Muriel Marshall
3 books in the catalogue, published 1998 to 2000.
Muriel Marshall wrote about the country of western Colorado's Western Slope: the Uncompahgre Plateau, the Adobe Badlands near Delta and Grand Mesa, the flat-topped mountain she lived beside for most of her life. Western Reflections Publishing carries three of her books, issued between 1998 and 2000, a mix of historic guide, landscape book and natural history.
About Muriel Marshall
Reliable biographical detail on Muriel Marshall is thin, so we stay with what we can source. A March 1999 High Country News column calls her a former newspaper reporter, and notes that she took the photographs for her Uncompahgre guide. Her book Red Hole in Time was published by Texas A&M University Press in 1988 as number nine in its Essays on the American West series.
The description of Island in the Sky calls it her last book and says she lived most of her life in the shadow of Grand Mesa. We have found no verified birth or death dates, and no outside biography beyond these facts. Everything else we know about Muriel Marshall, we know through her books.
Books
Uncompahgre
A historic guide to the Uncompahgre Plateau, back in print as a reprint. Marshall took the photographs herself, and the book is aimed at readers on foot, in a car or at home with a map.
The Awesome 'Dobie Badlands
A short pictorial look at the clay hills locals call the 'dobies, focused on the stretch along the Gunnison River. It covers geology, plants, people who lived there and tips for photographing the formations.
Island in the Sky
The long book on Grand Mesa, called Marshall's last. It moves from the mesa's geologic beginnings through its animals and plants to its recent history as a ski area.
What the books share
Marshall's three books in our library share one geography: the high and broken country of western Colorado, from the plateau above Montrose and Delta to the mesa east of Grand Junction. Each is built around a single place and approaches it from several directions at once, with geology, plants, animals and the people who passed through. She also works as a photographer, and her books lean on images. The tone is casual and personal, written by someone who lived beside these landmarks and wanted neighbors and visitors to see more in them.
The subjects this author is catalogued under. Open Library record.
Next steps for readers of this author
Driving the mesa with a book on the seat
Check the forest's alerts, then follow the byway to Land's End. Take the Grand Mesa book along for a picnic stop and compare its geology chapter with what you see.
Hiking the dobies
The BLM page says the area has no trails, so plan for open country, bring your own water and read its warnings before you set out.
Building a western Colorado shelf
Browse our library's Colorado history books to place Marshall's three beside other volumes on the same region.
Go deeper
Marshall's three books cover the Uncompahgre Plateau, the Adobe Badlands and Grand Mesa, and each place has a public agency page for visitors.
Adobe Badlands WSA, Bureau of Land Management
Describes the Mancos shale formations locals call the dobies and the pinnacle known as Devil's Thumb.
Grand Mesa Scenic Byway, Colorado Department of Transportation
Lists the byway as 63 miles from I-70 to Land's End Overlook on top of the mesa.
Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests
The Forest Service's home page for the three forests, with alerts and trail and road information.
Good to know
How many Muriel Marshall books are in the library?
What places does she write about?
Did Marshall publish anywhere else?
Writers like this one are how the list was built
We have published Colorado and Western writers since 1996, and every submission is still read by a person. Send yours, finished or half written.