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I, Pearl Hart: A Western Story
A fictionalized autobiography of Arizona's "Bandit Queen" describes the life of a woman who fled her abusive spouse to seek the anonymity and comparative safety of the Arizona Territory, only to wind up the first women sent to the Yuma Penitentiary
312 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 15, 2015
This book is a fictionalized book based on some of the real Pearl Hart's memoirs. The first woman prisoner in Arizona, caught, because she was a stagecoach robber. I loved the history. The mistakes she made, and the attempts she made to be better. Pearl Hart is a fascinating character that just disappears into history. After I read this, I spent some time googling her. What a life!
June 8, 2024
"I, Pearl Hart" tries to settle into that spot between historical fiction and biography, written from Hart's perspective as a POV novel, set in the west but not really a western. Pearl Hart was a semi-outlaw in the latter-day American West, famous for being a female and for committing one of the last stagecoach robberies recorded.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Hart
"I, Pearl Hart" (1998) moves into chick-lit territory very early as Pearl tells us on page 17 "when I wanted to fly, which was all the time, I found my wings clipped" which is the literary world's most hilarious female lamentation. Women are birds in cages with clipped wings, mmmkay? And that is not the last of the clipped-wings comments in the book; she says it again a few more times, just in case we didn't believe her heartfelt feelings the first time.
Pearl documents her time skipping around Midwest cities with her abusive, gambling husband, and then meets some other abused women in prison (of course, cuz, you know, prison, caged birds, get it?) and they share their horrible stories. The men she encounters are evil monsters and every woman is an abused, spirited, loving prisoner of station, living according to man's rules which are oppressive and double-standards, yes they sure are, as James Brown said, it's a man's world, sister.
I'm making light of it but there are also rape sequences that made me just finally give this one up on page 176 (of 219).
Verdict: Probably a lovely read for people who hate men and like reading about abuse of women. Alas, that's not me.
Jeff's Rating: 0 / 5 (Horrible)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Hart
"I, Pearl Hart" (1998) moves into chick-lit territory very early as Pearl tells us on page 17 "when I wanted to fly, which was all the time, I found my wings clipped" which is the literary world's most hilarious female lamentation. Women are birds in cages with clipped wings, mmmkay? And that is not the last of the clipped-wings comments in the book; she says it again a few more times, just in case we didn't believe her heartfelt feelings the first time.
Pearl documents her time skipping around Midwest cities with her abusive, gambling husband, and then meets some other abused women in prison (of course, cuz, you know, prison, caged birds, get it?) and they share their horrible stories. The men she encounters are evil monsters and every woman is an abused, spirited, loving prisoner of station, living according to man's rules which are oppressive and double-standards, yes they sure are, as James Brown said, it's a man's world, sister.
I'm making light of it but there are also rape sequences that made me just finally give this one up on page 176 (of 219).
Verdict: Probably a lovely read for people who hate men and like reading about abuse of women. Alas, that's not me.
Jeff's Rating: 0 / 5 (Horrible)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
March 25, 2024
I Pearl Hart: A Western by Jane Candia Coleman (Audiobook listened to on Everand audiobook)
This book is loosely Based on the woman known as the Arizona Bandit Queen. A dreamer whos Dream of a life more exciting than the one offered in her middle class background led her to a Series of adventures and bad choices as she ran from an abusive marriage including being the first woman sent to the Yuma Pen. She Never gave up.
This book is loosely Based on the woman known as the Arizona Bandit Queen. A dreamer whos Dream of a life more exciting than the one offered in her middle class background led her to a Series of adventures and bad choices as she ran from an abusive marriage including being the first woman sent to the Yuma Pen. She Never gave up.
May 7, 2021
I’ve been interested in Pearl Hart since I visited the Yuma Territorial Prison where she was jailed for a time. Very interesting character, though hard to pin down in any concrete terms of who she was at her core. A Pearl Hart biography is coming out this year (by a different author) and I’ll be reading that as well.
July 8, 2025
Love these small snippets of true history; especially women ahead of their time !
January 27, 2015
Although this is a work of fiction based on the life of Pearl Hart, known as one of the last of the stagecoach robbers, I found the humanization of her quite intriguing and it was difficult to put the book down. The author did, of course, take license with many aspects of the story, but the basis of the story and many of the events in it are the truth. The author gave me a glimpse into the trials and the soul of a woman who was known only for her "dastardly deed". Rather than picturing Pearl Hart as a stage robber that had a past as a singer, I can now picture a singer who, in a time of trouble, made a bad decision. I loved the book.
March 16, 2011
Enjoyed the book...Pearl went through some hard times. Book stated it was loosely based on reality but even if it wasn't it was a great story about a girl with dreams and the different directions those dreams took her. Some directions weren't so great, others were amazing. I would recommend.
May 5, 2015
Great story about a strong, adventurous woman in the American West. She's a survivor!
July 25, 2016
A different and perhaps more truer aspect of her life.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews