False face

Here is Ernest Haycox’s “False Face” exactly as it first appeared—complete and unabridged—accompanied by a new introduction and reader’s notes that place the story in its literary and historical context. Set against the stark landscapes of the American frontier, “False Face” follows a man whose past catches up with him in a remote town, where masks of respectability hide violence, longing, and betrayal. Haycox writes with the economy and tension of a master storyteller, probing the distance between the faces we show the world and the selves we cannot escape. This edition is designed for both new readers and devoted fans of classic Western fiction, offering background on Haycox’s life, the pulp magazine world, and the story’s enduring themes without intruding on the pleasure of the text itself. Part of The Founding Texts Library.