The Life and Legacy of Annie Oakley (Oklahoma Western Biographies, Vol 7)

With a widowed mother and six siblings, Annie Oakley first became a trapper, hunter, and sharpshooter simply to put food on the table. Yet her genius with the gun eventually led to her stardom in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The archetypal western woman, Annie Oakley urged women to take up shooting to procure food, protect themselves, and enjoy healthy exercise, yet she was also the proper Victorian lady, demurely dressed and skeptical about the value of women’s suffrage. Glenda Riley presents the first interpretive biography of the complex woman who was Annie Oakley. The Life and Legacy of Annie Oakley is the first interpretive biography of Annie Oakley. Overcoming poverty, prejudice, physical setbacks, and her own shyness, Oakley became a star in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show. In the first chapter, Glenda Riley recounts Oakley's childhood, her development as a shooter, and her marriage to Frank Butler. Subsequent chapters present Oakley's life - as entertainer, sport shooter, lady, and western woman. In the final chapter, Riley assesses changes in the interpretation of Oakley's image since her death in 1926. Recounts The Life And Career Of Annie Oakley As A Performer In The Wild West Shows. We Managed To Struggle Along -- The 'show' Business -- The Birds Were First Class -- To Be Considered A Lady -- Girl Of The Western Plains -- Why Did I Give Up The Arena? -- The Legend. By Glenda Riley. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [237]-241) And Index. A biography of America's greatest female sharpshooter delves beneath her popular image to reveal a conservative but competitive woman who wanted to succeed