Lady at the O.K. Corral : The True Story of Josephine Marcus Earp
Author(s): Ann Kirschner
Lady at the O.K. Corral: The True Story of Josephine Marcus Earp by Ann Kirschner is the definitive biography of a Jewish girl from New York who won the heart of Wyatt Earp.
For nearly fifty years, she was the common-law wife of Wyatt Earp: hero of the O.K. Corral and the most famous lawman of the Old West. Yet Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp has nearly been erased from Western lore. In this fascinating biography, Ann Kirschner, author of the acclaimed Sala's Gift, brings Josephine out of the shadows of history to tell her tale: a spirited and colorful tale of ambition, adventure, self-invention, and devotion. Reflective of America itself, her story brings us from the post–Civil War years to World War II, and from New York to the Arizona Territory to old Hollywood.
In Lady at the O.K. Corral, you’ll learn how this aspiring actress and dancer—a flamboyant, curvaceous Jewish girl with a persistent New York accent—landed in Tombstone, Arizona, and sustained a lifelong partnership with Wyatt Earp, a man of uncommon charisma and complex heroism.
Review(s):
“Ann Kirschner has cleverly identified a parallel story buried under the debris of history: that of Josephine Marcus, for early 50 years Earp’s common-law wife and a valiant frontierswoman in her own right.”
“Scrumptious is the only word to describe Lady at the O.K. Corral. This quick-paced biography has it all going on: sex, beauty, blood, guns, bad men and wild girls.”
“Splendid.”
“Lady is as engaging as a novel. She has provided a delightful, thoughtful account of a little-known woman who shared a half-century of devotion with a legend.”
“Ann Kirschner’s well-researched Lady at the O.K. Corral exposes what many never knew about Earp and his times, but also significantly repositions what we did know with a commanding narrative.”
“Highly recommended for Old West enthusiasts and scholars, high school and up.”
“Kirschner restores Josephine to her rightful historical place.”
“An admiring and vivacious biography. . . . Kirschner’s fascinating profile captures the restless spirit of the frontier as deftly as it does Josephine’s energy, affection, and limitless appetite for adventure.”
“Well-researched. . . . [An] engaging biography.”
“With vividness and certainty, Kirschner lays her story to rest at last. Tragedy, adventure, romance and scholarly investigation come together like pioneers to a boomtown, with something for Earp worshipers and casual readers alike.”
ISBN: 9780061864513