Everyone knows the name Calamity Jane. Scores of dime novels and movie and TV Westerns have portrayed this original Wild West woman as an adventuresome, gun-toting hellion. Although Calamity Jane has probably been written about more than any other woman of the nineteenth-century American West, fiction and legend have largely obscured the facts of her life. This lively, concise, and exhaustively researched biography traces the real person from the Missouri farm where she was born in 1856 through the development of her notorious persona as a Wild West heroine. Before Calamity Jane became a legend, she was Martha Canary, orphaned when she was only eleven years old. From a young age she traveled fearlessly, worked with men, smoked, chewed tobacco, and drank. By the time she arrived in the boomtown of Deadwood, South Dakota, in 1876, she had become Calamity Jane, and the real Martha Canary had disappeared under a landslide of purple prose. Calamity became a hostess and dancer in Deadwood's saloons and theaters. She imbibed heavily, and she might have been a prostitute, but she had other qualities, as well, including those of an angel of mercy who ministered to the sick and the down-and-out. Journalists and dime novelists couldn't get enough of either version, nor, in the following century, could filmmakers. Sorting through the stories, veteran western historian Richard W. Etulain's account begins with a biography that offers new information on Calamity's several 'husbands' (including one she legally married), her two children, and a woman who claimed to be the daughter of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity, a story Etulain discredits. In the second half of the book, Etulain traces the stories that have shaped Calamity Jane's reputation. Some Calamity portraits, he says, suggest that she aspired to a quiet life with a husband and family. As the 2004 - 2006 HBO series Deadwood makes clear, well more than a century after her first appearance as a heroine in the Deadwood Dick dime novels, Calamity Jane lives on - raunchy, unabashed, contradictory, and ambiguous as ever.

Can she save herself from a witch's fate?Martha is a feisty and articulate young woman, the daughter of a wheelwright, living in a Herefordshire village in Elizabethan England. With no mother Martha's life is spent running her father's meagre household and helping out at the local school whilst longing to escape the confines and small-mindedness of a community driven by religious bigotry and poverty. As she is able to read and is well-versed in herbal remedies she is suspected of being a witch. When a landslip occurs - opening up a huge chasm in the centre of the village - she is blamed for it and pursued remorselessly by the villagers. But can her own wits and the love of local stablehand Jacob save her from a witch's persecution and death... A brilliant and accomplished novel that perfectly captures the febrile atmosphere of Elizabethan village life in an age when suspicion and superstition were rife. Perfect for fans of Tracy Chevalier. What readers are saying about The Wheelwright's Daughter: 'It's a gripping story and such accomplished writing. I really enjoyed every moment of working on it.' Yvonne Holland, editor of Philippa Gregory and Tracy Chevalier 'A brilliant debut novel' 'An interesting read and an impressive debut novel' 'A wonderfully written story' 'A skilfully crafted story of love, betrayal, superstition and fear in 16th century England.' 'This is a story of courage, trust, betrayal and love.' 'A great historical novel I loved.' 'Keeps you hooked til the end.' 'An excellent read, highly recommended.' 'Full of historical detail and atmosphere' 'I enjoyed this thoughtful and well-written story by Eleanor Porter.' 'Atmospheric and evocative'

Can she save herself from a witch's fate?Martha is a feisty and articulate young woman, the daughter of a wheelwright, living in a Herefordshire village in Elizabethan England. With no mother Martha's life is spent running her father's meagre household and helping out at the local school whilst longing to escape the confines and small-mindedness of a community driven by religious bigotry and poverty. As she is able to read and is well-versed in herbal remedies she is suspected of being a witch. When a landslip occurs - opening up a huge chasm in the centre of the village - she is blamed for it and pursued remorselessly by the villagers. But can her own wits and the love of local stablehand Jacob save her from a witch's persecution and death... A brilliant and accomplished novel that perfectly captures the febrile atmosphere of Elizabethan village life in an age when suspicion and superstition were rife. Perfect for fans of Tracy Chevalier. What readers are saying about The Wheelwright's Daughter: 'It's a gripping story and such accomplished writing. I really enjoyed every moment of working on it.' Yvonne Holland, editor of Philippa Gregory and Tracy Chevalier 'A brilliant debut novel' 'An interesting read and an impressive debut novel' 'A wonderfully written story' 'A skilfully crafted story of love, betrayal, superstition and fear in 16th century England.' 'This is a story of courage, trust, betrayal and love.' 'A great historical novel I loved.' 'Keeps you hooked til the end.' 'An excellent read, highly recommended.' 'Full of historical detail and atmosphere' 'I enjoyed this thoughtful and well-written story by Eleanor Porter.' 'Atmospheric and evocative'

The end of the nineteenth century was a difficult time for farmers in Scotland. A decade of cold years made it hard to grow crops or feed animals and grain growers faced competition from America after the repeal of the Corn Laws. In these harsh conditions, ordinary families still pursued their lives and loves. My Father Was a Farmer in New Cumnock tells the story of the Baird family and of their joys and struggles on their farm.