The Cowboy Girl

“In The Cowboy Girl, author and essayist John Clayton presents a warm portrait of a woman whose strong spirit and independent vision perfectly embodied the American West. As part of the University of Nebraska’s Women in the West series, Clayton’s biography provides a voice to the little-known legend.”—Bloomsbury Review

“This larger-than-life Western woman deserved a good biography, and John Clayton has written one.”—Bill Croke, The Washington Times

“This lively biography of Caroline Lockhart reveals an intrepid, trailblazing woman who, as one of the first female journalists, traveled solo everywhere pursuing stories. . . . [A]n absorbing story of a talented but difficult woman always torn by her conflicting ambitions of fame, power, domestic bliss and a country life.”—Joan Hinkemeyer, Rocky Mountain News

“What sets The Cowboy Girl apart from standard works of western Americana, aside from the inherently sensational life of its subject, is the way it weaves together details of both Lockhart’s public and private life with insights about the historical, social, and cultural developments of which Lockhart was a part. The result is a fascinating read and an enlightening look at the ironies of early twentieth-century frontier mythmaking in its historical context. . . . Clayton skillfully interweaves these personal details together with a lively account of relevant local and national history. The resulting biography is a rare revelation of frontier mythology as lived experience, in all of its contradiction and complexity.”—Western American Literature

 

“[Clayton] provides a compelling account of an American journalist who sought to tell the stories of the West at a time when it still promised a romantic, adventurous life to those who sought rural, unvarnished America.”—Carolyn Bronstein, Journalism History