Lord Grizzly

Lord Grizzly (1954) is a novel by Frederick Manfred — born Feike Feikema — based on the legendary frontier survival story of Hugh Glass, a fur trapper mauled by a grizzly bear in 1823 and left for dead by his companions near the Grand River in South Dakota. Glass crawled roughly two hundred miles to Fort Kiowa, and his story of endurance became one of the defining legends of the American frontier, later inspiring the 2015 film The Revenant.

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1. Biography

A short life of the author

Lord Grizzly (1954) is a novel by Frederick Manfred (1912–1994), born Feike Feikema, based on the legendary frontier survival story of Hugh Glass. In 1823, Glass — a member of Andrew Henry’s fur-trapping expedition — was mauled by a grizzly bear near the forks of the Grand River in present-day South Dakota. Left for dead by two companions assigned to watch over him, Glass regained consciousness and crawled roughly two hundred miles to Fort Kiowa, sustained by sheer will and whatever food he could forage.

Manfred’s novel, part of his “Buckskin Man Tales” series set in the region he called “Siouxland,” transforms the Glass legend into a powerful meditation on survival, vengeance, and the American wilderness. The Hugh Glass story later inspired Michael Punke’s The Revenant (2002) and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2015 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Collecting Lord Grizzly

Lord Grizzly (1954, McGraw-Hill) first editions in dust jacket are collected by enthusiasts of Western Americana and frontier fiction.

Frederick Manfred’s “Buckskin Man Tales” series — including Conquering Horse, Scarlet Plume, King of Spades, and Riders of Judgment — is collected as a unified literary project of the American Great Plains. The success of The Revenant (2015 film) has renewed interest in the Hugh Glass legend and associated publications.