23 h 59 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 23 h 59 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A rider crosses the Texas plains on a black horse—and he has no head.
Near the Leona River, Maurice Gerald catches and tames wild horses. When he helps Louise Poindexter and her family cross a burned prairie, love takes root. But Louise's cousin, Cassius Calhoun, wants to marry her himself. His hatred of Maurice turns their rivalry into open conflict.
In Mayne Reid's The Headless Horseman, a baffling murder draws suspicion toward Maurice, whose black mustang links him to the mystery. Louise refuses to believe the accusations. As the search unfolds, the prairie becomes a place of clues, danger and doubt, while frontier justice threatens the man she loves.
What you’ll discover
- A haunting central mystery Follow the questions surrounding a headless rider and a murder that nobody can explain.
- Love against fierce rivalry Meet a spirited woman whose choice of Maurice provokes her proud cousin's hatred.
- The wide Texas prairie Cross burned ground and open plains where wild horses shape Maurice's daily life.
- Clues beneath your feet Watch loyal tracker Zeb Stump read the ground as suspicion gathers around his friend.
- Honor put to the test Explore the clash between personal pride and justice in the frontier court of the Regulators.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy frontier adventure, mystery with a ghostly edge, and romance that dares to cross a social line.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A strange rider shadows a romance
- Calhoun's pride leaves the wagons lost
- Maurice earns trust through his actions
- A gift brings the lovers closer
- Jealousy turns affection into open conflict
- A secret meeting draws Henry outside
- Blood and fear turn suspicion outward
- Zeb reads evidence where rumors spread
- Love and rumor put judgment at risk
Who’s who
- Maurice GeraldAn Irish wild-horse hunter in Mexican dress, called Maurice the Mustanger, who is skilled with a lasso and loves Louise Poindexter.
- Louise PoindexterA spirited Creole heiress from Louisiana who rides, shoots arrows and speaks her mind, and who will not give up the man she loves.
- Cassius CalhounLouise's cousin, a former volunteer captain and bully who holds her father's debts and wants to marry her.
- Woodley PoindexterA proud Louisiana sugar planter who moves his household to Texas and values rank and reputation above almost everything.
- Henry PoindexterLouise's frank and generous younger brother, who is the one Poindexter free of pride and likes Maurice from the start.
- Zeb StumpA tall Kentucky hunter and tracker who reads the prairie like a book and becomes the loyal friend of Maurice.
- Phelim O'NealMaurice's talkative Irish servant from Galway, who loves whiskey, fears snakes and ghosts, and serves his master faithfully.
- Isidora Covarubio de los LlanosA bold Mexican horsewoman who throws a lasso, owes Maurice a debt of gratitude and hopes to win his love.
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The Headless Horseman
by Mayne Reid · 1866
A rider with no head crosses the moonlit Texas plains while a young Irish horse hunter wins a Creole heiress.
Challenging10–20 hours to read2 languages
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In short
What would you do if a rider with no head crossed the plain in front of you? In Mayne Reid's Texas, that sight frightens a stag, a search party and a whole frontier settlement.
The Headless Horseman at a glance
- Reading time
- About 13 h 30 min10 h 40 min fast, 16 h slow
- Length
- 192,300 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1866by Mayne Reid
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Headless Rider Crosses the Moonlit Plain
The book opens at night with a stag startled by an approaching rider. A Texas stag lies hidden in the tall grass near the Leona River. He hears a hoof ring against stone, and he rises to look.
He sees a splendid horse, saddled and bridled, and a rider wrapped in a serape. Nothing seems wrong until the stag looks closer. The rider has no head. The animal flees across the river in terror, while the rider initially advances at a slow pace. Then the figure fades into the moonlight.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1866
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Reid, Mayne. The Headless Horseman. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-headless-horseman.
Reid, M. (2026). The headless horseman. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-headless-horseman (Original work published 1866)
Reid, Mayne. The Headless Horseman. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-headless-horseman.
@book{reid2026headless,
author = {Reid, Mayne},
title = {The Headless Horseman},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-headless-horseman},
note = {First published 1866}
}
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What is The Headless Horseman about?
It follows a Louisiana planter's family as it settles in Texas. A rider with no head haunts the plains, the planter's son goes missing, and a wild-horse hunter is suspected while he loves the planter's daughter.
Who is the Headless Horseman in the book?
For most of the story no one knows. Hunters, soldiers and settlers all see the figure and offer theories, from an Indian trick to the devil, and the answer comes only at the end of the novel.
What is a mustanger?
A mustanger is a man who catches wild horses, called mustangs, on the prairie and sells them. Maurice Gerald does this with a lasso and a fast bay horse, and some settlers look down on the trade.
The author
Mayne Reid
1818–1883 · Irish-American adventure novelist
Thomas Mayne Reid was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1818. He lived in the United States and England and died in London in 1883. He wrote adventure novels, including The Rifle Rangers, published in 1850, and The Headless Horseman, published in 1865. He also served in the Mexican-American War.
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