True Grit

The Young Readers Edition of Charles Portis’s #1 New York Times bestseller, with over two million copies in print, comes complete with the full text of the classic novel, an afterword by Leonard S. Marcus, and a readers guide with discussion questions.

True Grit tells the story of Mattie Ross, who is just 14 when the coward Tom Chaney shoots down her father in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150 in cash. Determined to avenge the killing, Mattie enlists the help of Rooster Cogburn, the meanest available US Marshal, and pursues the killer into Indian Territory.

As Mattie outdickers and outmaneuvers the hard-bitten types in her path, her vitality and resourcefulness amuse, impress, and touch the reader. What happens to Mattie, to the gang of outlaws unfortunate enough to tangle with her, to Rooster and the swaggering Texas Ranger LeBoeuf rings with the dramatic rightness of legend.

An instant bestseller and critical success upon its first publication and the basis for two highly praised, award-winning films, True Grit is an American classic through and through.

“Quite simply, an American masterpiece.” —Boston Globe

True Grit is a selection of the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Library.