This
is a biography of the sharpshooter and performer in Buffalo Bill
Cody's Wild West show. "In the first chapter, 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." (Publisher's note)
Annotated bibliography. Index.
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.
"To provide a factual and intimate biography of Annie Oakley,
the legendary female sharpshooter and star of Buffalo Bill Cody's
Wild West Show, Riley attempts to place her seemingly mythical subject
firmly into historical, cultural, and sociological contexts. While
faithfully recounting Oakley's personal and professional chronology
and impressive list of accomplishments, the author also offers an
interpretive view of Annie's highly successful effort to reconcile
her public image as a resourceful and athletic western woman with
her private perception of herself as a genteel Victorian lady and
a model wife. What emerges is a multidimensional portrait of an
entertainer and a businesswoman whose enduring fame and popularity
both reflected and defied the conventions of her era. Unlike many
previous Oakley biographers, Riley moves well beyond the realm of
folklore, producing an insightful and original account of the life,
the times, and the significance of a uniquely American heroine."
- Booklist.
"This is a solid, generally reliable account of Oakley's associations
with 'the Show Business,' especially Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West
exhibition. Riley has corrected numerous misconceptions regarding
Oakley and her times, providing one of the more trustworthy, balanced
studies to date (comparable to Shirl Kasper's Annie Oakley, 1992).
Not found in other biographies is an analysis of distortions of
the Oakley legend since her death, and a discussion of how sensibilities
in various periods have colored depictions of the famous sharpshooter.
There is a useful annotated essay on sources, though, in keeping
with the series, there are no source citations in the text. Clearly
well researched and stylistically straightforward (though somewhat
spiritless), Riley's book is the best basic introduction to Oakley
available. All public and academic collections." - Choice
"Those who know of Annie Oakley largely through film and theater
portrayals by Barbara Stanwyck, Ethel Merman, or Betty Hutton will
find a more nuanced and complete biography of "Little Sure
Shot" (as Chief Sitting Bull called her) at the hands of Riley.
Author of Western studies such as A Place To Grow: Women in the
American West (Harlan Davidson, 1992), the author here provides
not only a biography of Oakley but also an evaluation of her legend
and influence-a woman who sought economic equality and recognition
for women in a male-dominated profession, but who, as a proper Victorian
lady, opposed suffrage for women. Riley's is the latest and most
scholarly in a long line of biographies, including Shirl Kasper's
excellent study, Annie Oakley." - Library Journal.
