Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
|
Loading... Wyatt in Wichita: A Historical Novelby John Shirley
None No current Talk conversations about this book.  ssimon2000 | May 31, 2016 |  no reviews | add a review
Fiction.
Historical Fiction.
HTML:Author John Shirley turns his pen to the Wild West and the legendary Wyatt Earp! Wyatt in Wichita fuses historical fact with fiction, following the adventures of the young Wyatt Earp. Following the tragic loss of his first wife in the Missouri of 1870 in his early days on the dark side of the West, Wyatt eventually makes his way to Ellsworth and Wichita, where by confronting corruption he would eventually finally find his life's work as a tough lawman. Could Wyatt Earp have known Billy the Kid when the kid was really just that? Could Wyatt have met up with Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood? Using the sparse trails of historical evidence available to him, the lives of the famous and infamous intersect in Shirley's novel, which revolves around Wyatt's search for the murderer of an innocent young woman of Wichita. With Bat Masterson at his side, and bawdy girls about him in the smoky light of crowded saloons, Shirley explores the possible origins of the legendary figure who would forever remain synonymous with the Wild West. Stemming from a true passion and interest in one of the Wild West's most indelible characters, Wyatt in Wichita is a thrilling read and an imagined glimpse into a seldom-seen side of Wyatt Earp and the untamed frontiers of early America. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999RatingAverage: (4.2)
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia in English
1
Wyatt Earp is shown in this novel to be a "normal" man, and not necessarily the "super-lawman" we normally see him portrayed as in movies such as "Tombstone" and "Wyatt". He was a rabble-rowser, ran a riverboat brothel, a drunk, and one that was viewed as an all-around trouble maker. Until he grew up, that is.
This book covers the years he spent in Ellsworth and Wichita, Kansas, in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, and as a shotgun rider on a Wells-Fargo stagecoach to Colorado Springs. In an interesting twist which was quite possible, he took in Henry McCabe (later to become William Bonney-Billy the Kid), stood side by side with Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, share deputy duties with Bat Masterson.
The research that went into this vivid novel is exceptional. While this is a fictionalized account a great Western hero, it felt very real and very possible.
I'm not a fan of westerns by any means, but this book makes me want to dig further into the history of Wyatt Earp. (