Calamity Jane: In Her Own Words

by Calamity Jane

An autobiography by one of the Westís most notorious women.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Historical, Autobiography, Memoir, Adventure

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1896

About the author

Real name Martha Jane Cannary, a.k.a Jane Cannary Hickok.

Reviews

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating for The Life and Adventures of Calamity Jane: A Short Memoir is based more on its historical novelty than any literary pretension, of which it has none. This 5 page booklet was originally sold in the 1890s as a souvenir book at Calamity Jane's appearances with the Kohl & Middleton Dime Museum, a traveling side show. It was clearly ghost-written as it was widely known Jane was functionally illiterate. The 1890s were at the height of America's infatuation with the American West and its bigger-than-life characters. It can be argued whether Calamity Jane has any historical significant at all except for being a colorful representation of the Myth of the Wild West. But certainly her exploits were entertaining and she may be an early example of American women stretching role expectations...

Up to this time I had always worn the costume of my sex. When I join Custer [as a military scout] I donned the uniform of a soldier. It was a bit awkward at first but I soon got to be perfectly at home in men's clothes

The Wild West dime books were notorious for exaggerations. Yet this particular booklet appears to be fairly straight forward (see my update). The only claim she makes that seem to be a little far-fetched is her claim that she single-handily captured Jack McCall, the man who shot Wild Bill Hickok, using a meat cleaver as a weapon.

This is an entertainingly if extremely brief read that I would recommend to anyone interested in the American West. My only real complaint is that it took me longer to write this review that to read the book(let).

Update: I did a little research on this booklet and, in the style of most of the era's Wild West memoirs, is considered almost totally fabricated. It appeared there is no record of Calamity Jane serving under Custer or taking part in the Indian Campaigns. Still, it is an amusing historical oddity that allows us to take a look at what the public was hearing about the legends of the American West while these legends were still alive.

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very short book, just over 50 pages on my Kindle, with no real literary strength to it, merely a statement of events and times throughout Calamity Jane's life. Having studied the history of the time, you can tell she's skipping over or rewriting some events as she narrates this to the ghostwriter (Jane was most likely illiterate).

For example, she leaves off her extraordinary care of miners in Deadwood during a Smallpox outbreak, and she skips over how Jack McCall was tried by the Miner's Court (an informal group of miners who decided disputes) and found not guilty by reason of self defense despite having clearly shot Hickock in the back according to dozens of eye witnesses and the wounds on the body.

Jane probably didn't do a lot of what she claims - there's no record of her serving under various generals, for example, but she was known to be a very fine shot and rider, very bold and fearless, and a bit crazy, so she certainly was a remarkable character. She really did save the mail stagecoach going to Deadwood, and so on.

Overall this is a dry read with a lot of fiction in it, but still kind of interesting as a historical document.

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this version of her life was too highly edited and embellished to truly be considered nonfiction, but I'm shelving it the way it was published. With the understanding that she fictionalized her life for this account, it's a fairly entertaining read!

There are a couple of deaths and gunfights mentioned, with very little detail. A lot of younger children who are interested in the Old West could enjoy this short little book, though explaining what actually happened in her life might get into more content issues than the book does!

[Mitch Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life And Adventures Of Calamity Jane (1896) by Calamity Jane is an interesting, concise account of her life.



There is question marks surrounding whether Calamity Jane did write the five-page book herself but whatever the truth may or may not be, this is a very interesting read. I grew up watching the Calamity Jane film. My late father was a huge fan and getting the chance to read this book was great. I enjoyed it. The accuracy is questionable but a very interesting read. It was great to be brought back to the time she lived and to read about her life. It is a great resource to look more into Calamity Jane’s life from and one thing I learned from it was that Calamity Jane was a real person which I have to admit I didn’t know that. I’m glad she was real because I love her.

Great short read.

[Cindy Koch-Krol · Rating 2 out of 5]

I now know everything Calamity Jane wanted us to know about her life, lacking any skill at telling it. One would have thought the ghostwriter would have pushed her for more details. I have a feeling in person she would have embroidered the stories a bit more, but that all got lost in translation. Oh well, I read it and it counts!

[The Celtic Rebel (Richard) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book from Amazon's free reads mostly because of my love for the old west. I had heard of this before but never sought it out as I had read somewhere it had little significance in the true part of Calamity Jane's life and had to have been written by someone else. I still found it interesting esp. considering it didn't cost me anything to purchase.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure who actually wrote this since Martha Jane Canary was said to be illiterate. It is an interesting retelling of her life. Jane returned to the Black Hills in the spring of 1903 and died on August 1 of that year at the age of 51. It was reported that she had 2 children but their names were not mentioned.

Born: May 1, 1852
Died: August 1, 1903

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I name you Calamity Jane, the heroine of the plains.”


Born in 1852 in Princeton, Missouri.

An early passion for horseback riding—the wilder the horse, the better.

At 13, she and her family moved to Montana—a five month journey.

Learned hunting skills and became an excellent shot.

At 18, she begins wearing the (male) soldier’s uniform.

General Custer and the Indians…She fights a lot of Indians out West.

Rescuing Captain Egan.

From battles and shoot-outs to mail delivery: The Pony Express. Time with Wild Bill. Prospecting. Protecting citizens from hostile Indians. Drove trains.

Settling down…

Long, run-on sentences. Reads rather like a journalized rough synopsis of a biography.

Very matter-of-fact; concise.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book must be read in the context and time it was written. It was written to be sold for 25 cents at the Wild West Shows that were popular in the late 1800s/early 1900s, to give the audience tales of wild adventures as a souvenir of the show. It was not intended to be a New York Times best seller. It was her story, but it was also marketing for the Wild West shows and a way for her to earn income.

Jane was illiterate, and a ghostwriter penned this. Again, we must see that in the context of its time. In that era, a "ghostwriter" was simply literate, someone who could write stories on paper for someone who could not write. That was their role -- write it down. This is unlike ghostwriters of recent times who act as consultants, editors, and interviewers.

This is a quick read, and when read in the context of the time, it is an entertaining retelling of her life, the life of a strong and determined woman.

[Erin Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but have heard conflicting reports on the historical accuracy of this little booklet. Rating due more to interest in the subject than on its literary merit.

[Cindy DeLong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and easy to follow.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

A short read that has the feel of the author telling tales directly into your ear. A true pioneer and traveller explained in a few short pages.

[Christi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a bit of a waste of time. It's pretty bland and ghostwritten and you don't know what's true (probably not a lot of it). Skip it.

[Ebook Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. The e-book version can be found at:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/life...

[Devero · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very brief summary of her life, if the origin is really the famigerate Calamity Jane.
Intresting lecture, but I think it's a fake.
2 star.

[DaCane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A literal marvel of a car crash of a life lived well, I would say! Glad to have read it, makes me think of Teeter from Yellowstone….

[Nickolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amazing thing about reading this short auto-biography is that SHE ACTUALLY EXISTED. It reads like all the spaghetti western books, serials, and movies over time but is word for word true. For example how she, Martha Jane Cannary (later Burke), got her name after a battle with Indians (Native Americans as we now correctly call them) where her Captain (Capt Egan) was shot and almost fell off his horse when she turned around heading back toward the battle rescuing him and returning him to safety. Just like something out of a movie. She was the real deal and was well respected by all. Well all except the Native Americans she shot and killed by the dozen. It’s okay P.C people; it was en vogue at the time and completely acceptable behaviour. She was constantly on the move and hung out with the likes of General Custard and Wild Bill Hickok. It’s a story that all women who are aspiring frontiers woman and possibly butch lesbians everywhere.

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barely a pamphlet, this is a very short read, which even within its tiny length is a tough read because it's little more than a shopping list or CV of dates and happenings. Add to this that almost all the happenings are likely exaggerated if not downright fabricated and this 10 page booklet sold at her brief appearances at the Wild West Shows was likely ghost-written too as Calamity Jane was almost certainly functionally illiterate.

Calamity Jane's character was appearing, in fictionalised form, as early as 1877 while she was very much alive. And it's certain that the real life version bears very little resemblance to the fictional heroine of novel,film and Doris Day musical.

This is of little more than historical curiosity value

(#19 in my Year of Reading Women)

[Hazel · Rating 2 out of 5]

We've been watching the first series of Deadwood again, and I began thinking about the historical character, Calamity Jane. I remembered the old musical with Doris Day, which I must have known was a fantasy. And I considered Robin Weigert's unforgettable portrayal in the HBO drama and wondered how much of it was based in fact. These memoirs might be a good place to start.




They're very brief, and really give little more than dates and events in her life. I need to look for a biography.

[James Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is written in a style which is really more like a list of things that have been put into various paragraphs. She was born in 1852 as Marthy Cannary. She spent her youthful years becoming an expert horsewoman and an excellent shot.

By 1870 she was a scout for Custer. She knew Wild Bill Hickock and spent some time in Deadwood, along with doing a rather wide variety of jobs, including the Pony Express. The origin of her name is given, and then it notes that she married and had a daughter.

This is sort of a bare-bones type of book without many details added

[Liesje Leest · Rating 3 out of 5]

(This isn't really a book, the epub version is only 3 pages long)

While the Wikipedia page will tell me more about Calamity Jane than this story in her own words will, it's still interesting to read about her life from her own point of view. I'd heard her name a couple of times before, but to be honest I didn't really know who she was. Wiki mentioned her book so I downloaded it (free on Project Gutenberg if anyone is interested) and read it right away. It's very short and summarized but interesting to read, and makes me curious to read more about Jane's fascinating life.

[Barakiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really worth reviewing as this is more of a pamphlet than anything else. Just a list of things she did in her life, with no expansion. I did like that she apparently was friends with Wild Bill Hickok.

[Paul Grimsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this short little book there is much of interest -- to be transported back to those times and to be able to tell from so few words how intelligent Calamity Jane was, and to learn the reality of the person as opposed to the image we are often gifted with, is very valuable. A very useful resource.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is only 4 pages on Project Gutenberg if anyone wants to read it. It's more of a list of events than a book. If it took her an hour to write down, I'd be surprised. I want more! I bet she told great stories, based on her tone in these few pages.

[Videoclimber(AKA)MTsLilSis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short but very interesting learned some things I didn't know. Calamity Jane is very interesting and I loved how she talked about "not being molested much while she carried the mail because they knew she was a great shot and never missed her mark"

[FirnMamaMakes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is really just a little pamphlet, and not much of a story besides a quick rundown of dates, places, and events without detail or elaboration. It's a novelty of the time and interesting only for that reason to me and not something I particular enjoyed.

[Cinnamingirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heard this on Craftlit but wasn't super impressed.

[David Braly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting - reads like a list
Only 14 pages on the iPad and free.