Guest blogger: Jennifer L. Wright
My novel The Girl from the Papers is inspired by the lives of the notorious Great Depression–era criminals Bonnie and Clyde. Centered on the dangerous combination of love, pride, and reckless ambition, the story examines the motivations behind their crime spree as well as imagining what might have happened had they chosen a different path. Although the story is heartbreaking at times, it is my hope that readers will ultimately come away feeling inspired and optimistic, with a greater understanding of the power of God’s love and forgiveness.
The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for the real story of Bonnie and Clyde.
Both Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were born in 1910 in rural Texas, though each ended up moving to an impoverished area just outside Dallas during their youth. But while Bonnie and her family resided in Cement City, a heavily industrialized, pollution-covered area that offered low-paying, backbreaking work in the town’s many factories, the Barrow clan was not so fortunate (if fortunate is what it could be called.) Instead, as poor farmers hit hard by the post‒World War I agriculture bust, they were forced into a shanty down in West Dallas, where they survived for several months by sleeping under a wagon loaded with their few possessions near the Trinity River. Open sewers, garbage-strewn roads, and clouds of disease-ridden mosquitos only added insult to injury. The people of Dallas made no secret about how they felt toward these refugees; many, including Clyde, encountered prejudice, scorn, and even outright violence from both civilians and law enforcement alike whenever they dared cross the river into Dallas proper. Clyde performed odd jobs such as scrap metal collector, candy maker, and Western Union telegram deliverer to help make ends meet, and eventually, the family earned enough to open a small car repair shop, which had an attached house. Even then, however, Clyde struggled to shake off the shame and anger that accompanied his “lower class” status. He soon turned to a life of petty crime to get ahead.
Meanwhile, across town, Bonnie was engaged in a battle of her own. After losing her husband in 1914, Rowena Parker, Bonnie’s mother, struggled with fits of melancholy, leaving her daughter largely unsupervised and undisciplined. Because of this, Bonnie soon became narcissistic, temperamental, and prone to fits of wildness that left those around her reeling. Bonnie was the “star” of the family, performing in pageants and plays from a young age, and she nurtured dreams of Hollywood and Broadway, which led to her dropping out of school. Instead of taking the stage, however, she got married. The groom was a man by the name of Ray Thornton, and their wedding occurred when Bonnie was only fifteen years old. Unsurprisingly, the vows didn’t stick, and soon Ray was drinking, cheating, and disappearing for days at a time. When he was arrested for theft in January 1929, Bonnie wasn’t exactly sad . . . but she also never filed for divorce. Still, it didn’t stop her from returning to her wild ways.
A year later, in January 1930, Bonnie arrived at party in West Dallas to celebrate her older brother Buster’s marriage. Also at the party? A friend of the bride’s named Clyde Barrow.
By all accounts, it was love at first sight. Frustrated by her failed acting dreams and lack of status, Bonnie was instantly drawn to the well-dressed stranger with the fancy car. Likewise, Bonnie’s good looks and obvious adoration bolstered Clyde’s tender ego. But it was their mutual determination not to accept a life of poverty—no matter the cost—that truly bonded the pair.
Within a few short weeks, Bonnie was accompanying Clyde on his crime sprees, which had matured from minor thefts to stealing cars and, soon, to armed robberies. Although Clyde was arrested several times, Bonnie remained faithful, visiting him in jail, writing him letters, and waiting patiently until his sentence was served . . . so they could begin their crime spree anew.
But on April 30, 1932, things changed. During an attempted robbery in Hillsboro, Texas, store owner J. N. Bucher was shot and killed. Bucher’s wife later identified Barrow as the man who had pulled the trigger.
Bonnie and Clyde were no longer just a nuisance to police. They were wanted killers.
Over the next two years, Bonnie and Clyde lived on the run, stealing cars, robbing stores, and disposing of anyone who got in their way. Although the actual number is uncertain, it is believed the pair committed at least thirteen murders, including several lawmen. Words and pictures about the “Texas Rattlesnake” and his “Suicide Sal” were splattered in newspapers across the country; their popularity was second only to their violence.
It all came crashing down on May 23, 1934, when they were ambushed by a police posse near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana. One hundred and twelve bullet holes pierced the Ford V-8 in which they rode; Bonnie and Clyde were killed instantly. Both the shooting and subsequent funeral were met by an almost circus-like atmosphere, with equal parts glee, sadness, and morbid curiosity rising from the crowds that came to see both the car and their bullet-riddled bodies.
For all the fascination, when it came down to it, the entire saga of Bonnie and Clyde ultimately left nothing but at least fifteen corpses, both perpetrators and victims, in its wake, not to mention the scores of others who were affected both directly and indirectly by the crime spree. Their tale is a tragedy, in every sense of the word, marked by ruthlessness, greed, and a distinct misunderstanding of the source of one’s inherent worth.
About the Story:
Beatrice Carraway has dreams. Although she’s aged out of the childhood pageant circuit, she’s intent on carrying her talents all the way to the big screen—if only she can escape the poverty of West Dallas first. But as the Great Depression drags the working class further and further under, Beatrice struggles just to keep herself, her mother, and her younger sister afloat. After a string of failed auditions, she feels defeated.
And then in walks Jack Turner. Though Beatrice is determined to pull herself up by her bootstraps, Jack has decided on a different path out of the gutters. It isn’t long before Beatrice is swept into an exciting and glamorous life of crime beside the man she loves. Keeping one step ahead of the law, she sees her dreams of fame come true when her name and picture are plastered in newspapers across the country. Yet as their infamy grows, the distance between them widens. While Jack begins seeking bigger payouts and publicity, Beatrice starts to long for a safe, quiet life and something deeper to fill the emptiness in her soul. But when the danger of Jack’s schemes ratchets up, Beatrice fears her dreams—and her future—will end up going down in a hail of bullets.
About the Author:
Jennifer L. Wright has been writing since middle school, eventually earning a master’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. However, it took only a few short months of covering the local news for her to realize that writing fiction is much better for the soul and definitely way more fun. A born and bred Hoosier, she was plucked from the Heartland after being swept off her feet by an Air Force pilot and has spent the past decade traveling the world and, every few years, attempting to make old curtains fit in the windows of a new home. She currently resides in New Mexico with her husband, two children, one grumpy old dachshund, and her newest obsession—a guinea pig named Peanut Butter Cup.
Connect with Jennifer through her website, Facebook, and Instagram.
FBI agent Tiberius Granger has seen his share of darkness. But a new case sets him on edge. It’s not just the macabre way both victims—found posed in front of lighthouses—are tattooed with flowers that match their names. There’s also the unsettling connection to the woman Ty once loved and to the shadowy cult they both risked everything to escape.
Jessica R. Patch is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author known for her dry wit, signature twists, and complex characters. She loves reading true crime books, discussing cold cases over chips and salsa, and hunting down serial killers in her romantic suspense novels and thrillers. She resides in the Memphis area with her family and her spoiled Shetland Sheepdog. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter, Patched In, at her website and receive a free short thriller.
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