Lawrie Mackenzie Jr. scandalized the good people of Montana. The rest learned to stay out of her way.
Set against the rugged splendor of the Rocky Mountains, The Queen of Montana follows Junior from a childhood marked by violence and survival into a life no one could easily tame.
Rescued by nuns, raised under the uneasy care of a wounded Confederate veteran, and taught cards by a notorious gambler, Junior grows into a woman who can hold her own against blizzards, floods, powerful men, and the judgment of an unforgiving territory.
A Childhood Marked by Survival
Junior loses everything on her seventh birthday — and learns that loss can be a kind of freedom.
A Frontier That Rewards Cunning
Montana Territory is not a backdrop. It is weather, danger, opportunity, and judgment all at once.
A Life No One Could Easily Tame
Cards, horses, grief, and hard bargains — Junior builds power in a world that never intended to give her any.
“On the day she turned seven, Junior Mackenzie learned two things:
that her family was dead, and that she was alone in the world.”
Meet Junior Mackenzie
Her father named her after himself because he expected a son.
She spent her life making sure no one made that mistake twice.
Junior is sharp, stubborn, wounded, and often funny when she does not mean to be.
She craves freedom more than approval. She learns early that people are easier to survive when you understand what they want.
Not easy to love.
Impossible to forget.
A Legend in Words and Pictures
Montana Territory isn’t just the backdrop. It is its own entity: danger and opportunity; love and loss; tragedy and triumph.
Junior’s world shifts from prairie to the mountains and wide open spaces that take her heart captive. But before she became a legend, there were school room bullies to endure, friends who became enemies to vanquish — and always the horses she loved so much.
Junior’s drawings and letters draw the reader in and immerse them in life on the frontier.
For Readers Who Like
Historical Fiction · Literary Westerns · Strong Complicated Women
Montana Stories · Family Sagas · Illustrated Novels
Book Club Fiction with Real Discussion Weight
One chapter wasn't enough for Junior. It probably won't be for you either.
Available now wherever books are sold.
Prefer to order locally? Ask your independent bookstore to order it for you.
Planning a Book Club or Library Event?
The Queen of Montana gives readers plenty to talk about — survival, guilt, independence, motherhood,
grief, and the stories people tell about the American West.
S. Scott Hula is available for select book club and library conversations by Zoom.
