Tombstone

In Tombstone, Walter Noble Burns offers a biography, fiction first published in 1927. At its center are character, ambition, circumstance, and the formation of a life, developed through the conventions and freedoms of biography, fiction. Rather than depending on topical novelty, the book builds its interest through the interaction of character, situation, and idea. The reading experience is shaped by a narrative style that joins personal detail with historical setting. At roughly 110,919 words with a fairly easy reading profile, it offers a reading commitment that is easy to judge before beginning while still leaving room for close attention. Its continuing value lies in its ability to make a period visible through one person’s experiences. The result is a book that rewards readers who enjoy narrative style while leaving room for reflection after the final page. Tombstone therefore works both as an encounter with Walter Noble Burns’s individual voice and as an example of the wider literary tradition surrounding biography, fiction.