Lady at the O.K. Corral by Ann Kirschner

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The Woman Behind the Legend

Lady at the O.K. Corral by Ann Kirschner delves into the lesser-known history of Wyatt Earp’s third common-law wife, Josephine Marcus Earp.  From the shadows of her famous husband of almost 50 years, Kirschner brings to life the emotional and financial struggles as well as the triumphs of life with the famous lawman at the O.K. Corral. In the book we learn of their nomadic lifestyle after the shootout, which included time in another exciting piece of American history—the gold rush in Nome, Alaska.  For decades
Josephine remained in the background of Wyatt Earp as a devoted collaborator, who would be the champion and protector of her husband’s reputation and their shared secret in the whitewashed version of his biography and later Hollywood fame.  A beauty, an adventure seeker, and a loyal wife, this book is a fascinating, in-depth look at the woman behind the legend—Wyatt Earp’s Josephine.
Most of my book club members were not fully enamored with this book. They thought it would contain more about Wyatt and Josephine's love affair, kind of along the lines of the movie Tombstone.  While it did give the basics, like most biographies, there was no dialogue or character thought process to draw you in.  It was a report on the facts, and that's not always as enticing as a historical fiction.  Even those who really liked the book got a bit bored with the big slice that was allotted to the construction of Earp’s biographies—a necessary though somewhat tedious portion. Still, we were all excited to discover that Wyatt was briefly in our area as he mined in Northern Idaho and was elected deputy sheriff of Kootenai County.

Happy Reading,
Annette


Comments

Anonymous said…
I must say this book was way to slow for me and I could not finish it. I had really looked forward to reading it. Disappointed.
October 15, 2014 at 8:38 PM
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