John Boessenecker

Pearl's father was Albert Davy, an evil violent alcoholic who was in constant conflict with the law. Her mother was a sweet, innocent illiterate woman who Albert married in Lindsay, Ontario, Canada in the 1860's. Pearl was born in in Lindsay in 1871 into the very dysfunctional Davy family.

As the Davy's were poor and lived outside normal society, they were _targets for abuse. In one incident, Pearl's mother was ganged rape by four young men in front of some of her young children. Eventually the family moved to Rochester, NY where things did not get better. As a result, the children started to run away and eventually were successful in making a getaway where their poor circumstances forced them into prostitution which was accompanied by alcohol and drugs.

Eventually the Davy sisters entered relationships with men who in all cases were con men or criminals. Pearl made her mark joining these men in their criminal endeavors including breaking them out of jail. Her most famous exploit was robbing a stagecoach in Arizona in1899 with a male accomplice but her many criminal activities earned her the title of "The Bandit Queen".

This book took the author many years of searching newspaper archives on the Internet plus the assistance of many librarians and archivists to sort the facts from the myths and misinformation that has been written about Pearl in order to finally tell the true story of Pearl Hart.… (more)

Well this book managed something I thought was impossible: to take one of the most nuanced, multi-layered, and exciting stories in the history of the American west, the subject of multiple novels and movies, and make it tedious and a slog to get through.

By trying to add more detail to the “bad guy” cow-boys Boessenecker gets bogged down in minutiae that is irrelevant to the main narrative and the early stages of the book becomes a blur of names and places that’s difficult to follow even for an Earp-geek like me who knows the story in detail.

It’s almost a relief when we get to the main event gunfight, but even that seems lacking in any passion.

There’s nothing new here for the Earp-scholar, and unfortunately for the casual reader it is devalued by an unnecessary political rant in the last few pages.… (more)

In 1899 Pearl Hart robbed a stagecoach at gunpoint. Dressed as a man, her exploits immediately spread like wildfire and a manhunt ensued. Once captured, she basked in the attention, posing for photos, giving interviews and loving every minute of it. This book explores both her early life, exploits, and later life.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well paced and engaging. The entire Hart family was fascinating. I would definitely pick up another book by this author. Overall, highly recommended.… (more)