Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral

Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral is a brilliant novel based on the events and protagonists of this famous gunfight in Tombstone, Arizona on October 26, 1881. The author said she has read 19 linear feet of material on these events and I believe her. While I have not read nearly that much, I have read a great deal about it and the lives of the people surrounding the event. What I find most brilliant is that she has taken descriptions of personality traits of people like Wyatt Earp, Josephine Marcus Earp, Doc Holliday, Ike Clanton, Johnny Ringo, Johnny Behan, and others and created a compelling, realistic, character driven narrative that is entirely plausible.Of course the gunfight itself is only a very small part of the entire narrative. It is really the lives and events leading up to the gunfight, and the events after, told from the perspective of those involved which make this such a compelling novel. It is not a staid retelling of dry facts and dates, but a lively, engaging novel that really draws out the events, actions, and character of those involved.In this novel Russell has given Josephine Marcus Earp has a very central role, along with the Earp wives. In fact we follow Ms. Earp from her humble beginnings in New York, her family’s move to San Francisco, and her ultimate departure and learning the ways of the world, through Tombstone all the way to her long life with Wyatt Earp and beyond. It’s a great way to tell the story since she lived into the 20th Century and much to do with the Wyatt Earp legend and some of the myths surrounding him.Russell seems to have a soft spot for Doc Holliday, and if that is too strong of a word, at least empathy. He is characterized as a dying young man trying to make do the best he can in the violent world of the Wild West. And while testy and prone to bouts of unfortunate conflict, he is also educated, suave, and a gentlemen.The story itself moves along at a brisk pace and the prose and dialogue are outstanding. I especially love the clever, sarcastic dialogue she provided Doc Holliday. The canvas that is painted and the narrative of the events and lives swirling around it make for a very enjoyable and compelling novel.

Ms. Russell has written a well-researched, vividly imagined historical fiction of the 1880's boom town of Tombstone, Arizona. If Tombstone wasn't as she portrays it here, it should have been. Like her previous Western historical novel, "Doc", "Epitaph's" seems to pulse in concert with the men and women who strove to make something of themselves on a far flung edge of America's frontier. Ms. Russell frames the famous OK Corral gunfight as the inevitable outcome of an inherent conflict between the forces of law and order and advocates of personal freedom and unfettered autonomy. The Earps, Doc Holliday, the Clantons and the McLaurys are fatefully led through the interplay of personal ambition, fear, and loyalty to a snow-encrusted street on the afternoon of October 26, 1881 when a metal click unleashes a thirty-second crisscross of gunfire that mythically marks the living and the dead for the rest of their lives and beyond. Ms. Russell does a startlingly good job through dialogue and description of detailing the fallout from the fatal confrontation on the town, the survivors and those who played no small role setting the conditions for the explosive loss of lives. Throughout the novel, Ms. Russell gives authentic flavor and texture to people's pursuit of success on America's opportunistic frontier. I've one small bone to pick historically. On page 87 of the novel, Ms. Russell incorrectly characterizes the behavior of Federal cavalry troops in New Mexico's Lincoln County War as having brought about the passage of the Posse Comitatus Act forbidding the Federal military from participating in everyday law enforcement matters. Those federal troops in New Mexico did not set fire to any building or burn civilians to death during the so-called "Big Killing" in Lincoln, New Mexico in mid-July of 1878 and more importantly the Posse Comitatus Act was ratified in mid-June of 1878, a month before the Lincoln confrontation, not afterwards as a result of it. Four and a half stars.

Convincing and believable characters in a historical setting I believed that I knew much about, about written with an excellent use of period believable dialogue. Highly recommended and I am off to visit the back catalogue of the writer. In Corona virus lock down mode, so this was an exceptionally good read to immerse myself in. It was sitting on a bookshelf for a fair time in my study and I am so glad I finally got around to reading it. I have read many books and watched many films about this subject and characters and I so enjoyed and related to this writer's perceptive take on them. So hard to have a new approach on such well trodden territory. Kudos to Ms Russell

This book is really well written and sounds very well researched. The impression is of a very realistic portrayal of life in the wild west, warts and all. If you are interested in this era I think you will love this book.

Very good read.

An excellent book, I really enjoyed it.

Having already read Mary Doria Russell's other book 'Doc' which deals with the period up to Doc Holliday's arrival in Tombstone, this book concentrates on the events leading up to the Gunfight at the OK Corral and the aftermath. Wonderfully written with insights into the characters, especially the women partners of all the Earps and Doc Holliday. Having visited Tombstone many times, this book really takes me back there to 1881 and that fateful day in October. I couldn't put it down.