Victoria Wilcox, 2014 Georgia Author of the Year in the First Novel Category, to discuss her second book “Gone West” from her trilogy of books featuring the legendary Doc Holliday
Dallas Heritage Village, in partnership with the Dallas Historical Society, presents the second annual Nancy Farina Lecture Series, a free event honoring the late Farina, a 20-year employee of Dallas Heritage Village. This year’s lecture features award-winning author and Doc Holliday expert, Victoria Wilcox on Oct. 21, 6 p.m. (doors open); 6:30 p.m. presentation, followed by a Q&A and book signing in Browder Springs Hall at Dallas Heritage Village, 1515 S. Harwood, Dallas. Wilcox will share stories of the Western legend’s Texas career from her second book, "Doc Holliday: Gone West to Texas."
Wilcox is the award-winning author of the historical novel trilogy, "Southern Son: The Saga of Doc Holliday." Although the name Doc Holliday conjures images of Tombstone, Arizona, and a shootout at the OK Corral, before he was a Western legend he was a Southern son, born in the last days of the Old South with family ties to "Gone With the Wind." The "Southern Son"saga follows his life from his youth in Georgia during the Civil War and Reconstruction to the last days of the Wild West. The first book in the trilogy, "Inheritance," was released in 2013 and honored Wilcox as Georgia Author of the Year. The newly released second book in the trilogy, "Gone West," tells the story of Doc Holliday’s Texas years, starting with his troubled life in 1870s Dallas.
“Dallas was where Doc Holliday’s legend really began,” Wilcox said. “The place where he left his gentlemanly life behind and became an outlaw. And it was as an outlaw that he met a lawman named Wyatt Earp in the Texas frontier town of Fort Griffin. The story of Doc’s Texas years is largely untold, but full of the action and drama that Western readers love.”
Wilcox, a member of the Western Writers of America, spent 18 years researching the life of Doc Holliday after founding the Holliday-Dorsey-Fife House Museum in Georgia, the antebellum home of Doc’s medical doctor uncle.
“I had never imagined Doc Holliday in a white-columned house that looked like it was right out of 'Gone With the Wind,' but there he was, a young boy during the Civil War,” added Wilcox. “His life story is epic, sweeping from the Old South to the Wild West. It’s a truly American story, and Dallas is at the very heart of it.”
Wilcox refers to the trilogy as biographical historical fiction, dramatizing the actual events of real historical figures. Her books have been written to appeal to a broader audience beyond history buffs and have been compared to the bestsellers “Gettysburg” and “Killing Lincoln.”
“We are thrilled to feature the charming Victoria Wilcox as our second Nancy Farina lecture and look forward to a wonderful evening,” said Melissa Prycer, president and executive director, Dallas Heritage Village. “We also appreciate our partnership with Dallas Historical Society and know that Nancy Farina would be pleased. After her passing, many of her friends, colleagues, and family members made contributions in her memory to Dallas Heritage Village, and we decided that the most appropriate use of these funds would be to establish an annual author lecture and reception in her name.”
Light refreshments and beverages will be served the event, which is free and open to the public. Barnes & Noble will have copies of the author’s books, "Inheritance and Gone West," for sale after the talk. Reservations are requested at dallasheritagevillage.org or by calling 214-413-3674. Copies of the book may also be pre-ordered online. For more information, visit www.dallasheritagevillage.org. Visit the author’s website at www.victoriawilcoxbooks.com.
“The Dallas Historical Society is excited to continue an ongoing partnership with Dallas Heritage Village,” said Jack Bunning, DHS Executive Director. “We are delighted to be a part of this program by Victoria Wilcox and another fascinating part of Dallas history.”
Dallas Heritage Village, located at Old City Park, is a nationally accredited history museum, depicting life in Dallas from 1840-1910. It is one of only five museums in the Dallas area to have this distinction. The grounds showcase 38 historic structures, including log cabins, the pre-Civil War Millermore home, a Victorian Main Street, a railroad complex, an 1860s farmstead with livestock, a 19th century church, school and more. Visitors discover how crops were grown, animals cared for and how family living progressed from log cabins to grand manors and Victorian homes. Dallas Heritage Village is supported, in part, by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs and the Texas Commission on the Arts as well as individual and group donations. Dallas Heritage Village was nominated in 2011 and 2012 by D Magazine as one of the top Dallas-area family attractions. It is located at 1515 South Harwood, one block south of Farmers Market in Downtown Dallas. Hours of operation are Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Sunday, noon – 4 p.m. The Village is closed the months of January and August. Regular admission is $9 for adults, $7 for seniors 65+ and $5 for children ages 4-12. Children under 4 and members of Dallas Heritage Village are admitted free of charge. For more information call 214-421-5141 or visit www.DallasHeritageVillage.org
The stories of Dallas are shared each day at the Dallas Historical Society through the three million items that comprise our archives and artifact collections. Established in 1922, the Dallas Historical Society collects, preserves, and exhibits the unique heritage of Dallas and Texas to educate and inspire future generations. Housed at the Hall of State in Fair Park since 1938, DHS presents these collections through education programs, exhibitions, tours, access to research materials and workshops. Among the three million historical artifacts at DHS are such treasures as Sam Houston’s hand written account of the Battle of San Jacinto, the original Juneteenth document, James Fannin’s watch, and Santa Anna’s spurs. The DHS collection houses over 10,000 bound volumes, and receives more than 1,500 research requests annually.
Each year, the Dallas Historical Society is visited by over 160,000 people and serves more than 20,000 students through guided tours and educational programming at the Hall of State, as well as outreach programs at school locations. www.dallashistory.org