Dec 24 2008
The Character of Vancouter Allen in “The Sackett Brand” by Louis L’amour
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Vancouter Allen’s character in “The Sackett Brand” is his name. Until I read “The Sackett Brand” I had never heard of or seen the name Vancouter. A bit of research turns up very little information, though I am sure that Louis L’amour had a good reason for choosing the name.
Like many of L’amour’s villains, Vancouter Allen is fairly one dimensional. He commits the tragic sin of harming a white woman in the west. In his case he goes so far as to murder Ange Kerry (Sackett), which is of course a hanging offense. Unfortunately we get to see little more of his personality. Partially because for 90% of the book he is off stage, but mostly because the other evidences of his personality are absent.
L’amour has the ability and uses it often in other works to portray his characters off stage very well - either through subtle hints about how they behave when tracked or through the way other characters react. Vancouter Allen is curiously absent from conversation and from the landscape throughout the story. As a serial rapist and murderer he could have been one of the most interesting characters L’amour wrote about, but unfortunately he turned out to be little more than a vague shadowy evil that never really materialized.
