Western Annotation: Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens

Author: Claudia Cravens

Title: Lucky Red

Genre(s): Western, Historical Fiction

Publication Date: June 20, 2023

Number of Pages: 304

Geographical Setting: Kansas

Time Period: 1877

Plot Summary: After her alcoholic father sells their home in Arkansas and dies from a rattlesnake bite on their journey through the Kansas plains, orphaned 16-year-old Bridget Shaughnessy makes her way to Dodge City. There, she is recruited by Lila and Kate, the owners of a brothel called the Buffalo Queen. With a roof over her head, plenty of good food, and a steady income, Bridget takes to her new life as a "sporting woman" and attracts the attention of Sheriff's Deputy Jim Bonnie, who protects the Buffalo Queen from rougher types and eventually asks Bridget to marry him. The return of a former employee and the arrival of female gunslinger, Spartan Lee, force Bridget to confront her own sexuality and desires, which have dangerous and deadly consequences for the Buffalo Queen.

Subject Headings:

Gunfighters - Fiction

Orphans - Fiction

Brothels - Fiction

Sex workers - Fiction

Lesbians - Fiction

Revenge - Fiction

3 terms that best describe this book: Character-driven, atmospheric, LGBTQIA+

Appeal:

Setting: Wyatt and Saricks (2018) note that the setting in Westerns "is often lyrically and evocatively described" to transport readers to the western United States, which is sometimes "also painted as barren, treacherous terrain" (p. 146). Cravens brings readers along on Bridget's lonesome, grueling journey across the prairie, making note of dust storms, cattle herds, and the threat of coyotes. Then, Cravens reveals Dodge City in all it's glory: 

"The sides of every building were lined with booted men, sleeping upright with their hats over their faces; before each one a saddled horse shifted patiently from foot to foot, blowing in the crisp air and nickering softly to each other. Farther off, I heard a train whistle before a blast of steam appeared like pipe smoke over the buildings, dissolving blue and ghostlike into the thin sky, while under it a steady rumble of cattle lowing and stampeding was punctuated with the yips and whoops of cowboys already hard at work loading them up. It was completely overwhelming, and completely enchanting, unlike anyplace I had ever been" (p. 17).

Characterization: Wyatt and Saricks (2018) note that "the traditional hero is often a loner who arrives to right wrongs and then move on" (p. 145). Bridget certainly is a loner when she first arrives in Dodge City, but she is quickly swooped up by Lila and Kate and joins the other "sporting women" of the Buffalo Queen. It is not until the final chapters of the novel (by which point many months have passed) that Bridget strives to "right wrongs." Wyatt and Saricks (2018) also note, "Traditionally, female characters are usually either fallen women who turn out to have hearts of gold or good women who stand by their men and work to make a home in the wilderness" (p. 147). Bridget is neither of these. Bridget is a compelling, realistic protagonist who is strong-willed and a bit naive.

Storyline: Wyatt and Saricks (2018) note that "betrayal and the consequent settling of scores" (p. 147) is common to the Western genre. Throughout the novel, Bridget betrays and is betrayed. Lila and Kate feel betrayed when Bridget chooses not to live up to their expectations of her, and Bridget feels betrayed when her romance with Spartan Lee is put into perspective. Additionally, Wyatt and Saricks (2018) note, "The point of the conclusion is that justice has been delivered... The classic hero may ride off into the sunset, but he might also die at the end" (pp. 147-148). Ultimately, justice is delivered, but Bridget's story... well, you'll have to read Lucky Red to find out!

3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors:

 Outlawed by Anna North

North, A. (2021). Outlawed. Bloomsbury Publishing.

"A riveting adventure story features a fugitive girl, a mysterious gang of robbers, and their dangerous mission to transform the Wild West" (Novelist).

Common Appeals: Fast-paced, compelling, LGBTQIA+

The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin

Lin, T. (2021). The thousand crimes of Ming Tsu. Little Brown and Company.

"Reimagines the classic Western through the eyes of a Chinese American assassin on a quest to rescue his kidnapped wife and exact his revenge on her abductors" (Novelist).

Common Appeals: Diverse reimagining of Western genre, atmospheric, revenge

My Ántonia by Willa Cather

Cather, W. (1918). My Ántonia. University of Nebraska Press.

"After the death of her immigrant father, Antonia works as a servant for neighbors in the farmlands of Nebraska. She leaves for an unfortunate affair with an Irish railway conductor, but returns home, eventually marries and raises a large family in true pioneer style" (Novelist).

Common Appeals: Character-driven, strong female character, atmospheric

3 Relevant Nonfiction Works and Authors:

 Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West by Tom Clavin

Clavin, T. (2017). Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the wickedest town in the American west. St. Martin's Press.

"Well known as an inspiration for many of Hollywood's Wild West shoot-em-ups, 1870s Dodge City, Kansas was a supply center, a railhead, and a host to gigantic stockyards. Attracting characters of all types, it existed on the fuzzy boundary between law and lawlessness, where tough and fearless men, among them Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp, kept order. In this vivid portrait of the city and its denizens, award-winning journalist Tom Clavin traces Masterson's and Earp's careers, culminating with the final battle, called the Dodge City War, between lawmen and desperados" (Novelist).

Common Appeals: Dodge City, outlaws, American Westward Expansion

Wildcat: The Untold Story of Pearl Hart, the Wild West's Most Notorious Woman Bandit by John Boessenecker

Boessenecker, J. (2021). Wildcat: The untold story of Pearl Hart, the wild west's most notorious woman bandit. Hanover Square Press.

Common Appeals: Female outlaws, fast-paced, atmospheric

Wanton West: Madams, Money, Murder, and the Wild Women of Montana's Frontier by Lael Morgan

Morgan, L. (2011). Wanton west: Madams, money, murder, and the wild women of Montana's frontier. Chicago Review Press.

"From the time of the gold rush to the election of the first woman to the U.S. Congress, Wanton West brings to life the women of the West's wildest region: Montana, famous for its lawlessness, boomtowns, and America’s largest red-light districts. Prostitutes and entrepreneurs--like Chicago Joe, Madame Mustache, and Highkicker—flocked to Montana to make their own money, gamble, drink, and raise hell just like men. Moralists wrote them off as “soiled doves,” yet a surprising number prospered, flaunting their freedom and banking ten times more than their “respectable” sisters" (Amazon). 

Common Appeals: Sex workers, Western United States, 19th Century

 

References:

Amazon. (n.d.). Wanton west: Madams, money, murder, and the wild women of Montana's frontier. https://www.amazon.com/Wanton-West-Madams-Montanas-Frontier/dp/1569763380

Wyatt, N., & Saricks, J. G. (2018). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction: Third edition. American Library Association.