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| James Oliver Curwood |
James Oliver Curwood was born in Owosso, Michigan on June 12, 1878.
He was an American novelist and conservationist.
The youngest of four children, he left high school before graduation but did
pass the entrance exam to the University of Michigan. In 1898, he enrolled in
the English department and studied journalism. He worked for the Detroit
News-Tribune and started at $8/week as a reporter covering funerals. He
was fired 6 months later and joined a pharmaceutical manufacturer. In 1902
he was re-hired by the Detroit News-Tribune at $18/week. He left his job in
1907. At this time, he devoted more time to his writing.
By 1909, he had saved enough money to travel to the Canadian
northwest. This trip provided the inspiration for Curwood’s wilderness
adventure stories. He would continue making these trips for the next 18
years, spending time in the wilderness, exploring, writing and building log
cabins.
By 1922, his writings had made him successful enough to build the
Curwood Castle in Owosso. Overlooking the Shiawassee River, he set up his
writing studio in one of the large turrets. He lived at his nearby home on
Williams Street. He also owned a camp in a remote area in Baraga County,
Michigan near the Huron Mountains as well as a cabin in Roscommon,
Michigan.
He was an avid hunter in his youth but, as he grew older, he became an
advocate of environmentalism. The story goes that while on a hunting trip in
the Rockies, he saw a large bear he called Thor. He tried to shoot him three
times in three weeks. One day as Thor approached him, Curwood slipped
and fell, breaking his gun. The bear reared up - before walking away.
Curwood turned from hunting for trophies to championing the cause of wild
things.
Curwood led active campaigning for the preservation of Michigan’s natural
resources. He was appointed to the Michigan Conservation Commission in
1926.
At the time of his death at the age of 49, he was the highest paid author in
the world.
During the first full weekend in June of each year, the city of Owosso holds
the Curwood Festival. The Curwood Castle shown on this page is now a
museum. The castle contains many of his original furnishings, copies of all
his adventure novels and several oil paintings which served as illustrations
for his stories. Many of his novels were later made into movies. One recent
film that was produced from one of his novels was "The Bear", which had its
United States premier in Owosso.
He was an American novelist and conservationist.
The youngest of four children, he left high school before graduation but did
pass the entrance exam to the University of Michigan. In 1898, he enrolled in
the English department and studied journalism. He worked for the Detroit
News-Tribune and started at $8/week as a reporter covering funerals. He
was fired 6 months later and joined a pharmaceutical manufacturer. In 1902
he was re-hired by the Detroit News-Tribune at $18/week. He left his job in
1907. At this time, he devoted more time to his writing.
By 1909, he had saved enough money to travel to the Canadian
northwest. This trip provided the inspiration for Curwood’s wilderness
adventure stories. He would continue making these trips for the next 18
years, spending time in the wilderness, exploring, writing and building log
cabins.
By 1922, his writings had made him successful enough to build the
Curwood Castle in Owosso. Overlooking the Shiawassee River, he set up his
writing studio in one of the large turrets. He lived at his nearby home on
Williams Street. He also owned a camp in a remote area in Baraga County,
Michigan near the Huron Mountains as well as a cabin in Roscommon,
Michigan.
He was an avid hunter in his youth but, as he grew older, he became an
advocate of environmentalism. The story goes that while on a hunting trip in
the Rockies, he saw a large bear he called Thor. He tried to shoot him three
times in three weeks. One day as Thor approached him, Curwood slipped
and fell, breaking his gun. The bear reared up - before walking away.
Curwood turned from hunting for trophies to championing the cause of wild
things.
Curwood led active campaigning for the preservation of Michigan’s natural
resources. He was appointed to the Michigan Conservation Commission in
1926.
At the time of his death at the age of 49, he was the highest paid author in
the world.
During the first full weekend in June of each year, the city of Owosso holds
the Curwood Festival. The Curwood Castle shown on this page is now a
museum. The castle contains many of his original furnishings, copies of all
his adventure novels and several oil paintings which served as illustrations
for his stories. Many of his novels were later made into movies. One recent
film that was produced from one of his novels was "The Bear", which had its
United States premier in Owosso.
James Oliver Curwood Books
1908 The Courage of Captain Plum
1908 The Wolf Hunters
1909 The Great Lakes
1909 The Gold Hunters
1910 The Danger Trail
1911 The Honor of the Big Snows
1911 Philip Steele (Steele of the Royal
Mounted)
1912 The Flower of the North
1913 Isobel
1914 Kazan
1915 God's Country and the Woman
1916 The Hunted Woman
1916 The Grizzly King
1917 Baree, Son of Kazan
1918 The Courage of Marge
O'Doone
1919 Nomads of the North
1919 The River's End
1920 Back to God's Country
1921 God's Country - The Trail to
Happiness
1921 The Golden Snare
1921 The Flaming Forest
1922 The Country Beyond
1923 The Alaskan
1924 A Gentleman of Courage
1908 The Courage of Captain Plum
1908 The Wolf Hunters
1909 The Great Lakes
1909 The Gold Hunters
1910 The Danger Trail
1911 The Honor of the Big Snows
1911 Philip Steele (Steele of the Royal
Mounted)
1912 The Flower of the North
1913 Isobel
1914 Kazan
1915 God's Country and the Woman
1916 The Hunted Woman
1916 The Grizzly King
1917 Baree, Son of Kazan
1918 The Courage of Marge
O'Doone
1919 Nomads of the North
1919 The River's End
1920 Back to God's Country
1921 God's Country - The Trail to
Happiness
1921 The Golden Snare
1921 The Flaming Forest
1922 The Country Beyond
1923 The Alaskan
1924 A Gentleman of Courage
1925 The Ancient Highway
1926 Swift Lightning
1926 The Black Hunter
1928 The Plains of Abraham
1929 The Crippled Lady of
Peribonka
1930 Green Timber
1930 Son of the Forests -
(Edited version of Curwood's
Autobiography)
1931 Falkner of the Inland Seas
1983 The Glory of the Living
(Autobiography reprinted as written
and published in England in the late
1920s)
1926 Swift Lightning
1926 The Black Hunter
1928 The Plains of Abraham
1929 The Crippled Lady of
Peribonka
1930 Green Timber
1930 Son of the Forests -
(Edited version of Curwood's
Autobiography)
1931 Falkner of the Inland Seas
1983 The Glory of the Living
(Autobiography reprinted as written
and published in England in the late
1920s)