The Widowed Ones

The Widowed Ones: Beyond the Battle of the Little Bighorn tells the stories of the seven officers' wives who were widowed after the famous battle. Readers will learn about these brave women and the unique bond they shared through never-before-seen materials from the Elizabeth Custer Library and Museum at Garryowen, Montana, including letters between Elizabeth Custer and the other widows, letters to and from politicians and the widows supporting and criticizing General Custer, and agendas and pictures of the widows at the annual meetings.

Chris Enss is a New York Times best-selling author who has been writing about women of the Old West for more than twenty years. She has penned more than forty published books on the subject. Her work has been honored with five Will Rogers Medallion Awards, two Elmer Kelton Book Awards, an Oklahoma Center for the Book Award, and was a Western Writers of America Spur Award Finalist. Her books Thunder Over the Prairie, The Death Row All Stars, and The Trials of Annie Oakley have been optioned by major production companies for feature films. Enss’s most recent works are According to Kate: The Legendary Life of Big Nose Kate, Love of Doc Holliday; No Place for a Woman: The Struggle for Suffrage in the Wild West; and Iron Women: The Ladies Who Helped Build the Railroad.

Enss is the current president of Western Writers of America, serves as executive director of the Will Rogers Medallion Award, and is a licensed private investigator.

Howard Kazanjian is an award-winning producer and entertainment executive who has been producing feature films and television programs for more than twenty-five years.

Christopher Kortlander has been a Western Americana collector and dealer for most of his adult life. His personal collection was assembled over several decades and features some of the rarest and most desirable works and historic collectibles in the province of the Indian Wars and America's Westward expansion. Kortlander's appreciation for the unique history and grandeur of the West goes far beyond building his own amazing personal collection of books, manuscripts, and Western Americana collectibles. In addition, Kortlander published "Custer In Photographs," and produced a play, "Libbie," which offered a new take on the battle and its aftermath.