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The Truth Behind the Wild West Legend
by Michael Wallis
In this definitive biography of the most famous female outlaw of the nineteenth century, best-selling historian Michael Wallis challenges a notorious legacy.
In the annals of legendary Wild West desperados, Belle Starr is remembered to this day as the Bandit Queen. Shortly after her murder in 1889, a highly romanticized, sensational book titled Bella Starr ... The Bandit Queen, or the Female Jesse James was published―the first of scores of high-profile portraits to brand Starr as a villain. Now, celebrated historian Michael Wallis parses over a century of mythmaking to reveal the woman behind the "Wanted" poster. From war-torn Carthage, Missouri, to rollicking Scyene, Texas, Starr indeed ran in the same circles as notorious outlaws Cole Younger and Jesse James, but Wallis shows that the crimes ascribed to her were embellished. The result is a breathtaking portrait of a woman demonized for refusing to accept the genteel Victorian ideals expected of her. Instead, she chose to live her life outside the law, riding sidesaddle with a pearl-handled Colt .45 strapped to her hip.
"A brisk, spirited biography." —Kirkus Reviews
"Highly recommended, meticulously researched, and intriguing." —Library Journal
"A measured but fascinating account of a mythical outlaw." ―Booklist
"A wild romp where we ride shotgun with the West's most fascinating and mythologized outlaw heroine. It may be the sizzle that sells the steak, but this new biography is just as good as it sounds." ―Matthew Bernstein, author of George Hearst: Silver King of the Gilded Age
"Thoroughly researched, vibrant, and well written so as to keep one's attention, at the same time dispelling and correcting previously believed 'facts' that were little more than legend. 'Definitive' is the word for this new book!" ―Roy B. Young, coauthor of Chasing Billy the Kid
This information about Belle Starr was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Michael Wallis, author of The Best Land Under Heaven and the bestselling Route 66 and Billy the Kid, has published nineteen books and won numerous awards and honors. He is a popular public speaker and voice actor and lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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