Molly Brown from Hannibal, Missouri: Her Life in the Gilded Age

by Ken Marks

Paperback, 2013

Status

Available

Genres

Publication

The History Press (2013), 144 pages

Description

The real story of the "unsinkable" Titanic survivor and her early life in the Midwest. In the film version of the life of the "Unsinkable Molly Brown," she is rescued from the Colorado River and raised in the Rocky Mountains, but the actual Margaret Tobin Brown was born and raised in Hannibal, Missouri. Her formative years took place in the town's Gilded Age; the railroad brought in lumber barons, and as the wealth of Hannibal grew, so too did the dreams of young Margaret, who would go on to fight for women's rights, help build a cathedral, and more. Even though her future career as a philanthropist and socialite would span continents and she would become most famous for surviving the sinking of the Titanic, Molly Brown was always proud to be from Hannibal, and this is the true story of her life in the Midwestern town.… (more)

Rating

(1 rating; 3)

User reviews

LibraryThing member sallylou61

Molly Brown from Hannibal, Missouri: Her Life in the Gilded Age by Ken and Lisa Marks is an overview of the life of Molly Brown. The authors, who are Hannibal residents and curators of the Hannibal History Museum, wanted to show that Molly, who was actually Margaret Tobin Brown, was born and raised

in Hannibal. . She did not go to Colorado until she was a teenager. At first the book seemed more a history of Hannibal than a biography of Margaret -- who was not known as Molly until after the Titanic sinking -- since the authors spent so much time describing the town. The book itself is interesting but poorly arranged; it keeps jumping around in time. For over half the book I wondered what a wealthy man like J.J. Brown would see in Margaret, who was raised in poverty. It turns out that J.J. was also from a humble background; together J.J. and Margaret worked hard to make a living in Colorado, and they became rich when J.J. became lucky in mining endeavors. The authors also mention that Margaret worked to help support her family while growing up; they do not describe this until well into the story. I was surprised to learn that Margaret, who lived the life of a very wealthy woman traveling to Europe and having homes in Denver and Newport, RI, was involved in social reforms including women's suffrage, working conditions and pay for miners, child labor, etc. I would have liked to read more about this aspect of her life, especially since the authors mentioned that growing up poor in Hannibal contributed to her social reform and philanthropy efforts.

The book contains numerous photographs of people and buildings. However, maps of some of the places Margaret lived, particularly Hannibal, Leadville (CO), and Denver would have been helpful since the authors often mention street names as if the reader would know where they are.

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Language

English

Original language

English

Physical description

144 p.; 6 inches

ISBN

1609498712 / 9781609498719

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