Last Woman - by John Willingham (Paperback)

About the Book

"Inspired by the life of Frenchy McCormick, The Last Woman follows Catherine McCain as she navigates danger, loss, and cultural subordination in the old West. Even fleeing from Baton Rouge, traversing the Mississippi, and fighting for her life in Tascosa, Texas does not encompass all the ordeals that Catherine - or, Frenchy - endured in this fascinating story about grit, moxie, and good will. Indeed, unaware that a fanatical preacher from Arkansas is constantly on her tail, this heroine displays an innate sense of perseverance as she hops from town to town, developing deep friendships with Louise Pennette and Maime Jackson along the way. In essence, then, The Last Woman showcases the desperate quest for freedom that resided in the hearts of so many 19th Century ladies and the adventures that arise when that first step is finally taken"--

Book Synopsis

Inspired by true events, The Last Woman is the story of three young women whose lives become intertwined as they flee up the Mississippi River in 1877. Within a year, two of them take off for Dodge City, reluctantly leaving their friend behind in St. Louis. Six decades later, the most adventurous soul among them, discarding her given name of Catherine, has become the last woman in Tascosa, Texas--once the wildest cowtown in the West.

We meet her when she's eighty years old, re-living and reflecting on her past, the fate of her friends, and the perils of other women for whom escape to the West was an act born of desperation. She has been living under an alias since 1878, hoping that no one else will track her down.

The journey of the novel's protagonist follows the real life travels of Frenchy McCormick, sometimes called the last of the "golden girls" of the Old West, but the heart of The Last Woman is the struggle of the young women to sustain their friendships and forge independent lives in the face of violence, abuse, and religious condemnation.