Battle Annie: The Queen of Hell’s Kitchen
In 1890, during a strike against the New York Central Railroad, Annie Walsh, as head gopher of the Battle Row Ladies Social and Athletic Club, negotiates with railroad tycoon Louis Webb for compensation to break the strike. The women are organized brick-hurlers, and they hurl for the highest bidder. Annie is a reliable contract employee, on good, if not friendly, terms with Webb and his wealthy cohorts. To save her strength during the hurl, she tips a young guttersnipe to supply her with bricks. Cora is part of the Nobodies, orphaned children who sleep rough, scrounge food and survive selling matches, flowers, newspapers, or, in the case of the youngest, just begging. Cora knows a good thing when she sees it in Annie! Eugene Debs, a renowned socialist, entices Annie into his camp, paying her to support the strike. But inevitably, Annie runs afoul of Webb and he accuses her of murder in retaliation. With Debs’ help, and a price on her head, she does a runner with Cora to Baltimore, where she spends four years capably running a millinery shop, and learning how to speak proper-like. But nothing lasts forever, and when her real identity is tipped to a Pinkerton, she’s sent to jail. At this juncture the story becomes Cora’s and whether she values Annie’s friendship enough to save her. Life on the street is about first taking care of number one, and Cora must find her own life path.
Little is known about Annie Walsh, and MacEnulty has crafted an interesting tale based around the New York gangs prevalent at the time, particularly the women gophers who were rough, tough, hardy women, many of Irish descent. This capably written story is mostly fictionalized with a few historical characters and is brought to a neat conclusion.
