Etta: a Novel by Gerald Kolpan - 322 Pages

Etta Place rode with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid but is a complete mystery to history. Kolpan decided to use what little is known and construct a story about who she was and how she came to be riding with the infamous Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Beginning with the untimely death of her father to her time with the famous Harvey Girls of the Southwest to meeting the Sundance Kid to working with Eleanor Roosevelt and finally her marriage to Ralph Worthington Carr, Kolpan has imagined what possibly could have happened to this flaming haired beauty. This engaging novel is a wonderful romp through history.

This is a light story peppered with references to historical places and people and is a wonderful introduction to the myth of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang spurring the reader to find other material to fill in the pages. This is a very quick and light read and there are chapters interspersed with telegrams, newspaper articles, diary entries, and Pinkerton Detective memoranda. The beginning newspaper obituary sets the tone for the rest of the novel: which is a slow reveal of who Etta was. With minimal detail, Kolpan sets up an engaging story and although some plot points were fairly obvious there is nothing that will detract from the story. There is no strong language even though dealing with "hardened" criminals and the historical places and characters are fun to spot.

The pace is very fast moving with many details to entertain the reader. The tone is dramatic filled with exuberant and thought provoking scenes. A special feature of this book is the added newspaper articles, telegrams, and diary entries which add helpful additional details to the time and place. What you need to know about this novel is that it is a complete fiction. The author used what little he could find about Etta but that is minimal at best. The historical characters are truthful but some have been moved around in time.

Similar works might be: Juliet by Anne Fortier, Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier, The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran, or Mary Doria Russell's next novel, Doc (2011)

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