Don't Call Us Molls : Women of the John Dillinger Gang

by Poulsen, Ellen

• ISBN13: 9780971720008
• ISBN10: 0971720002
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-11-01
• Publisher: Clinton Cook Pub Corp

Summary

"Buried under decades of stereotype and parody, the true history of the female companions of the Great Depression's bank-robbing gang is uncovered. Don't Call Us Molls carefully examines the legacy of the Dillinger women using eyewitness and descendants' accounts as well as courtroom and prison records. This book explores the collective experience of these fugitives and offers a thoughtful, well-informed commentary on past attitudes toward the marginalized women of the dayùthe lawbreakers, the informers, and a lone female sheriff. FBI memos, court transcripts, and never-before-published photos reveal the events experienced by women under siege, resurrecting historical figures and their private behavior. This history lays bare the personal lives of the wives and girlfriends of the public enemies of the 1930s and examines how their conflicting loyalties were challenged and exploited by unrelenting pressure of the United States government to betray their men."

Author Biography

Ellen Poulsen is the recipient of the Sandra Schor and Helen Viljoen Awards for Non-Fiction. Don't Call Us Molls is the result of fifteen years of painstaking research, and a lifelong interest in John Dillinger.

Table of Contents

Foreword	viii
William J. Helmer
Introduction	x
Part I --- Bad Reputation (August 1932 to March 1934)	1	(154)
Throw No Rice	3	(18)
Running The Lines	21	(10)
The Highwayman	31	(16)
Earl ``The Kid''	47	(12)
A Young Army	59	(10)
``Two Sisters...Names Unknown''	69	(18)
``Good Piece of Company''	87	(10)
``Every Means of Persuasion''	97	(14)
``None of Your Business''	111	(12)
``Take It on the Chin''	123	(22)
Squarest Woman He Ever Knew	145	(10)
Part II --- Flash Powder (March 1934 to May 1934)	155	(132)
Paramour	157	(12)
``On a Long, Hard Trip''	169	(18)
``Bumped Out''	187	(14)
``Miss Cuttin' Up With You''	201	(16)
``She Was Just Like Him''	217	(18)
The Raid Proper	235	(14)
Their Honeymoon Hotel	249	(20)
``I Saw Miss Frechette Ironing''	269	(18)
Part III --- Lock-Down (May 1934 to March 1935)	287	(126)
``Mrs. Nelson Has Gone to the Show''	289	(18)
``The 'Old Innocent Act'''	307	(12)
Coffee Klatsch Bravado	319	(10)
Silver Screen	329	(20)
Truck Stop Men	349	(16)
``The Government Is Simply 'Piling It On.'''	365	(34)
Postscript --- ``Souls Of The Just''	399	(14)
Chapter Notes	413	(53)
Bibliography	466	(3)
Acknowledgments	469	(3)
Index	472