"The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" was written in England, although its author, Stephen Crane, and its protagonist, Jack Potter, are American. The story tells of Potter's return to the town of Yellow Sky with his bride, who comes from the east. He resumes his role of Marshal, but runs into his nemesis, Scratchy Wilson, makes plans to accost the sheriff whilst he is on a train but thinks twice about the plan when he is sober again, and when he sees Potter sitting calmly next to his bride.It is a classic Western on one hand, with archetypal Western characters, gunslingers and drinkers, but at the same time it is different from other Westerns in that the characters stop short of slinging their guns, and the lack of actual gunfighting in the story.
Stephen Crane was a traveller, writer and poet, best known for penning the novels "Maggie : A Girl of the Streets" and The Red Badge of Courage. Most of his writing was done in the late eighteen nineties, and as well as his novels he also gained recognition for his short stories including "The Blue Hotel" .
The story's main purpose is to demonstrate the exodus of people from the east of the country to the great west. It is thought that the character of Jack Potter is based on the real-life Texan politician Robert Potter, who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. The novel is written in the third person, but it feels like the narrator has witnessed the events he is writing about himself because he knows the history and background of the characters as if he has known them for a long time before introducing them to the reader.
After his death from tuberculosis, Crane had built up quite a reputation as a writer, and was considered an important figure in American literature. His influence is seen most strongly in the works of Ernest Hemingway, who was said to have been enormously inspired by Crane. He was also revered by his peers, particularly H.G. Wells and Willa Cather, who declared him to be the undisputed best writer of their generation.
