The Story of Mary MacLane (1902) - Mary MacLane Audiobook

Written by Mary MacLane
Read by Candle Swift
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
Release date: 12-20-17
Publisher: Audioliterature

From the beginning, MacLane’s writing was characterized by a direct, fiery, highly individualistic style. At the age of 19 in 1901, MacLane wrote her first book, titled by its author “I Await the Devil’s Coming” but changed by its publishers to “The Story of Mary MacLane”. It sold 100,000 copies in the first month and was powerfully influential on young women. Some critics have suggested that even by today’s standards, MacLane’s writing is raw, honest, unflinching, self-aware, sensual, and extreme. She wrote openly about egoism and her own self-love, about sexual attraction and love for other women, and even about her desire to marry the Devil.

Who was Mary MacLane?

Mary MacLane (May 1, 1881 – c. August 6, 1929) 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 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 uncontrollable, a reputation she nurtured, and was openly bisexual as well as a vocal feminist.

Mary MacLane is “an acquired Taste”. As one critic put it. Another said, “Mary Maclane is pretty insufferable. She is pretentious, self-absorbed and immature. I admit that I was occasionally entertained but overall this book was a slog.”