The West Old & New Vol. III Issue II February 2014 | Page 18

Mary MacLane
(May 1, 1881 — August 1929)

In the flutter of youth – I found a voice – and I let free – danced with a fairly good gig I’d
say – with my potential, shadow and all, bright side and intellect. And then that which I
had danced in the privacy of my heart became loosed on society – a book – an unalterable
tale. I was an anomaly. The devil personalized – feminized. The comments fell short of
course; I was much too young to be labeled a witch. Much easier to say I was merely unsupervised and vulnerable to my own anxieties. In retrospect I realize I was a mirror for
society at that time. My darkness became a path I sought to light with the torches of my
thoughts.

Mary MacLane was a controversial Canadian born American writer whose frank memoirs helped usher in the confessional
style of autobiographical writing. MacLane was known as the "Wild Woman of Butte".
MacLane was a very popular author for her time, scandalizing the populace with her shocking bestselling first memoir and to a
lesser extent her two following books. She was considered wild and uncontrolled, a reputation she nurtured, and was openly bisexual as well as a vocal feminist.
From the beginning, MacLane's writing was characterized by a direct, fiery and highly individualistic style.
At the age of 19 in 1902, MacLane published her first book, The Story of Mary MacLane. It sold 100,000 copies in the first
month and was popular among young girls, but was pilloried by conservative critics and readers. Some critics have suggested that
even by today's standards, MacLane's writing is raw, honest, unflinching, self-aware, sensual and extreme
MacLane had always chafed, or felt, "anxiety of place," at living in Butte,