Joann Chartier - Böcker

From Doc Holliday and Big Nose Kate to Frank Butler and Annie Oakley and the lesser-known Mollie Walsh and Packer Jack Newman, this book reveals the stories behind some of the West's most famous, passionate, and tempestuous romances.

The curtain rises and authors JoAnn Chartier and Chris Enss shine the spotlight on 14 entertaining women who sang, danced, acted in plays, performed equestrienne feats, and captured the hearts of the miners and homesteaders of the Frontier West. These "gilded girls" who performed in the mining boomtowns were literally showered with gold, but oftentimes their personal lives were marked by unhappiness. Still, their very presence on stage enchanted avid western audiences, and they were rewarded with flowery reviews and sensational editorials by local newspapers, as well as riches. Their every action was commented upon, but rarely did reporters know the whole story. Chartier and Enss now reveal what many people of the times never knew about these sometimes rowdy, sometimes refined female celebrities by providing a unique inside look at their lives via this collection of intriguing biographies.

From the earliest days of the western frontier, women heeded the call to go west along with their husbands, sweethearts, and parents. Many of these women were attached to the army camps and outposts that dotted the prairies. Some were active participants in the skirmishes and battles that took place in the western territories. Each of these women-wives, mothers, daughters, laundresses, soldiers, and shamans-risked their lives in unsettled lands, facing such challenges as bearing children in primitive conditions and defying military orders in an effort to save innocent people.Soldier, Sister, Spy, Scout tells the story of twelve such brave women-Buffalo Soldiers, scouts, interpreters, nurses, and others-who served their country in the early frontier. These heroic women displayed a depth of courage and physical bravery not found in many men of the time. Their remarkable commitment and willingness to throw off the constraints of nineteenth-century conventions helped build the west for generations to come.