I Married Wyatt Earp: The Recollections of Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp

by Josephine Marcus Earp (editor)

"I Married Wyatt Earp will not be the last word on the subject, but it ranks at the top or very near the top of the importatnt books on the Tombstone story and probably the best on the key figure of Wyatt."--Arizona Highways

"For anyone remotely interested in this era and the events that punctuated it, this book is an invaluable source."--Remark

"A sympathetic recollection of life with Wyatt Earp which reveals as much about "Josie" as Wyatt."--The Journal of San Diego History

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Westerns, American History

277 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Tom Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Josephine Marcus Earp was born with a sense of adventure, she ran away from a prosperous and loving home in San Francisco not to join the circus, but a theatrical troupe playing Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore that was bound for Tombstone.
Young, attractive and impressionable is a prescription for trouble in a mining town. Josie accepted Johnny Behan’s offer of marriage before she had time to look over the whole field, and it came back to haunt her. Behan bought her a ring but put off the wedding. Wyatt Earp caught Josie’s eye and opened up a classic love triangle. Then to further complicate matters both suitors were in a race to become the next sheriff of Cochise County.
Josie’s accounts of Tombstone are right on the mark and two of her best friends Addie Bourland and Marietta Spencer have inside knowledge regarding two of Tombstone’s major happenings – the shootout at the OK Corral and the murder of Morgan Earp.
Josie tells about the bloodletting after the shootout and how in order to get out of the line of fire Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday along with several allies leave Tombstone and go to Colorado. Josie followed Wyatt a short time later and they soon got married. While they were in Colorado they spent time with Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson and did some mining in the Gunnison area.
Then it was on to the silver strike at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and the gold fields of Alaska. Back in the states Wells Fargo hired Wyatt to do some detective work in Texas. When that job was finished they traveled to San Diego, California in search of business opportunities. The two dined out went to parties, attended the theatre and saw the famous Lily Langtry perform in Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” Wyatt made a number of profitable investments in both saloons and real estate. He also won a fine trotting racehorse in a poker game. That one horse peaked Wyatt’s interest in racing and he eventually bought and raced a sizeable stable of horses. Following those days on the racing circuit and a stint as a boxing promoter Wyatt and Josie settled in and lived out their lives in Los Angeles entertaining and being entertained by Hollywood’s burgeoning movie community.
Wyatt died in 1929 and Josie lived until 1944.
Josephine Marcus Earp tells a compelling story of an era filled with colorful characters and fascinating events.

[Bill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stopped reading this when I discovered that this was basically a fiction, a hoax conducted by Boyer, and has been discredited and pulled by the university press. Annoying.

[Miriam · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointment- not very interesting and also discredited. I did not read much but did enjoy the photos.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read this book before, even though it isn't recorded here on Goodreads. I bought it many years ago in paperback, probably not long after I had seen the movie "Tombstone." I fell in love with the movie and read so much non-fiction about the real characters who lived the story told in the movie. I thought at the time that this was a memoir, as collected and edited by G. Boyer, but just found out that the editor has been discredited by his publisher, University of Arizona Press, and others. It seems he wouldn't show anyone his source materials, the so called "Cason manuscript" and even admitted to having written this as a fictional account, filling in his own ideas and conclusions to events. Oh well, brings it down quite a bit in my estimation, but I still enjoyed reading it again, just not as much as when I assumed Josephine Earp had really written it. Boyer did cite a lot of newspaper articles of events included in the book, but did he also just weave a good story in Josephine's "voice?" Too bad he felt the need to lie instead of just having it published as a fictionalized novel.

[Kathy Dobronyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read about a little known period of time in the American West (Missouri, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, California, and Alaska) in the 1880-1900.

Editor Glenn G. Boyer had quite a challenge cobbling together the collected memoirs of Mrs. Wyatt Earp, including several thousand pages of manuscript and related notes by Mabel Earp Cason while verifying the facts with other sources.

[Mallory Witham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Josehine's recollections. I understood that she was painting a rosy picture of her life with Wyatt Earp. I started getting annoyed with the "ghost writer" or editor's foot note rebuttals of almost everything she said. He should have just summarized it all at the end or written another book.
I just wanted to read her story.

[Felisa Cárdenas · Rating 3 out of 5]

All credit to the editor for piecing together the manuscripts, his research and the many reference footnotes that indicate correct facts. However, once I learned that Josephine sanitized the early story of her life all credibility of a true, honest account of her life with Wyatt Earp was lost for me.

[Mike Hatfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

You will not be disappointed in Josie's own account of her life with Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and Doc Holliday.

[Don Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course, the movie "Tombstone" brought mt to this book. Enjoyable read. Worth check8ngnout.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I vaguely know Wyatt Earp but now his wife seems more interesting

[Benny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for Wyatt Earp fans.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like The History of Joseph Smith By His Mother , this is a memoir written by a dearly beloved of a famous historical figure. Since it is not an academic history, it comes from a more personal place and offers a unique perspective of great value. I found myself surprised by how engaging Ms. Earp’s remembrances are.

No doubt she sometimes dispenses with truth to save face, but her account of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral is refreshingly candid. It hints at my suspicion that the ghosts of the past are none too pleased by our fixating on the most painful moments of their lives. For people who want to achieve a broader perspective of Wyatt Earp, I recommend this book as a must-read supplemental to histories like Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend .

Fair warning, the book spends lots of time post-Tombstone, as the author waxes sentimental about lesser known events that have nothing to do with the famous gun fight. Don’t expect an edge-of-your-seat read. This is an often domestic portrait of Wyatt and Josie.

[DocHolidavid · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an account of the life of Wyatt Earp as seen through the eyes of his wife, Josephine Marcus Earp, who left affluent society to marry a legend of his time and ever since.

Her description is, by all appearances, honest. Well as honest as anyone can write of his or her life. No one tells of true shame – nor should they. Josephine leaves the appropriate inferences.

She aptly converts a legend into a believable man. Wyatt is not depicted as all good, completely evil or superhuman. His feats are described credibly, and yet the travels Josephine and Wyatt did together in a time when such touring was not so convenient are rather amazing. The amount of energy, grit, knowhow and stamina are quite remarkable.

The best review I’ve seen of this book is written under the name of Tom Barnes within the discussion in Goodreads.

[Jason Jeffery · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of history and westerns, then this is a must read. As expected, the tale is biased, but the "ghost writer" does leave footnotes that clarify the truth from "fiction." Through the story you see more of the man that became a legend, beyond the shootout at the OK Corral and into their years as prospectors in Alaska. For those that have seen the movies on Wyatt Earp or read historical tales of the man, then you must read this to see what type of man he really was. How he was as a husband, a friend, and a man.

[Steven jb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, although at times I felt as if Wyatt's wife who wrote this was distant from him. I am also surprised that pictures of the original notes by Josie Earp were not included among the photographs shown. Still, it was a good read filled with historical references.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the personal view of Wyatt Earp and his wife very interesting. Josie is evasive in many parts of the book, sidesteeping over some of her actions that she now believes may show her in an unpleasnat light. This leaves the story lacking at times. Despite this, I found the book enjoyable.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the autobiography of Josephine Earp. It is very good, but you just have to remember that she is writing this at the end of her life and is looking back at the events, including her childhood.

[Stephanie Cottom · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a re-read, and quite good

[Sem]

Fun, but to be taken with several hefty grains of salt.