5 Books Set in Wyoming

Though her career has spanned more than 30 years, she has been writing about Wyoming for nearly 20 of those years. This collection of 11 stories was published in 1999 and contains "Brokeback Mountain," which was eventually turned into a film starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger. Since publishing this book, Proulx has gone on to write two additional collections of Wyoming short stories.

Written and initially published in 1946 as a serial story, Shane takes place in what was then known as the "Wyoming Territory" in 1889. Published in 1949 as a novel, the story follows Shane, a mysterious loner, after he is hired as a farmhand on the Starrett homestead. The book later became the basis for the 1953 film starring Alan Ladd in the title role.

Considered by many to be the first true Western novel, this 1902 tale follows a man known as the Virginian and his life on a cattle ranch located east of Medicine Bow. It has since been put on the silver screen four times, and also became the basis for a nine year television show.

The first novel in a trilogy, My Friend Flicka details the story of Ken McLaughlin, a 10 year old boy as he nurses a filly he names "Flicka" on his family's ranch in the Cheyenne area. Since its publication in 1941, the book has been adapted into a radio show, two movies, and a television series.

When most people think of stories set in Wyoming, Westerns are the first to come to mind. While a majority of stories in Wyoming do seem to be Westerns, author Jonathan Lethem bucks that trend with his 1995 novel Amnesia Moon. The story follows a man named Chaos, who lives in an abandoned cinema in post-apocalyptic Wyoming, as he and his fellow Hatfork residents fight a man named Kellogg as he uses telepathy to transfer his dreams into the minds of others.