Author: Richard W. Etulain
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806147865
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 408
Book Description
Everyone knows the name Calamity Jane. Scores of dime novels and movie and TV Westerns have portrayed this original Wild West woman as an adventuresome, gun-toting hellion. Although Calamity Jane has probably been written about more than any other woman of the nineteenth-century American West, fiction and legend have largely obscured the facts of her life. This lively, concise, and exhaustively researched biography traces the real person from the Missouri farm where she was born in 1856 through the development of her notorious persona as a Wild West heroine. Before Calamity Jane became a legend, she was Martha Canary, orphaned when she was only eleven years old. From a young age she traveled fearlessly, worked with men, smoked, chewed tobacco, and drank. By the time she arrived in the boomtown of Deadwood, South Dakota, in 1876, she had become Calamity Jane, and the real Martha Canary had disappeared under a landslide of purple prose. Calamity became a hostess and dancer in Deadwood’s saloons and theaters. She imbibed heavily, and she might have been a prostitute, but she had other qualities, as well, including those of an angel of mercy who ministered to the sick and the down-and-out. Journalists and dime novelists couldn’t get enough of either version, nor, in the following century, could filmmakers. Sorting through the stories, veteran western historian Richard W. Etulain’s account begins with a biography that offers new information on Calamity’s several “husbands” (including one she legally married), her two children, and a woman who claimed to be the daughter of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity, a story Etulain discredits. In the second half of the book, Etulain traces the stories that have shaped Calamity Jane’s reputation. Some Calamity portraits, he says, suggest that she aspired to a quiet life with a husband and family. As the 2004–2006 HBO series Deadwood makes clear, well more than a century after her first appearance as a heroine in the Deadwood Dick dime novels, Calamity Jane lives on—raunchy, unabashed, contradictory, and ambiguous as ever.
The Life and Legends of Calamity Jane
Author: Richard W. Etulain
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806147865
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 408
Book Description
Everyone knows the name Calamity Jane. Scores of dime novels and movie and TV Westerns have portrayed this original Wild West woman as an adventuresome, gun-toting hellion. Although Calamity Jane has probably been written about more than any other woman of the nineteenth-century American West, fiction and legend have largely obscured the facts of her life. This lively, concise, and exhaustively researched biography traces the real person from the Missouri farm where she was born in 1856 through the development of her notorious persona as a Wild West heroine. Before Calamity Jane became a legend, she was Martha Canary, orphaned when she was only eleven years old. From a young age she traveled fearlessly, worked with men, smoked, chewed tobacco, and drank. By the time she arrived in the boomtown of Deadwood, South Dakota, in 1876, she had become Calamity Jane, and the real Martha Canary had disappeared under a landslide of purple prose. Calamity became a hostess and dancer in Deadwood’s saloons and theaters. She imbibed heavily, and she might have been a prostitute, but she had other qualities, as well, including those of an angel of mercy who ministered to the sick and the down-and-out. Journalists and dime novelists couldn’t get enough of either version, nor, in the following century, could filmmakers. Sorting through the stories, veteran western historian Richard W. Etulain’s account begins with a biography that offers new information on Calamity’s several “husbands” (including one she legally married), her two children, and a woman who claimed to be the daughter of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity, a story Etulain discredits. In the second half of the book, Etulain traces the stories that have shaped Calamity Jane’s reputation. Some Calamity portraits, he says, suggest that she aspired to a quiet life with a husband and family. As the 2004–2006 HBO series Deadwood makes clear, well more than a century after her first appearance as a heroine in the Deadwood Dick dime novels, Calamity Jane lives on—raunchy, unabashed, contradictory, and ambiguous as ever.
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806147865
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 408
Book Description
Everyone knows the name Calamity Jane. Scores of dime novels and movie and TV Westerns have portrayed this original Wild West woman as an adventuresome, gun-toting hellion. Although Calamity Jane has probably been written about more than any other woman of the nineteenth-century American West, fiction and legend have largely obscured the facts of her life. This lively, concise, and exhaustively researched biography traces the real person from the Missouri farm where she was born in 1856 through the development of her notorious persona as a Wild West heroine. Before Calamity Jane became a legend, she was Martha Canary, orphaned when she was only eleven years old. From a young age she traveled fearlessly, worked with men, smoked, chewed tobacco, and drank. By the time she arrived in the boomtown of Deadwood, South Dakota, in 1876, she had become Calamity Jane, and the real Martha Canary had disappeared under a landslide of purple prose. Calamity became a hostess and dancer in Deadwood’s saloons and theaters. She imbibed heavily, and she might have been a prostitute, but she had other qualities, as well, including those of an angel of mercy who ministered to the sick and the down-and-out. Journalists and dime novelists couldn’t get enough of either version, nor, in the following century, could filmmakers. Sorting through the stories, veteran western historian Richard W. Etulain’s account begins with a biography that offers new information on Calamity’s several “husbands” (including one she legally married), her two children, and a woman who claimed to be the daughter of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity, a story Etulain discredits. In the second half of the book, Etulain traces the stories that have shaped Calamity Jane’s reputation. Some Calamity portraits, he says, suggest that she aspired to a quiet life with a husband and family. As the 2004–2006 HBO series Deadwood makes clear, well more than a century after her first appearance as a heroine in the Deadwood Dick dime novels, Calamity Jane lives on—raunchy, unabashed, contradictory, and ambiguous as ever.
Searching for Calamity
Author: Linda Jucovy
Publisher: Linda Jucovy
ISBN: 0985300302
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
“Who in the world would think that Calamity Jane would get to be such a famous person?” one of the pallbearers at her funeral asked an interviewer many years later. It seemed like a reasonable question. Who else has accomplished so little by conventional standards and yet achieved such enduring fame? But conventional standards do not apply. Calamity was poor, uneducated, and an alcoholic. For decades, she wandered through the small towns and empty spaces of the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Montana. But she also had a natural talent for self-invention. She created a story about herself and promoted it tirelessly for much of her life. The story emphasized her love of adventure and the heroic role she played in key events in the early history of the American west. She became that story to people around the country who read about her. And she became that story to herself. The details about her exploits were rarely accurate, but a larger truth lay beneath them. In an era when there were few options for women, Calamity had the audacity to be herself. She lived as she pleased, which is to say that she allowed herself the same freedoms her male contemporaries assumed as their birthright. She spoke her mind. She flouted the rules. She dressed as a man when it was illegal for women to wear pants; hung out in saloons although that was unheard of for any woman who was not a prostitute; did men’s work; cursed, hollered, and smoked cigars. Although Calamity’s name is imprinted in history, most people know little about her. This highly readable biography brings Calamity to life against the backdrop of the American west and of women’s determination to break free from their historical constraints.
Publisher: Linda Jucovy
ISBN: 0985300302
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
“Who in the world would think that Calamity Jane would get to be such a famous person?” one of the pallbearers at her funeral asked an interviewer many years later. It seemed like a reasonable question. Who else has accomplished so little by conventional standards and yet achieved such enduring fame? But conventional standards do not apply. Calamity was poor, uneducated, and an alcoholic. For decades, she wandered through the small towns and empty spaces of the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Montana. But she also had a natural talent for self-invention. She created a story about herself and promoted it tirelessly for much of her life. The story emphasized her love of adventure and the heroic role she played in key events in the early history of the American west. She became that story to people around the country who read about her. And she became that story to herself. The details about her exploits were rarely accurate, but a larger truth lay beneath them. In an era when there were few options for women, Calamity had the audacity to be herself. She lived as she pleased, which is to say that she allowed herself the same freedoms her male contemporaries assumed as their birthright. She spoke her mind. She flouted the rules. She dressed as a man when it was illegal for women to wear pants; hung out in saloons although that was unheard of for any woman who was not a prostitute; did men’s work; cursed, hollered, and smoked cigars. Although Calamity’s name is imprinted in history, most people know little about her. This highly readable biography brings Calamity to life against the backdrop of the American west and of women’s determination to break free from their historical constraints.
Calamity Jane
Author:
Publisher: Capstone
ISBN: 9780756508951
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36
Book Description
The life story and adventures of a legendary American frontierswoman Calamity Jane, whose real name was Martha Jane Canary.
Publisher: Capstone
ISBN: 9780756508951
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36
Book Description
The life story and adventures of a legendary American frontierswoman Calamity Jane, whose real name was Martha Jane Canary.
Calamity Jane: Frontierswoman
Author: Alicia Z. Klepeis
Publisher: Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 150262205X
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 35
Book Description
The Wild West was home to many men and women looking for adventure and a new life. Back then, in a place of danger and intrigue, there were several characters that made their mark on the frontier. One woman was Calamity Jane. Born Martha Jane Cannary, Calamity Jane would become one of Americas best-known sharpshooters and horse riders. Her life is told in here in easy-to-read language and vivid illustrations sure to engage young readers.
Publisher: Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 150262205X
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 35
Book Description
The Wild West was home to many men and women looking for adventure and a new life. Back then, in a place of danger and intrigue, there were several characters that made their mark on the frontier. One woman was Calamity Jane. Born Martha Jane Cannary, Calamity Jane would become one of Americas best-known sharpshooters and horse riders. Her life is told in here in easy-to-read language and vivid illustrations sure to engage young readers.
Calamity Jane
Author: Stephen Krensky
Publisher: Millbrook Press
ISBN: 0822538172
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 50
Book Description
Calamity Jane was always in search of adventure. Nothing scared her—not rattlesnakes or wild horses or even Wild Bill Hickok. Quicksand could not keep her down. As an army scout, Calamity Jane rescued a wounded captain from the middle of a bloody battle. She never even got a scratch. As a Pony Express rider, she outwitted a band of robbers and sent them running. Even smallpox didn’t dare tangle with her. Catch some of Calamity Jane’s spirit in this fast-paced tale.
Publisher: Millbrook Press
ISBN: 0822538172
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 50
Book Description
Calamity Jane was always in search of adventure. Nothing scared her—not rattlesnakes or wild horses or even Wild Bill Hickok. Quicksand could not keep her down. As an army scout, Calamity Jane rescued a wounded captain from the middle of a bloody battle. She never even got a scratch. As a Pony Express rider, she outwitted a band of robbers and sent them running. Even smallpox didn’t dare tangle with her. Catch some of Calamity Jane’s spirit in this fast-paced tale.
Life/Adventures/Calamity Jane
Life and Adventures of Calamity Jane
They Called Him Wild Bill
Author: Joseph G. Rosa
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806179546
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 418
Book Description
His contemporaries called him Wild Bill, and newspapermen and others made him a legend in his own time. Among western characters only General George Armstrong Custer and Buffalo Bill Cody are as readily recognized by the general public. In writing this biography, Joseph G. Rosa has expressed the hope that "Hickok emerges as a man and not a legend." For this comprehensive revision of his earlier biography of Wild Bill the author was allowed to work from newly available materials in the possession of the Hickok family. He also discovered new material pertaining to Wild Bill’s Civil War exploits and his service as a marshal and found the pardon file of his murderer, John McCall. Additional, rare photographs of Wild Bill are published here for the first time. The results of Rosa’s additional research make this second edition the best biography of Wild Bill likely to be written for years to come.
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806179546
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 418
Book Description
His contemporaries called him Wild Bill, and newspapermen and others made him a legend in his own time. Among western characters only General George Armstrong Custer and Buffalo Bill Cody are as readily recognized by the general public. In writing this biography, Joseph G. Rosa has expressed the hope that "Hickok emerges as a man and not a legend." For this comprehensive revision of his earlier biography of Wild Bill the author was allowed to work from newly available materials in the possession of the Hickok family. He also discovered new material pertaining to Wild Bill’s Civil War exploits and his service as a marshal and found the pardon file of his murderer, John McCall. Additional, rare photographs of Wild Bill are published here for the first time. The results of Rosa’s additional research make this second edition the best biography of Wild Bill likely to be written for years to come.
Calamity Jane
Author: James D. McLaird
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 9780806135915
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 396
Book Description
A meticulously researched account about how an alcoholic prostitute was transformed into a Wild West heroine is presented in this biography of Martha Canary, the woman known as Calamity Jane.
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 9780806135915
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 396
Book Description
A meticulously researched account about how an alcoholic prostitute was transformed into a Wild West heroine is presented in this biography of Martha Canary, the woman known as Calamity Jane.
Calamity
Author: Karen R. Jones
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300252129
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 327
Book Description
A fascinating new account of the life and legend of the Wild West’s most notorious woman: Calamity Jane Martha Jane Canary, popularly known as Calamity Jane, was the pistol-packing, rootin’ tootin’ “lady wildcat” of the American West. Brave and resourceful, she held her own with the men of America’s most colorful era and became a celebrity both in her own right and through her association with the likes of Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody. In this engaging account, Karen Jones takes a fresh look at the story of this iconic frontierswoman. She pieces together what is known of Canary’s life and shows how a rough and itinerant lifestyle paved the way for the scattergun, alcohol-fueled heroics that dominated Canary’s career. Spanning Canary’s rise from humble origins to her role as “heroine of the plains” and the embellishment of her image over subsequent decades, Jones shows her to be feisty, eccentric, transgressive—and very much complicit in the making of the myth that was Calamity Jane.
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300252129
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 327
Book Description
A fascinating new account of the life and legend of the Wild West’s most notorious woman: Calamity Jane Martha Jane Canary, popularly known as Calamity Jane, was the pistol-packing, rootin’ tootin’ “lady wildcat” of the American West. Brave and resourceful, she held her own with the men of America’s most colorful era and became a celebrity both in her own right and through her association with the likes of Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody. In this engaging account, Karen Jones takes a fresh look at the story of this iconic frontierswoman. She pieces together what is known of Canary’s life and shows how a rough and itinerant lifestyle paved the way for the scattergun, alcohol-fueled heroics that dominated Canary’s career. Spanning Canary’s rise from humble origins to her role as “heroine of the plains” and the embellishment of her image over subsequent decades, Jones shows her to be feisty, eccentric, transgressive—and very much complicit in the making of the myth that was Calamity Jane.