The definitive biography of the Jewish girl from New York who won the heart of frontier lawman Wyatt Earp: “Splendid.” —The Wall Street Journal
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 biography, the author of the acclaimed Sala’s Gift brings Josephine out of the shadows of history to tell her 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.
Lady at the O.K. Corral reveals how this aspiring actress and dancer—a flamboyant, curvaceous Jewish girl with a persistent New York accent—landed in Tombstone; sustained a lifelong partnership with the complex and charismatic Wyatt Earp; and was equally at home in Alaskan Gold Rush boomtowns, opulent San Francisco hotels, mining camps, casinos, racetracks, boxing arenas, and back lots where she visited Cecil B. DeMille and Samuel Goldwyn.
“Kirschner has cleverly identified a parallel story buried under the debris of history: that of Josephine Marcus, for nearly 50 years Earp’s common-law wife and a valiant frontierswoman in her own right.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Scrumptious . . . This quick-paced biography has it all.” —USA Today
“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.” —Publishers Weekly
Ann Kirschner is university dean of Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York. She began her career as a lecturer in Victorian literature at Princeton University, where she earned her PhD. A writer of wide-ranging interests, she is the author of Sala's Gift and an innovator in education, media, and technology. She lives in New York City with her family.
Table of Contents
Prologue: In Which I Land on Planet Earp 1
1 A Jewish Girl in Tombstone 13
2 The Fourth Mrs. Earp 69
3 The Greatest Mining Camp the World Has Ever Known 89
4 Waiting for Wyatt 135
5 Josephine's Last Trail 177
6 Planet Earp 221
Acknowledgments 239
Earpnotes 243
Notes 247
Sources 263
Photo Credits 271
Index 273
About the Author 290
What People are Saying About This
Jeff Guinn
“Thanks to Ann Kirschner’s brilliant Lady at the O.K. Corral, we finally have the definitive story of Josie Earp. . . . This is a must-read book for anyone who loves narrative nonfiction, or simply enjoys a hellaciously well-told tale.”
Abigail Pogrebin
“In this vivid tale of romance and high drama, Ann Kirschner reveals the dark secrets of Wyatt Earp’s past and Josephine’s Jewish immigrant family.”
Bruce J. Dinges
“In this remarkable feat of historical sleuthing, Lady at the O.K. Corral paints a vibrant portrait of an uncommon couple whose love for one another and shared thirst for adventure took them to the farthest reaches of the Wild West during its blustery boom times.”
Hasia R. Diner
“A great piece of historical detection, Kirschner brings to life a woman who had previously been just a footnote, just an oddity. This book brims with the vibrancy of the Arizona Territory.”
David S. Ferriero
“A tour de force in the detective work of biography Ann Kirschner writes Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp back into American history. . . . A thoughtful and entertaining addition to the history of the American West, Jews in America, and the role of women in society.”
Julie Salamon
“Ann Kirschner brings a fresh, lively perspective to one of the great stories of the American frontier. Lady at the OK Corral reveals a fascinating intersection of Jewish history and the Wild West; its engaging narrative both celebrates and demystifies a legendary time and place.”
Harriet Rochlin
“With a passion for research and an engaging flair for prose, Ann Kirschner has composed a biography of Josephine Marcus Earp that is a pleasure to read.”
Thane Rosenbaum
“The story of Josephine Earp proves that even the best lawman in the Wild West needed a good woman to stand beside him, as improbable as their romance was, and as riveting a read as this book most certainly is.”
Stephen Aron
“Engrossing. . . . The life of Josephine that unfolds so vividly in these pages is as colorful and complicated as that of Wyatt and hers, the reader will discover, was the more remarkable journey.”
