The Love Letter of John Henry Holliday

When John Henry "Doc" Holliday dies in 1887, the only person notified of his death is a nun in the religious order of the Sisters of Mercy. This person is his cousin, his confidant, his beloved Mattie. She would later state that if people had known him the way she knew him, they would have seen a different person from the one of Western fame.

Throughout the years John Henry lives in the West until his death at age thirty-seven, the two cousins keep up a steady correspondence. The Love Letter of John Henry Holliday is his last letter to Mattie, as imagined by the author. It is both a reflection on a life almost over and a testament to a love that has never faded.

This book comes highly recommended by The Historical Novel Society: "Through Fancher's careful research and spare eloquence, we are left with the sharply memorable impression that Holliday himself, though often poor and downcast, was anything but marginal, and Fancher's portraits of many other figures in Holliday's life are equally lovingly detailed. The result is a slim but powerful reading experience."