Belle Starr - The Truth Behind the Wild West Legend

In the annals of Wild West desperadoes, Belle Starr is remembered as the Bandit Queen. Now Michael Wallis parses over a century of mythmaking to reveal the woman behind the renegade legend.

Starr was born Myra Maibelle Shirley in 1848 and was educated to be a Southern belle. Her early years were characterised by the chaotic violence of the American Civil War-she was traumatised by the death of her brother while riding with a guerilla group supporting the Confederate Army and she swore revenge against all Yankees, becoming a "friend to any brave and gallant outlaw".

Turning a redemptive eye to Belle Starr's legacy, Wallis crafts portrait of a woman demonised for refusing to accept genteel Victorian ideals, who chose to live her life outside the law, riding with a pearl-handled Colt .45 strapped to her hip.

About the author

Michael Wallis, author of The Best Land Under Heaven and the best-selling Route 66 and Billy the Kid, has published nineteen books and won numerous awards and honors. He is a popular public speaker and voice actor and lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Product details

• Authors: Michael Wallis, Wallis Michael
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 15.07.2025
• EAN: 9781631494772
• ISBN: 978-1-63149-477-2
• Dimensions: 163 mm x 236 mm x 36 mm
• Weight: 677 g
• Illustrations: 30 black-and-white images, 8 page insert
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; USA, Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women, True Crime, Biography: general, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Criminals & Outlaws, HISTORY / United States / 19th Century, c 1800 to c 1900, 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899, Local History, United States of America, USA, Gender studies: women, History of the Americas, Gender studies: women and girls, US Midwest, North Central & Mid-West States