Mallory O’Meara started writing about women whose accomplishments had been lost – or largely erased – in her book about the first woman to create a monster for a major Hollywood production. A few years later, she uncovered the role women played throughout recorded history in the production of alcoholic beverages.

Now she’s tackled America’s first female stunt double, who launched her career riding rodeo in silent films and eventually gained a reputation for being the “most daring actress in pictures.”

During her third visit to the Library, O’Meara discusses her newest book, Daughter of Daring: The Trick-Riding, Train-Leaping, Road-Racing Life of Helen Gibson.

In the early 1900s, Gibson starred in nearly 70 episodes of a film series called The Hazards of Helen in which she prevailed against every possible kind of physical danger, including jumping on horseback from a rooftop onto a moving train. Her filmography stretches from 1912 to 1962.

O’Meara also talks about Gibson’s overlooked female contemporaries who were film stars, directors, and fellow stuntwomen. These women contributed to creating the cinematic experiences we know today.

In addition to her screenwriting and film production work, Mallory hosts the literary podcast Reading Glasses about book culture and reader life alongside filmmaker and actress Brea Grant.