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The Strange, Close Relationship Between Wyatt Earp And Doc Holliday
Every once in a while I see the question online: Were Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday lovers? Let me make the case that the answer to this provocative question could plausibly be yes. Note: If you have a problem with this concept, that is a you problem. Wyatt Earp would…
The Past is a Foreign Country—And It’s Bisexual
In my article on Billy Breakenridge, I used the term “gay” for the ease of modern readers. This is historically incorrect. Sexual preference as identity did not exist in his time period. In the past, sex was an activity, not an identity. It was something you did, it didn’t define…
Who Was Billy Breakenridge, Sister Boy of Tombstone?
This weekend, October 17 through 19, Tombstone, Arizona celebrates Helldorado Days, a commemoration of Tombstone’s place in the history of the Old West, with street entertainment and food, historical costume fashion shows, gunfight re-enactments, and a parade. Helldorado was inspired by the book of the same name written by Billy…
Why is the word “Murder” on top of the title page of some comedy play in your Up Jumped The Devil book trailer?
Good question! The play you are referring to is Stolen Kisses. An entirely original comedy-drama in three acts by Paul Merritt. Paul Merritt was a prolific playwright in the late 1800s, popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Although well received by the theater-going public, critics despaired of him. “Mr….
Doc Holliday: Southern but Not Confederate
Do any reading about Doc Holliday and you’ll likely come across references to his “beloved antebellum” Georgia and/or South. Finding statements that Doc Holliday would have been just as racist as everyone else of his time, place, and class is also common. But would he? There is a certain “truthiness”…
God Forbid Women Have Hobbies
I have been researching gifts one person might give their friend and/or lover in the late 1800s, for Reasons.1 Having plummeted down a rabbit hole, I discovered an 1830 catalogue of Mr. William Tassie’s “Extensive Collection of Impressions from Engraved Gems, Consisting of Devices and Emblems, with Mottos in Various…
The Hat Pin and the Historicity of Female Rage
I’ve seen posts on social media lately stating that women of the past weaponized their hat pins, using this action to both demonstrate the historicity of female rage and as a call for a similar rebellious nature in today’s women. Since these posts never have citations, I got to wondering…
Compel My Spirit To Bend Its Knee… wait, what?
This blog post started out as a meditation on the cyclical nature of time and the constancy of human nature. It evolved into a quest for truth, and ended in a revelation regarding… the constancy of human nature. It also ended up being a cautionary tale. Let us begin…. If…
250th Anniversary of the American Revolution’s Secret Start
Celebrating the history of Salem Massachusetts with the 250th Anniversary of Leslie’s Retreat, the start of the American Revolution
Is Your Collarbone Size English, Irish, or French?
When I’m not playing Baldur’s Gate 3, I’m generally trying to do some work on my writing. And that requires research. I love doing research. So much so, I am often guilty of going down rabbit holes that have nothing to do with what I started out researching. I’m not alone…