True Grit tells the tale of Mattie Ross, who is simply fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shoots her father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150 in cash. Mattie leaves home to avenge her father’s blood. With the only-eyed Rooster Cogburn, the meanest to be had U.S. Marshal, by her side, Mattie pursues the homicide into Indian Territory. True Grit is eccentric, cool, straight, and unflinching, like Mattie herself. From a creator of true status, that is an American classic thru and thru. This mass-market edition includes an afterword by award-winning Donna Tartt, creator of The Little Loved one and The Secret History.