Lady at the O.K. Corral

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