B M Bower

Chip, of the Flying U B M Bower

Chip, of the Flying U by B. M. Bower

B. M. (Bertha Muzzy) Bower was the first woman to make a career out of writing popular westerns. And what a career she was: more than sixty novels published from 1904 to 1940, the year of her death, and even more posthumous. In western orbit, Bower was - and still is - a star. Her first, Chip of the Flying U, sets up a ranch in Montana and features the Happy Family, the dorm gang that reappears in her later books. Chip is the typical shy cowboy of women, but he is also a gifted artist (Bower is said to have based the character on Charles M. Russell, who illustrated Chip). Della, a doctor, is the young woman who upsets her lonely life. The result as a quality ranch love story.
Chip of the Flying U was a huge success leading to several film releases, one of which chose Hoot Gibson as the Chip. Today's readers, who grew up watching Westerns on television, will appreciate Bower's cinematic style. After living much of her life in Chouteau County, Montana, she moved to Los Angeles, close to the film industry that has increasingly fascinated her.