Product Description

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 day-the 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #727034 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-28
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .2 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Paul Maccabee, author, John Dillinger Slept Here
"Until Ellen Poulsen stepped forward with this meticulously researched book, the story of the 1930's Public Enemies-era focused exclusively on gangland's men. . . . The extraordinary accomplishment of Don't Call Us Molls is Poulsen's revealing, for the first time, the hidden lives of the women who loved these nefarious outlaws. It is an untold story of desperate romance, astonishing escapes, unspeakable brutality, covert abortions and intra-gang rivalries for the affection of men, both in and out of prison."

About the Author
Ellen Poulsen has worked as a staff writer for the Queens Chronicle, and she is the recipient of the Sandra Schor Nonfiction Award. She lives in Queens, New York.