Mary MacLane

Mary MacLane
MacLane in 1918
Born(1881-05-01)May 1, 1881
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
DiedAugust 6, 1929(1929-08-06) (aged 48)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
NationalityCanadian-American
OccupationWriter

Mary MacLane (May 1, 1881 – c. August 6, 1929) was a controversial Canadian-born American writer whose frank memoirs helped usher in the confessional style of autobiographical writing.[1] MacLane was known as the "Wild Woman of Butte".[2]

MacLane was a popular author for her time,[3] scandalizing the populace with her shocking bestselling first memoir and to a lesser extent her two following books. She was considered wild and uncontrollable, a reputation she nurtured, and was openly bisexual as well as a vocal feminist. In her writings, she compared herself to another frank young memoirist, Marie Bashkirtseff, who died a few years after MacLane was born,[4] and H. L. Mencken called her "the Butte Bashkirtseff".[2]

  1. ^ The Chicagoan, obituary editorial, August 1929. Quoted in Tender Darkness, Introduction.
  2. ^ a b Watson, Julia Dr. (2002). "Introduction", The Story of Mary MacLane. ISBN 1-931832-19-6.
  3. ^ New York Times obituary article, August 9, 1929
  4. ^ Story of Mary MacLane (1902 and 1911), first entry.