About “The Octopus: A Story of California”
Nominally a fictional story of disputes between a railroad and ranchers in California, this novel is actually a stern critique of the Central Pacific Railroad based on the Mussel Slough Tragedy, a shootout between railroad men and citizens of a small California town. It was planned as part one of a three-part trilogy, The Epic of the Wheat; part two, The Pit, was published later, but the author died before completing the third novel.
Book details
- First published
- 1901
- Latest edition
- 1901 · ISBN 9780342980000