Calamity: A Novel is a work of historical fiction about the well-known western legend, Calamity Jane. Author Libbie Hawker writes about Martha Canary, aka Calamity Jane, in what is no doubt a more accurate portrayal than what was offered in the dime store novels written in Calamity’s own life time (1852 – 1903). The book is a Women Writing the West’s 2020 WILLA Literary Award Finalist.

Calamity Jane tells her story to a writer in a Deadwood saloon. She tells it honestly, without sparing details that taint her own reputation.

Martha Canary was orphaned at the age of twelve, the oldest of six children. Her mother had already died when her father packed up the kids and their few belongings to head west from Missouri. Martha saw her father shot and killed by an unhappy gambler, who also took her father’s winnings. Martha and the two older boys scraped by in the wilderness, caring for their three little sisters, one just a baby, finally stumbling into Salt Lake City, Utah. The siblings were separated then and Martha was on her own to earn a living.

Martha was never a pretty girl, and she was the first to admit it. Legends of the old west talk about her raving beauty and many talents, but in truth she had an ungainly body, tall as a man, with no redeeming features to call herself pretty. But she had many talents, was a successful oxen, mule and horse bullwhacker, and could shoot a pistol or rifle with great accuracy. Her greatest pleasure was to ride alone on a wilderness trail. She endured many hardships, and the disasters and calamities that befell her earned her the name of Calamity Jane.

At times her life ran smoothly, as was the period she spent with Wild Bill Hickok, the love of her life, albeit unrequited. In her later years she appeared in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show performing sharpshooting skills astride a horse.

The author superbly describes the people of the American West and the western landscape as it appeared then. In many respects the story is a sad one, but the author shows Calamity as a woman of courage, endurance, and independence, a woman who could find humor in tight situations.

I thoroughly enjoyed Calamity from beginning to end. It’s a large book, 497 pages in a hardback copy, but it’s a story alive with passion and warmth. I urge anyone who enjoys reading about “the old West” to read this highly entertaining novel.