A01=James D. McLaird
alcoholic
Author_James D. McLaird
biography
Calamity Jane
Category=DNB
Category=JBSF1
Category=NHK
Category=WQH
dance hall girl
Deadwood
Doris Day
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
gun-toting
Martha Canary
mother
prostitute
Robin Weigert
swearing
unconventional
waitress
Wild West
Product details
- ISBN 9780806142517
- Weight: 694g
- Dimensions: 178 x 254mm
- Publication Date: 15 Feb 2012
- Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Forget Doris Day singing on the stagecoach. Forget Robin Weigert's gritty portrayal on HBO's Deadwood. The real Calamity Jane was someone the likes of whom you've never encountered. That is, until now.
This book is a definitive biography of Martha Canary, the woman popularly known as Calamity Jane. Written by one of today's foremost authorities on this notorious character, it is a meticulously researched account of how an alcoholic prostitute was transformed into a Wild West heroine.
Always on the move across the northern plains, Martha was more camp follower than the scout of legend. A mother of two, she often found employment as waitress, laundress, or dance hall girl and was more likely to be wearing a dress than buckskin. But she was hard to ignore when she'd had a few drinks, and she exploited the aura of fame that dime novels created around her, even selling her autobiography and photos to tourists.
Gun toting, swearing, hard drinking - Calamity Jane was all of these, to be sure. But whatever her flaws or foibles, James D. McLaird paints a compelling portrait of an unconventional woman who more than once turned the tables on those who sought to condemn or patronize her. He also includes dozens of photos - many never before seen - depicting Jane in her many guises. His book is a long-awaited biography of Martha Canary and the last word on Calamity Jane.
This book is a definitive biography of Martha Canary, the woman popularly known as Calamity Jane. Written by one of today's foremost authorities on this notorious character, it is a meticulously researched account of how an alcoholic prostitute was transformed into a Wild West heroine.
Always on the move across the northern plains, Martha was more camp follower than the scout of legend. A mother of two, she often found employment as waitress, laundress, or dance hall girl and was more likely to be wearing a dress than buckskin. But she was hard to ignore when she'd had a few drinks, and she exploited the aura of fame that dime novels created around her, even selling her autobiography and photos to tourists.
Gun toting, swearing, hard drinking - Calamity Jane was all of these, to be sure. But whatever her flaws or foibles, James D. McLaird paints a compelling portrait of an unconventional woman who more than once turned the tables on those who sought to condemn or patronize her. He also includes dozens of photos - many never before seen - depicting Jane in her many guises. His book is a long-awaited biography of Martha Canary and the last word on Calamity Jane.
James D. McLaird (1940-2017) was Professor Emeritus of History, Dakota Wesleyan University, Mitchell, South Dakota. He is the author of numerous articles on western history and myth-making, focusing especially on South Dakota and the Black Hills.
