It takes a very gifted writer to write historical fiction filling in the spaces of a historical time period and making it feel real. Kathleen Morris is just that writer whose superb craftsmanship makes a time period and characters come alive. Her work shines in her debut novel “The Lily Of The West.”
Writing in the first person from a women's point of view is not often found in traditional westerns. Morris gives the reader a new perspective on a well-known figure in history, Mary Katherine Haroney, nickname "Big Nose” Kate. How she got her nickname is still a subject of debate. Some say it was because she actually had a rather large nose. Others claim it was because she was always sticking her nose into other peoples’ business. She is best known as the on-and-off-again girlfriend of Doc Holliday.
As a Hungarian immigrant, Kate was 15 when her family needed to flee their homeland. They arrived in Davenport, Iowa to make a new life. Soon after, Kate becomes an orphan when both parents die. Kate is forced to forge her own new path, leaving behind her two siblings. She is a resourceful woman who is forced to reinvent herself many times depending on her circumstances.
On her own, Kate travels to the new American Frontier, where she soon becomes known as “The Lily of the West,” the belle of the Dodge City music halls, known for her musical talents, gambling skills, outspoken manner, and alluring appearance. Along the way, Wyatt Earp becomes a love interest, and later, Doc Holliday. She is a trusted friend of the Earp family and Bat Masterson. She and Doc Holliday become a powerful couple throughout the new west. Their relationship was volatile often turning self-destructive. The battle at the O.K. Corral may have been a brief moment in US History with Doc and the Earp family, fighting against a group of Cowboys, who were quick to shoot and didn’t care about the law. But most regard it as the most famous gunfight that occurred in the American Old West and it only lasted about thirty seconds. Kate fled Tombstone after the gunfight. The town of Globe became Kate's sanctuary where she ran a boardinghouse.
What stands out for me as a reader is Morris's ability to create a memorable character who is compassionate, loyal, and self-reliant. We find Kate perseveres no matter what challenges are thrown her way during a tumultuous time period of lawlessness. Morris's sentences are impeccable and eloquent making the book a mesmerizing read sweeping me into the frontier era of the old west. The last few chapters are poignant as Kate stands by her man who is dying of tuberculosis.
Morris's writing has a nice flow from chapter to chapter keeping the reader engaged. The only way a writer can strike a balance between the world of fiction and the boundaries of time and place of real-life events is by meticulous research. It has served her well in telling the story. I was intrigued by Morris's notes at end of the book about Kate's life after Holliday died. I was not expecting the direction her life took for the next 30 years.
I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction and a strong woman character living on the western frontier.
Readers will not be surprised to know Morris's debut novel was the winner of the 2019 Western Fictioneers Peacemaker award.
Morris's fans can rejoice she has a new book out "The Transformation of Chastity James" published by Five Star.
Kathleen Morris is a graduate of Prescott College in Arizona and lives and writes in the desert Southwest, an aficionado of American and Western history. She loves being able to immerse herself in the lives of her characters, especially bringing to life the charismatic and capable women of the West, both real and imaginary. She is a member of Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West.
Learn more about the author and her books at https://kathleenmorrisauthor.com/
Follow on Instagram
