The American 'Wild West' is usually told from the viewpoint of the cowboys, miners, prospectors, gunfighters, soldiers, etc, but what about the women who sometimes went with them or even migrated west on their own? What about their stories & the unique challenges they would face? This book examines the experiences of some of those women, often in their own words from surviving diaries & letters. From the women who gave up everything to accompany their husbands on the long journey which took months through harsh & unforgiving territory, the former slaves who moved to Free states, to the Native American women whose lives were changed beyond all recognition by the mass migration which accompanied the land grab & gold rush.
This is an absolutely captivating book. There's so much information here but it's written in such a way that it rarely becomes academically dry to read. The author steers away from the more well-known personalities such as Calamity Jane (who is briefly mentioned but just the once) & concentrates on the everyday life of ordinary women. When I say 'ordinary, I don't mean any disrespect, these women gave birth along the trails, they worked to keep their families together after their husbands died or left., they opened businesses & many thrived in a overwhelming male environment. The author has obviously done a great deal of careful research on a subject they care about & it shows. I have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone interested in the history of the 'Wild West'.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Little, Brown Book Group UK/Virago, for the opportunity to read an ARC.