CHARLES NEVILLE BUCK

by David Halcomb

Very few writers have been able to capture the true magnificence of the Appalachian mountains. Charles N. Buck, a native Kentuckian, was one of those few. Through his writings he painted many vivid portraits of the mountains, as well as of the specialties of the people and their way of life. Buck was born in Woodford County, Kentucky, on April 15, 1879. He grew up in Midway, a small town located about ten miles from Lexington. His father served as the Minister to Peru under President Grover Cleveland. The younger Buck spent four years with his father in South America before he reached the age of fifteen. His father was also a writer. He published two books: the first, Under the Sun was printed in 1902 and then Uncle Bob and a Double Love came out in 1922. The fact that Charles Buck's father was a successful writer ultimately played a major part in fueling his own desire to write.

Buck's formal education took place in Louisville. He was hampered by a case of nervous prostration during his younger years of life. Buck graduated from high school at Louisville Male. He then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Louisville in 1902. He also earned a law degree from that institution as well. Buck passed his bar examinations but never practiced law. After attending the Cincinnati Academy of Art, he became a cartoonist for the Louisville Evening Post and soon after became an editorial writer for the same newspaper.

The job of being an editorial writer for a major newspaper turned into a very satisfying literary career. Though Buck wrote various kinds of novels, his most famous writings are those in which he could think back upon his own experiences. Most all of his writings are reflections of his experiences in law or the Kentucky mountains. Buck formulated his themes by using revenge, romance, and struggles with the law amongst his characters. With his words, Buck truly brought his characters alive, making them seem like family.

During his literary career he spent most of his time in New York, Louisville, or in the Kentucky mountains. It was in the Cumberland mountains where Buck laid a strong foundation for a very successful literary career. His experiences there gave him the knowledge of the life and people that he wrote about with such flare. The Call of the Cumberlands exemplifies his understanding and appreciation of mountain life more than any other. This book was published in 1913 and became his most notable work. While writing this particular novel, Buck was keeping in close touch with a colleague of his in Lexington. This friend was Mr. John Wilson Townsend. In a letter written from Buck to Townsend, dated September 21, 1912, Buck predicted the success of his novel, The Call of the Cumberlands. He began the letter by speaking of an earlier book entitled The Portal of Dreams. His prediction went as follows: "Quite frankly this book is rather trivial and is in the nature of a 'filler in' and will hardly add to my reputation. However the fourth which I have just finished is I think much the best thing I have done, and in this my publisher concurs". Buck went on to state a serial title to the book- The Strength of Samson. This is interesting in itself. Why did he change the title before the book was published? The apparent answer to this question is the fact that Buck wanted to get the most important aspect on the novel, which was the mountains, into the title. His experiences in the Cumberland mountains were so great that he wanted them to be the focal point of the book. Buck also made mention to Townsend of the fact that James Lane Allen and John Fox Jr. were already established in the writing of Kentucky life. This is another special area about Buck. He had enough confidence in himself and his experiences that he was not afraid to try to compete against the likes of Allen and Fox. This shows pride and courage in both his ability and his love for the Kentucky mountains.

Buck's earlier writings were not so much based upon aspects of Kentucky. His first novel, The Key to Yesterday, published in 1910, is a story of mental aberration. The setting for this book is in places of France, South America, and parts of Kentucky. Since most of this work was set in South America, he probably attained most of his ideas for it from his experiences in Peru with his father. His next piece of writing, published in 1911, was a romance novel entitled, The Lighted Match. In this novel an American boy falls in love with a queen-to-be from Spain. The boy has had a hard life but eventually breaks free and finds a way to regain his lost love. Buck's next work, The Portal of Dreams, established his desire to write about mountain life. This work dealt with the feuding of mountaineers. From this point on, Buck wrote approximately twenty novels which focused on the Kentucky mountains.

Buck's most popular work came in 1913; it was entitled, The Call of the Cumberlands. In this story, Buck writes about a man named Samson South. Samson leaves his Kentucky homeland to become a painter in the big city. Samson completely changes his character from a rough, fighting mountaineer to an educated city man. Eventually, Samson returns to the Cumberlands to lead his old friends to a victory in a feud against their enemies. This novel has a touch of romance in it as well.

Another novel that was very popular was Battle Cry. This is a story about a woman who gives up her sophisticated life in the city in order to start up a school in the Kentucky mountains. Buck's other two most famous novels are The Code of the Mountains, published in 1915 and Mountain Justice, published in 1932. The previous of the two just mentioned is a story about feudalism in the Philippines. In this work a member of an opposite party finds a "foreigner" in dire straits. Mountain Justice was Buck's final and most pleasing mystery novel. It deals with a doctor who is wrongly accused of a murder and flees to the mountains. This novel was written during the Great Depression and deals with Communist agitators and violence in the coal mines of the time.

Charles Neville Buck seemingly reached his full potential as a writer. His career spanned twenty-five years and included mystery novels, stories of humor, and most notably books that centered on romance and mountaineer lifestyles. Buck was able to write about his subjects with greatness because he had previously experienced almost everything he wrote about. He lived in the city and in the hills of Kentucky. This enabled him to master each culture's manners and customs. If he had not loved the mountains he would not have ever been successful in writing about them. Buck's novels are easy to nderstand and are equally entertaining. Charles Neville Buck captured the essence of mountain living and wrote about it in a way that can be loved by many different types of people no matter what their own heritage might be.

Townsend Room. Original material, Eastern Kentucky University Library, Special Collections and Archives.

by David Halcomb

The Key to Yesterday. New York. 1910. A story of mental aberration.

The Lighted Match. New York. 1911. An international romance.

The Portal of Dreams. New York. 1912. A story about feuding mountaineers.

The Call of the Cumberlands. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1913. A story about a mountaineer named Samson South.

The Battle Cry. 1914. A story about a woman who leaves her sophisticated city life to start a school in the mountains.

The Code of the Mountains. 1915. A story about fighting.

Destiny. 1916.

The Tyranny of Weakness. 1917.

When Bearcat Went Dry. 1918. A story about moonshining.

A Pagan of the Hills. 1919.

The Tempering. 1920.

The Law of Hemlock Mountain. 1920.

The Roof Tree. 1921.

Colonel Bob and a Double Love. 1922. A story about the Civil War behind the Southern lines.

The Gentleman in Pajamas. 1922.

Alias Red Ryan.

Portuguese Silver. 1923.

The Rogue's Badge. 1924.

Flight to the Hills. 1925. A story about disappointment in post-war America.

San Dollar. 1926.

Iron Will. 1927. A feudist leads a class in Harvard Law School.

Marked Men. 1929.

Hazard of the Hills. 1932. A story about a man named Adam Ballard.

Mountain Justice. 1935. A mystery tale of the Cumberlands.