Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell

 

Mary Doria Russell continues her Western series with this novel about Tombstone and the fight at the OK Corral.  It is the story of the Earp brothers and their time in Tombstone trying to uphold the law in a town full of cowboys and gamblers.  The Earp men were involved in the gambling industry as well as being lawmen.  Some were city lawmen, some were state.  Wyatt was the Earp leader although he was not the oldest or the most vocal.  But there was something about him that made other men do what he suggested.

Along with the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday plays a large part in the novel.  He was friends with the Earps, especially Wyatt and Morgan.  Although he was riddled with tuberculosis which kept him bedridden at times, he was a deadly shot and always willing to back up the brothers.  The money men behind the mines and large cattle ranches were desperate to bring the outlaws under control.  These men would rustle cattle and shoot up towns.  They had an in with the Tombstone sheriff and were able to continue their lawlessness under his eye.  The money men were on the side of the Earps and told them they would back them if any legal issues came up.

The most famous gunfight was the one at the OK Corral when three men were killed.  The Earps and Doc Holliday were brought up on murder charges although they were the law enforcement and the cowboys were lying in wait for them but the charges went nowhere.  The entire fight took less than two minutes but has gone down in history as the epic battle defining the West.

Along with the law issues, Russell relates the romantic lives of the various players.  Most of the Earp brothers were in long term relationships or marriages.  Wyatt had gotten mixed up with a opium addict but ended up with the past lover of the sheriff.  Most of the women in that town at that time had been involved in prostitution and the Earp women were no different.

Russell also follows Holliday and the Earp brothers after Tombstone.  Wyatt and Josie, his long time lady, ended up in California in Los Angeles.  Wyatt's story was interesting to the movie makers and biographers but he was through with that life and wasn't interested in talking about it.  But Josie always felt that the couple had been cheated and constantly tried to make money from Wyatt's story.  Readers will be interested in this thoroughly researched history of the Old West and its main characters.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.