{"product_id":"queen-of-all-mayhem-the-blood-soaked-life-and-mysterious-death-of-belle-starr-the-most-dangerous-woman-in-the-west","title":"Queen of All Mayhem: The Blood-Soaked Life and Mysterious Death of Belle Starr, the Most Dangerous Woman in the West","description":"\u003cp\u003eA riveting, deeply researched, blood-on-the-spurs biography of Belle Starr, the most legendary female outlaw of the American West. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn February 3, 1889, just two days shy of her forty-first birthday, Myra Maybelle Shirley--better known at that point by her outlaw sobriquet \"Belle Starr\"--was blown from her horse saddle and killed by a pair of shotgun blasts, delivered by an unseen assailant, only a few miles away from her home in the Indian Territory of present-day Oklahoma. Thus ended the life of one of the most colorful, authentic, and dangerous women in the history of the American West.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile today's household names like Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane had dubious criminal bona fides, Belle's were not in any doubt. This notorious gunslinger led a gang of horse thieves (a very serious crime in an era when horses were often the basis of one's livelihood); was romantically involved with two of the West's most legendary outlaws, Cole Younger and Jim Reed (her first husband); and participated in stickups and robberies across present-day Texas and Oklahoma. When Reed was murdered, Belle crossed into the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory, where she assimilated into the Cherokee tribe, a matrilineal society, and soon married Sam Starr, a direct descendant of Nanye'hi, the greatest female warrior in Cherokee history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDane Huckelbridge, acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eNo Beast So Fierce\u003c\/i\u003e, probes a life rich in contradictions and intrigue. Why did a woman who had considerable advantages in life--a good family, a decent education, solid marriage prospects, a clear path to financial security--choose to pursue a life of crime? The life of Belle Starr, the Bandit Queen, is one of almost endless trauma: the horrors of the Civil War, which destroyed her hometown and killed her beloved brother, Bud; the untimely deaths of her first two husbands, both of them murdered; a stint in Detroit's notorious women's prison. Her career coincided with those of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and yet Belle Starr was a very different sort of feminist icon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eQueen of All Mayhem\u003c\/i\u003e is a triumph of American history biography, revealing one of the most-mythologized figures of Western lore as she truly was.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis definitive look at the real Belle Starr separates fact from fiction to explore: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA True Female Outlaw: \u003c\/b\u003e Unlike contemporaries like Annie Oakley, Belle Starr's criminal bona fides were never in doubt, from leading horse thieves to her romantic involvement with the legendary Cole Younger.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe Civil War's Influence: \u003c\/b\u003e Discover how the horrors of the war, which destroyed her hometown and killed her beloved brother, set a woman of privilege on a path of rebellion and crime.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eIndian Territory Life: \u003c\/b\u003e Explore her assimilation into the Cherokee tribe, a matrilineal society where she married Sam Starr--a descendant of the nation's greatest female warrior--and carved out her own domain.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA 19th-Century Anomaly: \u003c\/b\u003e Go beyond the mythology to understand the complex woman who defied expectations to become a very different kind of icon from her contemporaries, like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"William Morrow \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51947892736231,"sku":"9780063307018","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0449\/4075\/5096\/files\/imageloader_5e2905c5-77c3-4dfd-97c2-15cafc369186.jpg?v=1775503119","url":"https:\/\/arvidabookco.com\/products\/queen-of-all-mayhem-the-blood-soaked-life-and-mysterious-death-of-belle-starr-the-most-dangerous-woman-in-the-west","provider":"Arvida Book Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}