Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were notorious robbers and criminals who travelled the central United States during the Great Depression. Their exploits were known nationwide. They captivated the attention of the American press and its readership during what is sometimes referred to as the “public enemy era” between 1931 and 1935. Though remembered as bank robbers, Clyde Barrow preferred to rob small stores or gas stations.
Though the public at the time believed Bonnie to be a full partner in the gang, the role of Bonnie Parker in the Barrow Gang crimes has long been a source of controversy. Gang members W.D. Jones and Ralph Fults testified that they never saw Bonnie fire a gun, and described her role as logistical. Jones’ sworn statement was that “Bonnie never packed a gun, out of the five major gun battles I was with them she never fired a gun.” Writing with Phillip Steele in The Family Story of Bonnie and Clyde, Marie Barrow, Clyde’s youngest sister, made the same claim: “Bonnie never fired a shot. She just followed my brother no matter where he went.”
In his article “Bonnie and Clyde: Romeo and Juliet in a Getaway Car”, the noted writer Joseph Geringer explained part of their appeal to the public then, and their enduring legend now, by saying “Americans thrilled to their ‘Robin Hood’ adventures. The presence of a female, Bonnie, escalated the sincerity of their intentions to make them something unique and individual — even at times heroic.”
