Thackeray is of course an excellent writer, and an insightful student of human nature; but he has a cold, cynical, somewhat bitter view of things, which often causes him to miss the actual truth about people and their actions. In VANITY FAIR, for example, he often makes a ridiculous observation in order to insert a negative comment about human beings, at least in the England he knew. 

 " ... The trials of the men who had murdered the Lester Mine Company scabs and gunmen had ended up convicting no one; and now, on top of that, the Ku Klux Klan and the Protestant churches were beginning to raise major hell about the road-house bootlegging and prostitution that were running wild around Herrin and Marion..... "   (EGYPT BURNING)

"All around the water tank, waitin' for a train; a thousand miles away from home, singin' in the rain ...."   (old song by Jimmie Rodgers)

For a good example of excellent Western writing, try the old Luke Short Westerns. The plots are nothing unusual, but the writing is exceptional: Great descriptions, dialog, and action scenes. GUNMAN'S CHANCE is top notch. Just one of many.

The unfenced range and the roundup were Scottish Highland traditions. The English liked fences and barns. Romanized Britons.

A good view of Old California is contained in Dana's TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST (as well as life aboard an American clipper ship with a hard-case skipper).

Just a few good spots for Southern California Western settings: Portola's trail, Mission San Gabriel, Anza's route, Lake Hughes and Elizabeth Lake, Lovejoy Buttes, Vasquez Rocks, Olvera Street, Pico House, Church of Our Lady of the Angels, Verdugo Adobe, San Fernando Mission, Lopez Adobe, Beal's Cut, Placerita Canyon, Fort Tejon (Kern County), La Casa de Adobe (replica), San Francisquito Canyon, Leona Valley.