Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth - Softcover

Iversen, Kristen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1555662374 ISBN 13: 9781555662370

Publisher: Johnson Books, 2011

Synopsis

When Margaret Tobin Brown arrived in New York City shortly after her perilous night in Titanic's Lifeboat Six, a legend was born. Through magazines, books, a Broadway musical, and a Hollywood movie, she became The Unsinkable Molly Brown but in the process her life story was distorted beyond recognition. Even her name was changed--she was never known as Molly during her lifetime. Kristen Iversen's Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth is the first full-length biography of this American icon, and the story it tells is of a passionate and outspoken crusader for the rights of women, children, mine workers, and others struggling for their voice in the early twentieth century. In the end, the real "Molly" Brown was far more fascinating than her myth, and Kristen Iversen has captured her in all her brilliance.

About this title

From the Author

One Life, Two Stories: The Untold Truth of "Molly" Brown
History has not been kind to Margaret Tobin Brown.

1930s reporter Gene Fowler called her a "Vital Amazon" -- a baby born in the eye of a tornado and raised on the milk of a nanny goat. Her father was an old Irish drunk, he claimed; her mother dead from grief over the birth of such an "unnatural" child. Sensationalist writer Carolyn Bancroft described how Mrs. Brown was ostracized by society and tried so hard to fit in with Denver's "Sacred Thirty-Six" that she bought a French Legion of Honor medal in a hock shop. Hollywood changed the name Margaret to Molly ("it was easier to sing") and turned her into a saloon girl who got lucky -- a plucky girl who could drink as much as any man and happened to marry the right one. And who can forget the image of Debbie Reynolds playing the part of Molly Brown in lifeboat number six, leading her fellow Titanic survivors in song?

The inventive talents of various writers, reporters, and filmmakers are entertaining and amusing -- and we have to thank them for helping to perpetuate a story that deserved to endure. But the cost to the legacy of Margaret Tobin Brown, and the history of women in the West, has been enormous. The real story is of an ardent human-rights activist who made a significant impact in Colorado, New York, Paris, London, and beyond. A high-profile suffragette, Brown also helped establish the first Juvenile Court in the U.S. and worked to get poverty-stricken children off the streets. Despite being married to a mine owner, she stood up for miners' rights and was a primary figure during the Ludlow Massacre in 1914. She ran for the Senate years before women even had the right to vote, and was one of the first women to attend Carnegie Institute, where she studied language, literature, and drama. In 1932 Brown was indeed awarded the French Legion of Honor for her work on the Titanic and the Carpathia, as well as her humanitarian efforts during World War I with French and American soldiers.

The myth of "Molly" speaks to her spirit, but obscures the more interesting and significant aspects of Brown's life and perpetuates predictable stereotypes of women. A curious aspect of the myth is how "Molly" was ostracized by Denver and New York society, and rejected by her family as well. Neither is true.

Writing this book required eight years of intense research, uncovering archival material that had long been ignored or overlooked. Near the end of my project, I was very fortunate to get to know Margaret's descendants and deeply appreciated their willingness to allow me access to scrapbooks, photographs, and family keepsakes that had not been previously available. The most compelling part of Margaret's story is what she left behind in her own words. A relentless traveler, she published newspaper articles in Denver, New York, and Paris, and wrote many letters. Her voice and personality have well survived the passage of time. The myth of Molly Brown can now be replaced with a real story that deserves to be remembered: a woman of extraordinary strength, a woman not afraid to speak her mind, a woman who truly believed that a person can make a difference in the world. I hope you enjoy this book and some of the extraordinary photographs it contains. I love hearing from readers! Feel free to email me at KDIversen@aol.com.

Happy Reading!

About the Author

Kristen Iversen has been featured on the A&E cable network for both the biography of Molly Brown and a documentary about the Titanic’s survivors, and on the "Today Show." She lives in Golden, Colorado.

About this edition

• Publisher: Johnson Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1555662374
• ISBN 13: 9781555662370
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 294