Episode 85: The Wild West
Summary: Howdy, partner! Saddle up today and join Holly and Devin as they explore the Wild West - the region of the United States west of the Mississippi River between the 1830s and the early 1900s. Whether you’re looking for love or a spooky thrill, books set in the Wild West are more violent, raw, and connected to the dangers of the wide open plains. Stark and vivid, these stories strip life down to the most basic aspects of human nature and explore what we’ll do to survive.
Topics Discussed:
The Heart (5:09): Devin discussed Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens, a western sapphic romance following Bridget as she travels through the Kansas prairie with her alcoholic father. After he dies from a rattlesnake bite, Bridget makes it to Dodge City and is soon recruited to work at the Buffalo Queen - the only brothel in town run by women. Bridget takes well to brothel life and forms deep friendships with her fellow “sporting women”. When Spartan Lee, a legendary female gunfighter, comes to town, though, the life she’s built is threatened and Bridget must decide who and what she’ll fight for. Devin’s key takeaways were:
This book embodied the chaos and tenuousness of this era of the Western United States. Craven imbues her writing with an anger and sharpness that matches well with the violence of the weather and people trying to survive in what had just recently been wilderness. While most of the book takes place inside the brothel, we get a picture of the society by the men who sit at the bar and spend time with the women.
While this book can definitely be called a romance, there’s an undercurrent of danger and discomfort such that it was difficult to relax into and trust. The writing was impeccably done but what propelled the story was less the queer love Bridget feels and explores with women but the found family and platonic love she feels for her peers at the Buffalo Queen.
Craven explores, through Bridget, the dynamic between men in power and women whose only power could be found in whoring. There is a pride implied through the book for these women and the reader gets to see their strength and cunning in action; even in Spartan there is a claiming and staking of power by force. The men, though, claim nothing and by simply being in a room or not being in a room can determine the fates of each woman we come to care about.
The Dagger (18:01): Holly discussed Lone Women by Victor Lavalle, a historical horror book set in 1915 following Adelaide Henry, a young Black woman living in California. Having set her home ablaze with her dead parents inside, Adelaide moves to Montana with only a steamer trunk containing a dangerous secret. Once there, she claims a homestead under the promise that if she can farm the land for three years, it will be hers. Met with a harsh landscape, xenophobia and patriarchal pressures, and the burden of her past, Adelaide befriends other outcast women and hopes the horrifying truth doesn’t come out. Holly’s key takeaways were:
The novel challenges the traditional, whitewashed narrative of the American frontier. Instead of the rugged, heroic white men often depicted in Westerns, Lone Women focuses on the marginalized figures—women, people of color, and outsiders—who also played a crucial role in shaping the West. The novel highlights the loneliness and struggles of female homesteaders, who had to survive in a harsh environment without the privileges that white male settlers had.
Despite her initial isolation, Adelaide finds support in unexpected places, demonstrating the importance of chosen family in times of hardship. She bonds with Grace, a struggling single mother, and Bertie, who both offer her friendship and protection. The idea of survival is not just about enduring physical hardship—it’s about finding allies and building a life on one’s own terms.
The supernatural elements in Lone Women serve as metaphors for historical and societal horrors. The monster in Adelaide’s trunk embodies both her own trauma and the fear of what happens when buried secrets come to light. The desolation of the Montana frontier, with its harsh winters and isolation, enhances the eerie atmosphere, making it a place where both natural and supernatural dangers lurk.
Hot On the Shelf (32:37):
What’s Making Our Hearts Race (36:33):
Devin: Superstore show on Peacock
Holly: Severance season 2 on AppleTV
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