come more easily. Leonardo dicaprio brings a legendary american figure to life. Hugh glass, american frontiersman and fur trapper who became a folk hero after. In researching the revenant true story, we learned that hugh glass did catch up to john fitzgerald and jim bridger, the men who abandoned him, but he forgave them instead of exacting violent revenge. The revenant movie vs true story of hugh glass, john. As glass watches the men flee, he is driven to survive by one allconsuming desire. Was the movie just another wild hollywood exaggeration of real people and events, or was there some truth to this bizarre tale that involves murder, mauling, and revenge.
This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and globe staff. The true story of hugh glass documented by the museum of the mountain man. The book takes place in the caribbean at the tail end of the golden age of piracy and the early state of the american frontier. He is best known for his story of survival and retribution after being left for dead by companions when he was mauled by a grizzly bear born in pennsylvania to irish parents, glass became an explorer of the watershed of the upper missouri river, in presentday montana, the dakotas, and.
I read lord grizzly when i was in junior high or high school and thought it was great. In the 1820s, a frontiersman, hugh glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling. The real story of the revenant is far weirder and bloodier than the movie. Glass had a pretty exciting life, that included being a sailor, a pirate, a captive of a vicious indian tribe, later a member of the same tribe, a trapper, explorer, and ultimately the mauling victim of a grizzly bear. Fascinated by glasss story, he began to study his life and times, research that would find its way into his novel, the. Hugh glass was an american frontiersman and fur trapper who became a folk hero after surviving a bear attack and then traveling hundreds of miles alone to safety. Then i read hugh glass and got a new spin on my education. This small book tells the real story of hugh glass, the socalled revenant of movie fame. Inspired by true events, produced and directed by alejandro g. A novel of revenge by michael punke about the book the year is 1823, and the trappers of the rocky mountain fur company live a brutal frontier life. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The revenant is a 2015 american epic adventure drama film directed by alejandro gonzalez inarritu. The revenant, based in part on michael punkes the revenant. Born in pennsylvania to irish parents, glass became an explorer of the watershed of the upper missouri.
Apr 23, 20 it was on this first adventure that hugh glass fully established himself as a fur trapper. Bruce bradley made the decision to become a writer at the age of nine, while living in an unfinished house, thirtyfive miles outside of fairbanks, alaska. He came across a few lines about hugh glass, a trapper who was mauled by a grizzly bear in. Hugh glass epic crawl and fight for life and revenge inspired the novel lord grizzly by frederick manfred and the movie man in the wilderness. For starters, hugh glass does not have a child in this book. Hugh glass mountain man by robert mcclung is a realistic fiction published on 1999. There was a boom of interest in 1830s and 1840s, with other authors repeating halls account and.
And anyone knows from the trailer of the movie that this man is seeking revenge because of his son. Hugh glass is the alphaest male who ever did alpha. Our story begins with the rocky mountain fur company. His legend lives on through numerous articles and books as well as several films, including the revenant 2015, in which leonardo dicaprio starred as glass. Long before the revenant, boys life shared the harrowing true story of hugh glass. The true story of hugh glass and the grizzly campfire tales book 1 kindle edition by dwyer, robert. The real story of the revenant is far weirder and bloodier. One of the stories that i always remembered was the one about hugh glass. In the summer of 1823, glass as part of a fur trading party led by general ashley, was attacked by a grizzly bear along the shores of the grand river at a point somewhere south of present day lemmon sd. A novel of revenge by michael punke about the book. I imagine this book is geared toward guys but hey, im a woman and i loved it.
An archive of our own, a project of the organization for transformative works. One the films this year to get the full blown buzz treatment is the revenant starring leonardo di caprio. That novel is in turn based on the 1915 poem the song of hugh glass. With shocking grit and determination, glass sets out, crawling at first, across hundreds of miles of uncharted american frontier. In real life glass didnt follow through on his vengeance after he confronted the men and. A novel of revenge, claims to be a true story, looselybased on the legend of hugh glass, a. This is one of my favorite books ive read it four times now and it gets more intense everytime. In these pages, we discover historical fiction at its best. Hugh glass is the incredible true story of one man, whose courage and will to live despite all odds is a testimony to anyone who ever face peril and adversity.
At any rate, the story centers around legendary mountain man hugh glass. An incredible tale of survival in americas old trapping mountain man west. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading hugh glass. Mar 20, 2020 hugh glass was an american frontiersman and fur trapper who became a folk hero after surviving a bear attack and then traveling hundreds of miles alone to safety. We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate. He is best known for his story of survival and retribution after being left for. I like how the book goes more into the background of hugh glass and john fitzgerald. But punkes book wasnt the first to tell glass story. The epic true tale of hugh glass mountain man, hugh glass. He is best known for his story of survival and retribution after being left for dead by companions when he was mauled by a grizzly bear. Sep 15, 2016 the added layers of emotional loss associated the killing of glasss aboriginal wife and his son hawk in the revenant make the story more compelling to an audience seeking entertainment in a movie theatre rather than the readers of newspapers and pamphlets in the 1820s, 1830s, and 1840s who wanted to learn more about the adventures to be had on the far western frontiers of their emergent. The first known publication describing glass being left for dead in the wilderness was written by james hall in the 1825 edition of the port folio. The book hugh glass is an amazing story that i would rate it a 55. A halfdozen or so nonfiction books have also been devoted to the hugh glass saga.
Hugh glass and the incredible true story of the revenant. Dec 04, 2015 the storytelling promise in those words has attracted other writers and filmmakers before the revenant. The 2016 leonardo dicaprio movie took the box office by storm, but who was hugh glass in reality. The movie and tom hardy did a great job of making john fitzgerald an. The story goes on to tell how a trapper gets attacked by a bear, but manages to survive the attack. It is one of the most fantastic tales to emerge from the entire westward movement. I love history and ive always loved the story of hugh glass.
Trapping beaver, they contend daily with the threat of indian tribes turned warlike over the white mens encroachment on their land, and other. From that moment on, his life was an adventure that ranged from the edges of the caribbean to the heart of the american wilderness. Glass life has been recounted in numerous books and dramas. And can you imagine my surprise when i saw that a movie, at least based on this mans story, is to be released in jan.
American rifleman the truth about the revenant, hugh glass. Generously spiced with such thrilling details and encounters, the revenant, first published in 2002 and soon to become a movie tells the story of legendary frontiersman hugh glass, mauled by a grizzly and left for dead by treacherous comrades in 1823. Apr 19, 2018 hugh glass, an american explorer and trader, survived an unlikely battle with a bear and an even unlikelier return to civilization, with nothing but his heavy wounds. The fur trader and mountain man hugh glass the heroic protagonist of the revenant has been captivating audiences for almost two centuries. The son of a philadelphia bricklayer, glass became accustomed to living by his wits as a young man and during the war of 1812 made good money as a blockaderunner. As the revenant starring leonardo dicaprio expands nationwide friday, it poses the question of just who.
Murdered him, as surely as a knife in the heart or a bullet in the brain, glass says. It was also when he had the fateful encounter with a grizzly bear, a story that would make him the stuff of legend and a hero. A biopic loosely based on the life of american frontiersman hugh glass 17801833. The revenant book is a 2002 historical novel by michael punke who states his story is a work of fiction but endeavors to stay true to history and the main events of the hugh glass story. The origins of hugh glass are shrouded in a bit of mystery, but history does have a few of the facts clear. Hugh glass further reading the real story of hugh glass. Further reading books and websites related to the hugh glass story. In many ways, this dude is presented as the ideal person in the revenant, a man at once capable of awful violence and incredible compassion. Smith and inarritu is based in part on michael punkes 2002 novel of the same name, describing frontiersman hugh glasss experiences in 1823.
The true story of hugh glass and the grizzly campfire tales book 1 by robert dwyer 3. Three books on the life of hugh glass were written long before michael punkes 2002 novel, the revenant, including. He was a scotchirish, firstgeneration tough guy whose dad was likely tough as nails the scotch were famous for being tough in order to survive the rough life in the scottish highlands. The epic true tale of hugh glass mountain man, hugh. The revenant its oscar season and that means we get treated to some of the best films were going to see all year barely before its even begun. The revenant author michael punke has a day job the. On august, 1823, while scouting alone for any game, glass accidentally surprised a mother grizzly bear and her two cubs. Jan 25, 2018 after reading about hugh glass and the real story behind the revenant, check out the life of peter freuchen, another bearwrestling badass. It follows the life of one hugh glass, also the main character of the new movie the revenant. January 19, 2016 bryan wendell boys life, camping 7. Apr 01, 2006 the book hugh glass is an amazing story that i would rate it a 55. The revenant, which is based off a real frontiersman and fur trapper, some say the best ever, hugh glass. But hugh glass was a real person, and the revenant only touches on a fraction of his incredible lifes story.
Dec 25, 2015 leonardo dicaprio brings a legendary american figure to life. Before the revenant, boys life wrote about hugh glass. Hugh glass apparently anticipated horace greeleys advice about going west and growing up with the country, for that is precisely what he did. The book takes place in the caribbean at the tail end of the golden age of piracy and the. Hollywood took liberties with the story, but as near as oral tradition can be trusted, what follows is the real story of hugh glass, the true story of the revenant.