Ann Kirschner | "The Lady at the O.K. Corral"

"The Lady at the O.K. Corral" is the definitive biography of Josephine Marcus Earp, a Jewish woman from New York who became the common-law wife of famed Old West lawman and gambler Wyatt Earp.
Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp (1861-1944) was an American part time actress and dancer who was best known as the wife of famed Old West lawman and gambler, Wyatt Earp. Known as "Sadie" to the public in 1881, she met Wyatt in the frontier boom town Tombstone, Arizona Territory when she was living with Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan. She became Earp's common-law wife for forty-eight years. Yet, while Wyatt Earp is a popular culture hero, the details of Josephine's life are still remarkably shrouded in mystery. Now, for the first time, Ann Kirschner sets out to answer some questions, such as: What inspired five decades of adventure-seeking that took Earp from the Arizona Territory to California, Nevada, Alaska, and then, finally, to Hollywood? And what sustained her lifelong partnership with a man of uncommon charisma and complex heroism? Curiosity became obsession and Kirschner wound up falling in love with Josephine, the restless romantic with a persistent New York accent that she took with her from coast to coast and even to the northernmost corners of Alaska. Woman of the West brings Josephine Earp to the forefront of her own story, and along the way, sheds a new light on a very exciting time in American history.