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Ballad #9
The Ballad of Tom Dooley
A literary triumph; what began as a fictional re-telling of the historical account of one of the most famous mountain ballads of all time became an astonishing revelation of the real culprit responsible for the murder of Laura Foster
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley; The folk song, made famous by the Kingston Trio, recounts a tragedy in the North Carolina mountains after the Civil War. Laura Foster, a simple country girl, was murdered and her lover Tom Dula was hanged for the crime. The sensational elements in the case attracted national attention: a man and his beautiful, married lover accused of murdering the other-woman; the former governor of North Carolina spearheading the defense; and a noble gesture from the prisoner on the eve of his execution, saving the woman he really loved.
With the help of historians, lawyers, and researchers, Sharyn McCrumb visited the actual sites, studied the legal evidence, and uncovered a missing piece of the story that will shock those who think they already know what happened and may also bring belated justice to an innocent man. What seemed at first to be a sordid tale of adultery and betrayal was transformed by the new discoveries into an Appalachian Wuthering Heights. Tom Dula and Ann Melton had a profound romance spoiled by the machinations of their servant, Pauline Foster.
Bringing to life the star-crossed lovers of this mountain tragedy, Sharyn McCrumb gifts understanding and compassion to her compelling tales of Appalachia, and solidifies her status as one of today's great Southern writers.
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley; The folk song, made famous by the Kingston Trio, recounts a tragedy in the North Carolina mountains after the Civil War. Laura Foster, a simple country girl, was murdered and her lover Tom Dula was hanged for the crime. The sensational elements in the case attracted national attention: a man and his beautiful, married lover accused of murdering the other-woman; the former governor of North Carolina spearheading the defense; and a noble gesture from the prisoner on the eve of his execution, saving the woman he really loved.
With the help of historians, lawyers, and researchers, Sharyn McCrumb visited the actual sites, studied the legal evidence, and uncovered a missing piece of the story that will shock those who think they already know what happened and may also bring belated justice to an innocent man. What seemed at first to be a sordid tale of adultery and betrayal was transformed by the new discoveries into an Appalachian Wuthering Heights. Tom Dula and Ann Melton had a profound romance spoiled by the machinations of their servant, Pauline Foster.
Bringing to life the star-crossed lovers of this mountain tragedy, Sharyn McCrumb gifts understanding and compassion to her compelling tales of Appalachia, and solidifies her status as one of today's great Southern writers.
311 pages, Hardcover
First published August 28, 2011
197 people are currently reading
2210 people want to read
About the author
Sharyn McCrumb
116 books1,127 followers
Sharyn McCrumb, an award-winning Southern writer, is best known for her Appalachian “Ballad” novels, including the New York Times best sellers The Ballad of Tom Dooley, The Ballad of Frankie Silver, and The Songcatcher. Ghost Riders, which won the Wilma Dykeman Award for Literature from the East Tennessee Historical Society and the national Audie Award for Best Recorded Books. The Unquiet Grave, a well-researched novel about West Virginia's Greenbrier Ghost, will be published in September by Atria, a division of Simon &Schuster.
Sharyn McCrumb, named a Virginia Woman of History by the Library of Virginia and a Woman of the Arts by the national Daughters of the American Revolution, was awarded the Mary Hobson Prize for Arts & Letters in 2014. Her books have been named New York Times and Los Angeles Times Notable Books. In addition to presenting programs at universities, libraries, and other organizations throughout the US, Sharyn McCrumb has taught a writers workshop in Paris, and served as writer-in-residence at King University in Tennessee, and at the Chautauqua Institute in western New York.
Sharyn McCrumb, an award-winning Southern writer, is best known for her Appalachian “Ballad” novels, including the New York Times best sellers The Ballad of Tom Dooley, The Ballad of Frankie Silver, and The Songcatcher. Ghost Riders, which won the Wilma Dykeman Award for Literature from the East Tennessee Historical Society and the national Audie Award for Best Recorded Books. The Unquiet Grave, a well-researched novel about West Virginia's Greenbrier Ghost, will be published in September by Atria, a division of Simon &Schuster.
Sharyn McCrumb, named a Virginia Woman of History by the Library of Virginia and a Woman of the Arts by the national Daughters of the American Revolution, was awarded the Mary Hobson Prize for Arts & Letters in 2014. Her books have been named New York Times and Los Angeles Times Notable Books. In addition to presenting programs at universities, libraries, and other organizations throughout the US, Sharyn McCrumb has taught a writers workshop in Paris, and served as writer-in-residence at King University in Tennessee, and at the Chautauqua Institute in western New York.
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March 26, 2021
This book was a Christmas gift from my daughter. If you remember the Kingston trio song you will enjoy this book. A man named Tom Dula was tried, convicted and hanged for murder in Statesville, N. Carolina in 1868. The author did a lot of research, reading the original trial transcript and consulting Census records to recreate what happened, including new information. Ex NC governor Zebulon Vance defended Dula pro bono. After I read it, my wife, daughter and various in-laws read it and all enjoyed it, recommending it to others, so much so that it took a year to come back to me
Back in 1993, I volunteered to be a UN SAM(Sanctions Assistance Monitor), during the Balkan wars. I went to Bulgaria and worked with Bulgarian Customs. One day I was invited to go on an Italian Police boat patrolling the Danube river downstream of Serbia, on the border between Bulgaria and Romania. I was in civilian clothes, as I was forbidden to bring my uniform. While on the boat, an Italian Policeman came up to me and and started yelling at me in Italian. I think he wanted to know who I was and why was I on his boat. He was carrying a large assault rifle. I froze. Just then a French gendarme came up behind the Italian Policeman, pointed to me and said "UNPROFOR"(UN Protective Forces). The Italian Policeman said "Oh, ok." and walked away. The gendarme introduced himself as Jean. I said that I was Tom. He started singing "Tom Dooley, hang down your head and cry."
Back in 1993, I volunteered to be a UN SAM(Sanctions Assistance Monitor), during the Balkan wars. I went to Bulgaria and worked with Bulgarian Customs. One day I was invited to go on an Italian Police boat patrolling the Danube river downstream of Serbia, on the border between Bulgaria and Romania. I was in civilian clothes, as I was forbidden to bring my uniform. While on the boat, an Italian Policeman came up to me and and started yelling at me in Italian. I think he wanted to know who I was and why was I on his boat. He was carrying a large assault rifle. I froze. Just then a French gendarme came up behind the Italian Policeman, pointed to me and said "UNPROFOR"(UN Protective Forces). The Italian Policeman said "Oh, ok." and walked away. The gendarme introduced himself as Jean. I said that I was Tom. He started singing "Tom Dooley, hang down your head and cry."
October 13, 2011
This was a Goodreads First Read giveaway ARC.
Thank the Lord I'm done with this book! I can't tell you how happy I am to be finished with this book. For a book that I was initially really interested in reading, this was a 336 page trial.
Summed up in 3 words: Dry, Slow, Repetitive
Sharyn McCrumb, your novel's may get their share of good reviews but not from this reader. The only saving grace in giving this novel 2 stars versus the 1 star I originally intended at around the 250 page mark was the end and the Author's Note.
I was really wanting to know the story behind the legend of Tom Dula AKA Tom Dooley, as I grew up listening to the song. Funny how you can sing songs you hear as a kid and never even really wonder where they came from or even really listen to the words, such was the case before I found this book. I never even considered the origins of the song or who Tom Dooley was. It was a tough journey I forced myself to finish, and I'm glad I did learn some things in the journey and that I did finish it.
One of my biggest gripes with this book was the main character of Pauline Foster, I mean talk about self destructive, she just made me so mad. I'm glad I have never gotten to know anybody like her who just generally didn't care about anybody and liked to make them her pawns and manipulate them, spread STD's, lies, etc. She was just downright hate-able. And most of the other characters weren't that much better, which really made me feel sorry for James Melton, I can understand why he didn't talk, was to himself, did his work, tended to his farm and kids and that was about it. It was just bleak, the whole book was bleak, I guess the times were bleak in post-civil war America, but damn this was just a horrible window into it.
I was interesting to read the research McCrumb did while writing for the original article in the "Blue Ridge Country" magazine, it was almost like detective work. I imagine that the article or story lent itself better in the magazine article than this expansive novel. Reading Zebulon Vance's background and thoughts on the war and his defense of Ann Melton and Tom Dula were RIDICULOUSLY repetitive. It was downright tedious the way he goes on and on about how he hates remembering the trial and won't put it in his memoirs, how he feels sorry for the young couple but doesn't understand their love as he has never felt that way for either of his wives, yadda yadda yadda, we get it, you don't need to write it out in 3 different places. McCrumb also harps a little too much on the Wuthering Heights parallel, I can see that there is one, the characters in this legend could very well be the same, but we didn't have to add a bunch of pages to make the reader see that parallel.
This book could have been a lot shorter, I think it could have been better if it maybe started with Zebulon Vance's point of view pre-trial and then again at the end of the novel post-trial, and focused on Pauline's story or point of view as the meat of the story. The chapters with Zebulon in the middle were redundant and not needed.
All in all there was some interesting tid-bits but overall the book was dry and hard to finish. It took me having a day off of work and forcing myself to get through the last half to finish it. The only reason I would recommend this book is if someone else was wondering about the legend of Tom Dooley, even then maybe not. The research and Author's Note brought it from a 1 star to 2. Tough read, glad I didn't buy this book.
Thank the Lord I'm done with this book! I can't tell you how happy I am to be finished with this book. For a book that I was initially really interested in reading, this was a 336 page trial.
Summed up in 3 words: Dry, Slow, Repetitive
Sharyn McCrumb, your novel's may get their share of good reviews but not from this reader. The only saving grace in giving this novel 2 stars versus the 1 star I originally intended at around the 250 page mark was the end and the Author's Note.
I was really wanting to know the story behind the legend of Tom Dula AKA Tom Dooley, as I grew up listening to the song. Funny how you can sing songs you hear as a kid and never even really wonder where they came from or even really listen to the words, such was the case before I found this book. I never even considered the origins of the song or who Tom Dooley was. It was a tough journey I forced myself to finish, and I'm glad I did learn some things in the journey and that I did finish it.
One of my biggest gripes with this book was the main character of Pauline Foster, I mean talk about self destructive, she just made me so mad. I'm glad I have never gotten to know anybody like her who just generally didn't care about anybody and liked to make them her pawns and manipulate them, spread STD's, lies, etc. She was just downright hate-able. And most of the other characters weren't that much better, which really made me feel sorry for James Melton, I can understand why he didn't talk, was to himself, did his work, tended to his farm and kids and that was about it. It was just bleak, the whole book was bleak, I guess the times were bleak in post-civil war America, but damn this was just a horrible window into it.
I was interesting to read the research McCrumb did while writing for the original article in the "Blue Ridge Country" magazine, it was almost like detective work. I imagine that the article or story lent itself better in the magazine article than this expansive novel. Reading Zebulon Vance's background and thoughts on the war and his defense of Ann Melton and Tom Dula were RIDICULOUSLY repetitive. It was downright tedious the way he goes on and on about how he hates remembering the trial and won't put it in his memoirs, how he feels sorry for the young couple but doesn't understand their love as he has never felt that way for either of his wives, yadda yadda yadda, we get it, you don't need to write it out in 3 different places. McCrumb also harps a little too much on the Wuthering Heights parallel, I can see that there is one, the characters in this legend could very well be the same, but we didn't have to add a bunch of pages to make the reader see that parallel.
This book could have been a lot shorter, I think it could have been better if it maybe started with Zebulon Vance's point of view pre-trial and then again at the end of the novel post-trial, and focused on Pauline's story or point of view as the meat of the story. The chapters with Zebulon in the middle were redundant and not needed.
All in all there was some interesting tid-bits but overall the book was dry and hard to finish. It took me having a day off of work and forcing myself to get through the last half to finish it. The only reason I would recommend this book is if someone else was wondering about the legend of Tom Dooley, even then maybe not. The research and Author's Note brought it from a 1 star to 2. Tough read, glad I didn't buy this book.
November 10, 2012
Rating clarification: 3.5 Stars
I recently finished a local history book called: Death in North Carolina's Piedmont: Tales of Murder, Suicide and Causes Unknown, and one of the true crime mysteries featured was the murder of Laura Foster and the hanging of Tom Dooley in 1860's North Carolina. It peaked my interest, so when I saw that Sharyn McCrumb had actually featured the story in one of her "Ballad" novels, I was excited to read it. I didn't realize I had gotten so far behind in her "Ballad" series. I enjoyed She Walks These Hills and The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter; McCrumb definitely has a talent for capturing the spirit and personality of North Carolina's Appalachian people and the folklore that surrounds them.
The Ballad of Tom Dooley didn't disappoint, although any reader looking for sympathetic characters or a pat ending will be bound for disappointment. This is one of those books where I detested the four mains, yet found them fascinating at the same time, mainly due to McCrumb's excellent characterizations. Shiftless yet ultimately selfless Tom Dula (Dooley); pox-ridden, drunken and sociopathic Pauline Foster; beautiful, heartless and lazy Ann Melton; and hang-dog, pathetic Laura Foster come alive in all their gritty, backhills glory. Like and admire them you will not. But you may not be able to stop reading about them, either.
It was very interesting to be able to compare the non-fiction account found in Casstevens' Death in North Carolina's Piedmont: Tales of Murder, Suicide and Causes Unknown with McCrumb's fictional tale. I thought she married the two extremely well, and some new information she recently brought to light in this almost 150 year old murder case was well incorporated into the story and quite believable, although it's unverifiable at this point.
My only complaint with the story was the constant repetition found throughout the narrative. If you hear about Tom's laziness, or Ann's beauty, or Pauline's sociopathic personality once, rest assured that there are at least 25+ more references to come. Better editing would have made this a 4 or 5 star read.
Good read for fans of Appalachian history, folklore or anyone interested in the real "Tom Dooley" of the Kingston Trio's famous song:
"Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley,
Hang Down Your Head and Cry,
Hang Down You Head, Tom Dooley,
Poor Boy, You're Bound to Die"
I recently finished a local history book called: Death in North Carolina's Piedmont: Tales of Murder, Suicide and Causes Unknown, and one of the true crime mysteries featured was the murder of Laura Foster and the hanging of Tom Dooley in 1860's North Carolina. It peaked my interest, so when I saw that Sharyn McCrumb had actually featured the story in one of her "Ballad" novels, I was excited to read it. I didn't realize I had gotten so far behind in her "Ballad" series. I enjoyed She Walks These Hills and The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter; McCrumb definitely has a talent for capturing the spirit and personality of North Carolina's Appalachian people and the folklore that surrounds them.
The Ballad of Tom Dooley didn't disappoint, although any reader looking for sympathetic characters or a pat ending will be bound for disappointment. This is one of those books where I detested the four mains, yet found them fascinating at the same time, mainly due to McCrumb's excellent characterizations. Shiftless yet ultimately selfless Tom Dula (Dooley); pox-ridden, drunken and sociopathic Pauline Foster; beautiful, heartless and lazy Ann Melton; and hang-dog, pathetic Laura Foster come alive in all their gritty, backhills glory. Like and admire them you will not. But you may not be able to stop reading about them, either.
It was very interesting to be able to compare the non-fiction account found in Casstevens' Death in North Carolina's Piedmont: Tales of Murder, Suicide and Causes Unknown with McCrumb's fictional tale. I thought she married the two extremely well, and some new information she recently brought to light in this almost 150 year old murder case was well incorporated into the story and quite believable, although it's unverifiable at this point.
My only complaint with the story was the constant repetition found throughout the narrative. If you hear about Tom's laziness, or Ann's beauty, or Pauline's sociopathic personality once, rest assured that there are at least 25+ more references to come. Better editing would have made this a 4 or 5 star read.
Good read for fans of Appalachian history, folklore or anyone interested in the real "Tom Dooley" of the Kingston Trio's famous song:
"Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley,
Hang Down Your Head and Cry,
Hang Down You Head, Tom Dooley,
Poor Boy, You're Bound to Die"
August 22, 2011
This historical fiction is getting good reviews, so don't let me put you off reading the book if it sounds like something you'd enjoy, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to be the odd (wo)man out on this one.
I like the idea of the book – learning the story behind the ballad of Tom Dooley. The problem I had was with the telling of the story. I like more history in my historical fiction, and this one has too much speculation for me. It goes into the mind of a relatively minor person in the real story, servant to the married lover of Tom Dula, and into the mind of Zebulon Vance, eventual attorney for the defense.
There wasn't a single significant character in this book that I think I would have liked had I known them in person. Most of the story is from the point of view of Pauline Foster, the servant, and a more hateful person is hard to imagine. If I had to read one more time about Vance's political background and aspirations, I was going to have to murder him, never mind that he's been dead for more than a century.
There was too much repetition of the same events and same phrases, and it became tiresome. The characters seemed one-dimensional to me.
What is the true and complete story of Tom Dula? It is unlikely that anyone will ever know, and the author does give her reasons for why she thinks her version is correct. I don't think that I would have always drawn the same conclusions that she does, but that is why it is called historical fiction. Sharyn McCrumb has many fans, but if this book is typical of her writing, I can't count myself among them.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher.
I like the idea of the book – learning the story behind the ballad of Tom Dooley. The problem I had was with the telling of the story. I like more history in my historical fiction, and this one has too much speculation for me. It goes into the mind of a relatively minor person in the real story, servant to the married lover of Tom Dula, and into the mind of Zebulon Vance, eventual attorney for the defense.
There wasn't a single significant character in this book that I think I would have liked had I known them in person. Most of the story is from the point of view of Pauline Foster, the servant, and a more hateful person is hard to imagine. If I had to read one more time about Vance's political background and aspirations, I was going to have to murder him, never mind that he's been dead for more than a century.
There was too much repetition of the same events and same phrases, and it became tiresome. The characters seemed one-dimensional to me.
What is the true and complete story of Tom Dula? It is unlikely that anyone will ever know, and the author does give her reasons for why she thinks her version is correct. I don't think that I would have always drawn the same conclusions that she does, but that is why it is called historical fiction. Sharyn McCrumb has many fans, but if this book is typical of her writing, I can't count myself among them.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher.
September 28, 2011
It isn't often that I get the opportunity to read a book written from the point-of-view of a sociopath. This novel did not encourage me to do it again soon.
I have generally been drawn into Sharyn McCrumb's novels to the point that finishing them is like waking up from an evocative dream that you wish just went on and on. I never got that sense here. Perhaps it is because there wasn't a single character in this novel who was wholly (or even half) likable, with the possible exception of James Melton. I finished it because I wanted to see if it ever got better. It really never did.
Other reviews have discussed the repetition (does this woman not have an editor?) and conjecture issues. Although I adore the idea of doing painstaking historical research and figuring out a long-hidden mystery, I think the author takes too much upon herself in suggesting that she has "finally solved" this great mystery.
I think the one thing done well in this book is to describe how utterly wretched life was in the post-Civil War South, even in the mountains, which were largely not turned into battlefields. It took people made of sterner stuff than I am to survive. Perhaps they would have enjoyed this novel more.
I have generally been drawn into Sharyn McCrumb's novels to the point that finishing them is like waking up from an evocative dream that you wish just went on and on. I never got that sense here. Perhaps it is because there wasn't a single character in this novel who was wholly (or even half) likable, with the possible exception of James Melton. I finished it because I wanted to see if it ever got better. It really never did.
Other reviews have discussed the repetition (does this woman not have an editor?) and conjecture issues. Although I adore the idea of doing painstaking historical research and figuring out a long-hidden mystery, I think the author takes too much upon herself in suggesting that she has "finally solved" this great mystery.
I think the one thing done well in this book is to describe how utterly wretched life was in the post-Civil War South, even in the mountains, which were largely not turned into battlefields. It took people made of sterner stuff than I am to survive. Perhaps they would have enjoyed this novel more.
December 5, 2013
If you don't like reprehensible characters don't even get started as the main character, Pauline Foster, is one of the most manipulating, wicked ones I've come across. Zebulon Vance, Dula's pro-bono lawyer calls Pauline a "monster of depravity". He is right on. Somehow though I delighted in her story. McCrumb creates a fitting character to explain how that poor boy Tom Dooley (Dula) hangs and what part the other Foster women, Anne Foster Melton and Laura Foster contribute to the love triangle.
Some of the criticisms to plot that I have read here accuse McCrumb of being very repetitious. I do not think they are wrong in this though it didn't bother me. I read it like the song, a ballad narrating the story in short stanzas. I liked the way McCrumb bounces the narration between Pauline and Zebulon. One of my favorite reviews by Sarah Johnson of Reading the Past notes that this dual narration "provides some relief from her sociopathic viewpoint " and I'd agree. Some were unhappy with McCrumb's portrayal of the Appalachian people depicted in this post Civil War tale. I didn't think McCrumb ever alluded that all were as coniving or horrible as these. What she did do is present a good picture of the loss and hardship of a battle worn people brought on by the war.
As with many fictitious stories based on a real event Lift Up Your Head, Tom Dooley: The True Story of the Appalachian Murder That Inspired One of America's Most Popular Ballads to my list. It also found me seeking the origin of the song. A local poet, Thomas C. Land, wrote a popular song about Dula's tragedy after the hanging. I also learned that Grayson (yes that Grayson) and Whitter recorded Tom Dooley September 30th, 1929. You can listen here. The Frank Warner & Pete Seeger version is here. I even found another recorded by Erik Darling, Bob Carey and Roger Sprung but The Kingston Trio cut will always be Tom Dooley for me.
This was not my favorite of the Ballad series, being partial to those featuring Nora Bonesteel, a woman with The Sight. Still, it was a darn good yarn.
Some of the criticisms to plot that I have read here accuse McCrumb of being very repetitious. I do not think they are wrong in this though it didn't bother me. I read it like the song, a ballad narrating the story in short stanzas. I liked the way McCrumb bounces the narration between Pauline and Zebulon. One of my favorite reviews by Sarah Johnson of Reading the Past notes that this dual narration "provides some relief from her sociopathic viewpoint " and I'd agree. Some were unhappy with McCrumb's portrayal of the Appalachian people depicted in this post Civil War tale. I didn't think McCrumb ever alluded that all were as coniving or horrible as these. What she did do is present a good picture of the loss and hardship of a battle worn people brought on by the war.
As with many fictitious stories based on a real event Lift Up Your Head, Tom Dooley: The True Story of the Appalachian Murder That Inspired One of America's Most Popular Ballads to my list. It also found me seeking the origin of the song. A local poet, Thomas C. Land, wrote a popular song about Dula's tragedy after the hanging. I also learned that Grayson (yes that Grayson) and Whitter recorded Tom Dooley September 30th, 1929. You can listen here. The Frank Warner & Pete Seeger version is here. I even found another recorded by Erik Darling, Bob Carey and Roger Sprung but The Kingston Trio cut will always be Tom Dooley for me.
This was not my favorite of the Ballad series, being partial to those featuring Nora Bonesteel, a woman with The Sight. Still, it was a darn good yarn.
April 21, 2012
What did I think? I'm not sure you really want to know!
Repeat after me:
“Ann is beautiful and lazy.
Tom is a ne’er do well.
Ann is beautiful and lazy.
Pauline is a loose, vicious woman with the pox.
Ann is beautiful and lazy.
All of the above love a roll in the hay (and not particularly choosy).
Ann is beautiful and lazy.
James is kind, hard-working, and a wimp of a husband.
Oh, and Ann is beautiful and lazy.”
Now, read that about 100 times and you have the gist of this book! I have never seen so much repetition in describing characters!
I believe this story could have made an interesting magazine article or a short story, but McCrumb stretched it out for pages and pages, without adding much new. I read that the author did quite a bit of research, which no doubt, she did. However, she did not convince me that these people actually acted and spoke to one another as she portrayed them, even if it is fiction.
The blurbs about this book led me to believe I would be reading more about the trial of Tom Dooley than what I actually found. I felt that she skimmed over that part too quickly. (I eventually learned most of what I wanted to know via Wikipedia.)
The only saving grace of sticking with this book is that I came away feeling that the wrong person was hanged, and will always wonder who the true murderer was. (I have my own opinion.) I also respected the author’s take on the affects of the Civil War and how harsh living was during this time period.
I would LOVE to know what became of Pauline!
Repeat after me:
“Ann is beautiful and lazy.
Tom is a ne’er do well.
Ann is beautiful and lazy.
Pauline is a loose, vicious woman with the pox.
Ann is beautiful and lazy.
All of the above love a roll in the hay (and not particularly choosy).
Ann is beautiful and lazy.
James is kind, hard-working, and a wimp of a husband.
Oh, and Ann is beautiful and lazy.”
Now, read that about 100 times and you have the gist of this book! I have never seen so much repetition in describing characters!
I believe this story could have made an interesting magazine article or a short story, but McCrumb stretched it out for pages and pages, without adding much new. I read that the author did quite a bit of research, which no doubt, she did. However, she did not convince me that these people actually acted and spoke to one another as she portrayed them, even if it is fiction.
The blurbs about this book led me to believe I would be reading more about the trial of Tom Dooley than what I actually found. I felt that she skimmed over that part too quickly. (I eventually learned most of what I wanted to know via Wikipedia.)
The only saving grace of sticking with this book is that I came away feeling that the wrong person was hanged, and will always wonder who the true murderer was. (I have my own opinion.) I also respected the author’s take on the affects of the Civil War and how harsh living was during this time period.
I would LOVE to know what became of Pauline!
February 16, 2012
Wow. What an unpleasant set of characters McCrumb had to work with--Pauline is manipulative, selfish and unemotional; Ann is narcissistic to the hilt; and Tom is pretty much only interested in the pleasures of life after having them taken from him during the war. He's a real ne'er do well. Usually a story has at least one sympathetic character, but I disliked them all!
Despite that, I loved McCrumb's historical research and efforts to get to the bottom of this legendary crime (and I love her Ballad books anyway). I think she offers a decent solution to a murder that has more than its share of urban legends and folk songs.
I quite enjoyed the author's descriptions of life after a brutal war and how that loss and horror had its effect on the mountain community. I was also struck by the lack of "genteel chastity" and morality--was everyone as promiscuous as McCrumb depicts?
All in all, this was a depressing read but the story itself really got under my skin and will stay with me for quite a while--thus the four stars.
Despite that, I loved McCrumb's historical research and efforts to get to the bottom of this legendary crime (and I love her Ballad books anyway). I think she offers a decent solution to a murder that has more than its share of urban legends and folk songs.
I quite enjoyed the author's descriptions of life after a brutal war and how that loss and horror had its effect on the mountain community. I was also struck by the lack of "genteel chastity" and morality--was everyone as promiscuous as McCrumb depicts?
All in all, this was a depressing read but the story itself really got under my skin and will stay with me for quite a while--thus the four stars.
September 24, 2011
3.5 Life was tough for the mountain people in North Carolina, and more so after the civil war. Few marriageable men were alive and woman, during the civil war, did many things they would not normally do only to survive. This is a retelling of the murder of Laurie Foster and the love story of Tom and Ann, though Ann was married to another. This is a gritty, bleak novel, Wuthering Heights type of dark brooding novel, but set in North Carolina. The characters are not very likable, though some are sympathetic, the only joy they find are in drink and fiddle playing. Yet it is a well done, well researched book and interesting reading her take on a old legend.
August 19, 2019
This is the ninth book in Sharyn McCrumb’s ballad series, set in the Appalachian Mountains. Each book takes a different ballad of that area and gives us the story behind the song, incorporating both McCrumb’s thorough research and her excellent creative skills in building a story. In this one, the historical detail, the language of the hill folk, and descriptions of the geography and culture of a mountain community in North Carolina, just at the end of the Civil War, gives an authentic feel to the novel and it’s portrayal of not only Tom Dula, but also the other important figures in this episode in history.
Unlike the other novels in this series, there is little to like in the characters who people this story. Tom Dula (pronounced Dooley) is a lazy womanizer; Ann, his love interest, is also lazy, as well as self-serving and heartless; and Pauline Foster, the central character, is a quite despicable person, a pox-ridden, drunken sociopath who finds her pleasure in how much she can manipulate and hurt others. Laura Foster, the murder victim, is sad and pathetic, but also not particularly likable. The only character I felt a liking for was Zebulon Vance, former congressman for North Carolina. He had fought as a Confederate Soldier, even while disagreeing with the secession or the other causes upheld by the south. (Even Pauline, so vile a person, speaks of the war as “a rich man’s war, but a poor man’s fight, but not their fight”). But for Vance, his loyalty to his homeland prevailed, and so he joined in the battles, and then became the Confederate Governor of the state. After the war, he returns to “lawyering” in order to support his family. It is he who often is the teller of the story, and who becomes the pro-bono attorney for both Tom and Ann in the trials for Laura’s murder. But even as unsavory as most of these characters are, McCrumb’s great characterizations make them fascinating. This is especially true of Pauline, who is the other narrator of the story, and who speaks of the “war-wound beneath my skirts”, a wound she turns into a weapon.
I have listened to all the first 9 books in this ballad series, and I loved that the songs they were bringing to life were included in the audio version of all the earlier books in the series. I was disappointed that this one, as the other later ones in the series, have left off the singing of those ballads. For me, it would have added a richer element to this historical fiction.
Unlike the other novels in this series, there is little to like in the characters who people this story. Tom Dula (pronounced Dooley) is a lazy womanizer; Ann, his love interest, is also lazy, as well as self-serving and heartless; and Pauline Foster, the central character, is a quite despicable person, a pox-ridden, drunken sociopath who finds her pleasure in how much she can manipulate and hurt others. Laura Foster, the murder victim, is sad and pathetic, but also not particularly likable. The only character I felt a liking for was Zebulon Vance, former congressman for North Carolina. He had fought as a Confederate Soldier, even while disagreeing with the secession or the other causes upheld by the south. (Even Pauline, so vile a person, speaks of the war as “a rich man’s war, but a poor man’s fight, but not their fight”). But for Vance, his loyalty to his homeland prevailed, and so he joined in the battles, and then became the Confederate Governor of the state. After the war, he returns to “lawyering” in order to support his family. It is he who often is the teller of the story, and who becomes the pro-bono attorney for both Tom and Ann in the trials for Laura’s murder. But even as unsavory as most of these characters are, McCrumb’s great characterizations make them fascinating. This is especially true of Pauline, who is the other narrator of the story, and who speaks of the “war-wound beneath my skirts”, a wound she turns into a weapon.
I have listened to all the first 9 books in this ballad series, and I loved that the songs they were bringing to life were included in the audio version of all the earlier books in the series. I was disappointed that this one, as the other later ones in the series, have left off the singing of those ballads. For me, it would have added a richer element to this historical fiction.
April 23, 2014
I enjoy McCrumb's Ballad Series a lot, and this was a good entry. I never knew, nor pondered, the real story behind the ballad so it was interesting in that way. It was also an interesting read as none of the main characters, except Zebulon Vance, are particularly likable or good.
NB: one of my youngest son's friend's dad is named Tom Dooley. I hum this song often.
NB: one of my youngest son's friend's dad is named Tom Dooley. I hum this song often.
August 25, 2016
This is the second of Sharyn McCrumb's "Ballad" series that I've listened to. She takes obscure, lesser known murders that have had ballads written about them and fills in the vague, recorded stories.
In this one, sociopath Pauline Foster sets in motion a series of events that leads to Tom Dula's execution. Her thought processes alone make this book interesting. What a cold, hard person!
That said, none of these characters is "nice". This is the saddest, vainest, pathetic bunch of characters to be living in one neighbourhood. They were ripe for the picking.
Sadly, these people were real and, no matter how apathetic they were, they didn't deserve this story as a life. Sigh.....the damage that one person can do is disturbing.
In this one, sociopath Pauline Foster sets in motion a series of events that leads to Tom Dula's execution. Her thought processes alone make this book interesting. What a cold, hard person!
That said, none of these characters is "nice". This is the saddest, vainest, pathetic bunch of characters to be living in one neighbourhood. They were ripe for the picking.
Sadly, these people were real and, no matter how apathetic they were, they didn't deserve this story as a life. Sigh.....the damage that one person can do is disturbing.
September 17, 2015
Although this book is considered one of Sharyn McCrumb's Ballad Series books, it is not set in modern times nor does it have anything to do with Tennessee Sheriff Spencer Arrowood. Rather, it is a telling of the events that inspired the song "Tom Dooley". Set in the North Carolina hill country in the years after the Civil War, it is bleak, depressing tale with few reputable characters. Even so, lovers of folklore like myself will enjoy having gained an understanding of the events surrounding a song that long outlived those it was about.
September 26, 2011
Bound: Hang Down Your Head
Telling the Tall Tale Behind the Ballad of Tom Dooley
SunPost Weekly September 22, 2011 | John Hood
http://bit.ly/q5CE9B
On May Day, 1868, in the town of Statesville, North Carolina, a man named Tom Dula was hanged for murder. The victim, a slip of a woman named Laura Foster, had been stabbed to death and hastily buried on a ridge in nearby Wilkes County. Dula was believed to have been the last person to see her alive. More damagingly, Laura had told folks she and Tom were running away together; though in fact they had no such plans. Yes, the two had a long and carnal relationship. But Dula told authorities it meant nothing. He most certainly didn’t care enough to kill her.
There was of course a third party to this sordid story — Dula’s married lover Ann Melton, who was also believed to be involved in Foster’s death and at the time of the hanging was in jail awaiting her own murder trial. Tom and Ann had been rutting about like wild animals since they both first learned of the birds and the bees. Since that time there’d been a Civil War (which took Tom away for awhile). Then there was Ann’s marriage (which didn’t take him away from her much at all). For all intents and purposes, these two were meant for each other.
On the eve of his execution, Dula performed what was perhaps the only gallant deed of his short and shiftless life: he wrote out a note claiming sole responsibility for the killing of Laura Foster. As a result, Ann was subsequently freed.
As you’ve by now probably guessed, the legend of Tom Dula eventually became a song called “Tom Dooley,” arguably the most well-known murder ballad every written. But The Kingston Trio’s version of the story is just one of the legend’s many renderings; it’s also factually inaccurate. Worse, it makes Dula (pronounced “Dooley” in the Appalachian foothill country dialect) sound like some sad sap killer. Turning to ’s right and riveting The Ballad of Tom Dooley (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s $24.99) however, we learn that the man probably was no such thing.
That’s not to say Dula was blameless. As most folks suspect, then and now (and as McCrumb so vividly writes), it was Ann who did the killing. Dula simply buried the body. And though he was by all accounts nothing but a no account womanizer (such as it was), Dula went to his death with his head held high.
Why? Well maybe because Tom truly did love the loathsome Ann. Then again, it could simply have been a case of pragmatism. “The truth is Laura Foster wasn’t worth the forfeit of two lives,” McCrumb has him saying near his end, “and there seems to be no hope in saving mine.”
Glowing postmortem consensus to the contrary, Dula wasn’t the only one who believed Laura Foster to be pretty much worthless. The folks in the inexplicably-named Happy Valley settlement that the gangly gal called home believed her to be somewhat of a slut, despite her having stuck around to keep house and care for the mess of young siblings her mother had died and left behind. Even Laura’s own father Wilson was more concerned with his stolen mare than he was with his runaway daughter when she was initially reported missing. Horses of course being something of premium for a tenant farmer in post Civil War South.
But nobody saw Laura with as much callous disregard as a certain Pauline Foster, who considered her “drab little cousin” with the “broom-straw hair” to be nothing but a means to the end of their hated cousin Ann. Not that the perilous Pauline had a “particular score to settle with” her unseemly second cousin, mind you. “[O]ther than the fact that somebody loved her,” she harbored no actionable malice, and was content to watch the dowdy second cousin “bring about her own ruin.” There was a point though, after Laura went missing and the busybodies and do-gooders were running around trying to ferret out where she went, when Pauline did seem almost spiteful over what was expected of her.
“People thought that we Fosters should care more than other people about what happened to our cousin, being blood kin, but if anything, I think we cared less, for we knew her better, and she wasn’t much use to anybody.”
That’s Pauline being kind. What really put a skip into her step were the many and constant notions of how best to harm others, particularly fair-haired cousin Ann, who was the target of most of Pauline’s more diabolical plans. Like a horticulturalist overseeing a bed of rare flowers, Pauline “never ran out of… little seedlings of mischief to tend to.” In McCrumb’s able hands, the garden literally bursts with ugly and vicious blooms. As a result, Pauline Foster becomes one of the most despicable women in fiction — and in fact.
Yes, we must never forget this legend is indeed based on fact. That much of said fact was full of discrepancies is what compelled McCrumb to get to the truth of the deadly matter in the first place. That it took fiction for her to get there only makes everything more compelling.
This isn’t the first book devoted to the ballad of Tom Dooley (John Foster West’s The Ballad of Tom Dula: The Documented Story Behind the Murder of Laura Foster served as McCrumb’s starting point). It’s not McCrumb’s first foray into backwoods gallows either. In 1998, she wrote a New York Times bestseller entitled The Ballad of Frankie Silver , which chronicled the life and death of the first woman hanged for murder in North Carolina. Here McCrumb allows her research to lead us into utter vitriol. And, aside from former North Carolina governor Zebulon Vance (who was recruited to defend both Dula and Melton) and the stoic James Melton (who was resigned to take life — and his wife — as it came), not a person in this story rouses even a sliver of sympathy.
Had a man retold this tale, one would think he hated women — or at least believed most of them to be whores. That this was written by a woman removes such thoughts. Instead we’re left with a very violent likelihood. The kinda very violent likelihood of which the best murder ballads are made — and of which the best murder books are crafted.
Telling the Tall Tale Behind the Ballad of Tom Dooley
SunPost Weekly September 22, 2011 | John Hood
http://bit.ly/q5CE9B
On May Day, 1868, in the town of Statesville, North Carolina, a man named Tom Dula was hanged for murder. The victim, a slip of a woman named Laura Foster, had been stabbed to death and hastily buried on a ridge in nearby Wilkes County. Dula was believed to have been the last person to see her alive. More damagingly, Laura had told folks she and Tom were running away together; though in fact they had no such plans. Yes, the two had a long and carnal relationship. But Dula told authorities it meant nothing. He most certainly didn’t care enough to kill her.
There was of course a third party to this sordid story — Dula’s married lover Ann Melton, who was also believed to be involved in Foster’s death and at the time of the hanging was in jail awaiting her own murder trial. Tom and Ann had been rutting about like wild animals since they both first learned of the birds and the bees. Since that time there’d been a Civil War (which took Tom away for awhile). Then there was Ann’s marriage (which didn’t take him away from her much at all). For all intents and purposes, these two were meant for each other.
On the eve of his execution, Dula performed what was perhaps the only gallant deed of his short and shiftless life: he wrote out a note claiming sole responsibility for the killing of Laura Foster. As a result, Ann was subsequently freed.
As you’ve by now probably guessed, the legend of Tom Dula eventually became a song called “Tom Dooley,” arguably the most well-known murder ballad every written. But The Kingston Trio’s version of the story is just one of the legend’s many renderings; it’s also factually inaccurate. Worse, it makes Dula (pronounced “Dooley” in the Appalachian foothill country dialect) sound like some sad sap killer. Turning to ’s right and riveting The Ballad of Tom Dooley (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s $24.99) however, we learn that the man probably was no such thing.
That’s not to say Dula was blameless. As most folks suspect, then and now (and as McCrumb so vividly writes), it was Ann who did the killing. Dula simply buried the body. And though he was by all accounts nothing but a no account womanizer (such as it was), Dula went to his death with his head held high.
Why? Well maybe because Tom truly did love the loathsome Ann. Then again, it could simply have been a case of pragmatism. “The truth is Laura Foster wasn’t worth the forfeit of two lives,” McCrumb has him saying near his end, “and there seems to be no hope in saving mine.”
Glowing postmortem consensus to the contrary, Dula wasn’t the only one who believed Laura Foster to be pretty much worthless. The folks in the inexplicably-named Happy Valley settlement that the gangly gal called home believed her to be somewhat of a slut, despite her having stuck around to keep house and care for the mess of young siblings her mother had died and left behind. Even Laura’s own father Wilson was more concerned with his stolen mare than he was with his runaway daughter when she was initially reported missing. Horses of course being something of premium for a tenant farmer in post Civil War South.
But nobody saw Laura with as much callous disregard as a certain Pauline Foster, who considered her “drab little cousin” with the “broom-straw hair” to be nothing but a means to the end of their hated cousin Ann. Not that the perilous Pauline had a “particular score to settle with” her unseemly second cousin, mind you. “[O]ther than the fact that somebody loved her,” she harbored no actionable malice, and was content to watch the dowdy second cousin “bring about her own ruin.” There was a point though, after Laura went missing and the busybodies and do-gooders were running around trying to ferret out where she went, when Pauline did seem almost spiteful over what was expected of her.
“People thought that we Fosters should care more than other people about what happened to our cousin, being blood kin, but if anything, I think we cared less, for we knew her better, and she wasn’t much use to anybody.”
That’s Pauline being kind. What really put a skip into her step were the many and constant notions of how best to harm others, particularly fair-haired cousin Ann, who was the target of most of Pauline’s more diabolical plans. Like a horticulturalist overseeing a bed of rare flowers, Pauline “never ran out of… little seedlings of mischief to tend to.” In McCrumb’s able hands, the garden literally bursts with ugly and vicious blooms. As a result, Pauline Foster becomes one of the most despicable women in fiction — and in fact.
Yes, we must never forget this legend is indeed based on fact. That much of said fact was full of discrepancies is what compelled McCrumb to get to the truth of the deadly matter in the first place. That it took fiction for her to get there only makes everything more compelling.
This isn’t the first book devoted to the ballad of Tom Dooley (John Foster West’s The Ballad of Tom Dula: The Documented Story Behind the Murder of Laura Foster served as McCrumb’s starting point). It’s not McCrumb’s first foray into backwoods gallows either. In 1998, she wrote a New York Times bestseller entitled The Ballad of Frankie Silver , which chronicled the life and death of the first woman hanged for murder in North Carolina. Here McCrumb allows her research to lead us into utter vitriol. And, aside from former North Carolina governor Zebulon Vance (who was recruited to defend both Dula and Melton) and the stoic James Melton (who was resigned to take life — and his wife — as it came), not a person in this story rouses even a sliver of sympathy.
Had a man retold this tale, one would think he hated women — or at least believed most of them to be whores. That this was written by a woman removes such thoughts. Instead we’re left with a very violent likelihood. The kinda very violent likelihood of which the best murder ballads are made — and of which the best murder books are crafted.
June 16, 2019
I do love American historical fiction. Enjoyed finding out the real story behind this ballad
August 1, 2011
Sharyn McCrumb makes an interesting case for alterations to the tale of Tom Dooley (Tom Dula), whose story is widely known from song and legend. In a style that mirrors the classic Wuthering Heights, readers are welcomed to the story by the voice of Zebulon Vance, a high-profile Carolina politician forced back into the practice of law after the Civil War and appointed as one of Tom Dula's defending attorneys. He speaks from years beyond the Dula trial, as if writing his memoirs, and shares little but some history and his direct influence in the matter. Most of the story comes from a second voice, Pauline Foster, formerly a hired servant girl in the home of Tom Dula's lover. It is Pauline that McCrumb focuses on, and who she believes holds the key to the real story of Tom Dula and the murder he was accused of. McCrumb offers a new perspective through Pauline with convincing characterizations and a real appreciation of Appalachia.
And while I found McCrumb's zeal for the area, it's history, and it's inhabitants a refreshing change from the stereotypical, I think Pauline's importance is over-stated in this account. Having not researched the affair at all myself, and judging only from what is written in this book, I found the story lacking if not outright improbable. McCrumb seems convinced traditional tellings do not explain everyone's actions but does not address issues with her own version. I have questions with the timeline, motives, and other uncertainties in the account which were never acknowledged. That's not to say this isn't a fast, intriguing read ... but I was not wholly convinced of McCrumb's vision.
Here come my real criticisms. McCrumb notes late in the book that she did not mean to play CSI detective and was "more interested ... in re-creating the world of the post-War mountain South." But that statement makes me question why she then chose this story and put so much effort into the cases of both Pauline and John Anderson. With her bullet points and lists of facts in the Author's Note and Acknowledgments sections - along with the sentence, "We knew we had found a crucial piece of evidence." - it certainly looks as if playing detective were a significant part of it. I think thorough research is essential to any historically-based writing, but in this case it seems almost a bait-and-switch. The cover blurb announces "With the help of historians, lawyers, and researchers, Sharyn McCrumb visited the actual sites, studied the legal evidence, and uncovered a missing piece of the story" ... only to dismiss those efforts by saying she was more interested in the setting and characters than the actual happenings. The actual happenings, of course, being what the entire book is based on.
As for the writing itself, I think McCrumb pushes too hard in the Wuthering Heights theme, and there is enough repetition throughout to cut thirty pages from the length without sacrificing one word of plot, character, or history. She also uses a lot of colloquialisms to help set the scene, but mixes them with more complex language. An illiterate servant might have said "a-wanted" and "a-skeered" but I doubt she'd have used "countenance," "accommodate," or "proximity." The character Zebulon Vance also has holes in his story, and what is meant as a friendly, grandfatherly figure often comes off as pretentious.
I can't recommend this as a literary or historical piece but, all in all, I did enjoy it. This hint of Appalachia and Reconstruction - with a dose of Guiding Light plus Law & Order - is a reasonable choice for anyone wanting an off-beat middle-weight read. It would make a decent companion for the plane, beach, or waiting room, or to help kill time on the bus or subway. Be wary of the blurb, expect nothing profound, and readers shouldn't be disappointed.
And while I found McCrumb's zeal for the area, it's history, and it's inhabitants a refreshing change from the stereotypical, I think Pauline's importance is over-stated in this account. Having not researched the affair at all myself, and judging only from what is written in this book, I found the story lacking if not outright improbable. McCrumb seems convinced traditional tellings do not explain everyone's actions but does not address issues with her own version. I have questions with the timeline, motives, and other uncertainties in the account which were never acknowledged. That's not to say this isn't a fast, intriguing read ... but I was not wholly convinced of McCrumb's vision.
Here come my real criticisms. McCrumb notes late in the book that she did not mean to play CSI detective and was "more interested ... in re-creating the world of the post-War mountain South." But that statement makes me question why she then chose this story and put so much effort into the cases of both Pauline and John Anderson. With her bullet points and lists of facts in the Author's Note and Acknowledgments sections - along with the sentence, "We knew we had found a crucial piece of evidence." - it certainly looks as if playing detective were a significant part of it. I think thorough research is essential to any historically-based writing, but in this case it seems almost a bait-and-switch. The cover blurb announces "With the help of historians, lawyers, and researchers, Sharyn McCrumb visited the actual sites, studied the legal evidence, and uncovered a missing piece of the story" ... only to dismiss those efforts by saying she was more interested in the setting and characters than the actual happenings. The actual happenings, of course, being what the entire book is based on.
As for the writing itself, I think McCrumb pushes too hard in the Wuthering Heights theme, and there is enough repetition throughout to cut thirty pages from the length without sacrificing one word of plot, character, or history. She also uses a lot of colloquialisms to help set the scene, but mixes them with more complex language. An illiterate servant might have said "a-wanted" and "a-skeered" but I doubt she'd have used "countenance," "accommodate," or "proximity." The character Zebulon Vance also has holes in his story, and what is meant as a friendly, grandfatherly figure often comes off as pretentious.
I can't recommend this as a literary or historical piece but, all in all, I did enjoy it. This hint of Appalachia and Reconstruction - with a dose of Guiding Light plus Law & Order - is a reasonable choice for anyone wanting an off-beat middle-weight read. It would make a decent companion for the plane, beach, or waiting room, or to help kill time on the bus or subway. Be wary of the blurb, expect nothing profound, and readers shouldn't be disappointed.
March 14, 2019
What really happened to Laura Foster, the victim in the most famous of American murder ballads? In this fictional take on the real life mystery, several observers including Pauline Foster, a remote relative, set the scene in rural post-Civil War North Carolina and present the characters through their own interactions with them. Tension slowly builds as the reader comes to understand the main characters’ personalities and motivations leading to the crime. Sharyn McCrumb explains the research and deductions that led to her to this version of the story in an interesting afterword. Unfortunately, many unneeded repetitions slowed the pace of the story and should have been eliminated by the author or editor.
July 25, 2015
I was not familiar with the song or story when I first got this from the library.
I have to say the story is interesting in its luridness. There were three cousins sampling the favors of the same man and passing along venereal disease like a hand-me-down.
There are a few issues that I would have liked resolved cleanly, but I was thoroughly entertained.
I have to say the story is interesting in its luridness. There were three cousins sampling the favors of the same man and passing along venereal disease like a hand-me-down.
There are a few issues that I would have liked resolved cleanly, but I was thoroughly entertained.
December 24, 2019
This is one of those novels based on true events, but presented by author Sharyn McCrumb as a best guess of how things actually did, most likely, happen.
We've heard The Ballad of Tom Dooley, sung by the Kingston Trio; as cool as that song is, McCrumb presents convincing evidence that the legend as generally told is inaccurate, and she turns the events into a darn good novel.
One thing about this book: the characters, with few exceptions, are not nice people. The principal narrator, Pauline, reveals herself quickly to be a sociopath. Although you have to hand it to the conniving b---, she cleverly pursues her vengeful goal with a marvelously clear mind, in spite the fact that her chief pleasure seems to be alcohol. Afflicted with "the pox," she has no qualms about spreading them to folks who have slighted her, and barely gives a second thought to the innocent people also harmed, whom she regards as merely collateral damage.
This epic takes place right after the end of the civil war, in Appalachian North Carolina. Times have been very tough; people have been hungry, hardhearted and bitter. Morals have fallen by the wayside as survival itself becomes a major issue.
The victim of the crime is more to be pitied than scorned and is in no case admirable, although her circumstance certainly arouse some empathy.
The accused perpetuators, an adulterous young lovers (manipulated by the Machiavellian Pauline)
are a lazy, rather worthless pair who might be described as 19th century trailer trash. Sad, though, that the more innocent of the pair winds up the willing scapegoat of a vain woman he loves too much. At least one or two people in this saga, for all their failings, do honestly and eternally love. This contrasts with a second sometime-narrator, defense lawyer Zebulon Vance, the once and future governor of North Carolina (his political career rudely interrupted by the war) who is rather awed by the capacity for love shown by the defendant. Vance, in the novel, speaks glowingly of his wife and yet freely admits that his own marriage was primarily a prudent political move. Makes for an interesting polarity between a low class, immoral and generally worthless soul who yet demonstrates passionate love unto death, and a well bred, intelligent and cool-hearted gentleman concerned with both honor and political gain.
Worth reading.
We've heard The Ballad of Tom Dooley, sung by the Kingston Trio; as cool as that song is, McCrumb presents convincing evidence that the legend as generally told is inaccurate, and she turns the events into a darn good novel.
One thing about this book: the characters, with few exceptions, are not nice people. The principal narrator, Pauline, reveals herself quickly to be a sociopath. Although you have to hand it to the conniving b---, she cleverly pursues her vengeful goal with a marvelously clear mind, in spite the fact that her chief pleasure seems to be alcohol. Afflicted with "the pox," she has no qualms about spreading them to folks who have slighted her, and barely gives a second thought to the innocent people also harmed, whom she regards as merely collateral damage.
This epic takes place right after the end of the civil war, in Appalachian North Carolina. Times have been very tough; people have been hungry, hardhearted and bitter. Morals have fallen by the wayside as survival itself becomes a major issue.
The victim of the crime is more to be pitied than scorned and is in no case admirable, although her circumstance certainly arouse some empathy.
The accused perpetuators, an adulterous young lovers (manipulated by the Machiavellian Pauline)
are a lazy, rather worthless pair who might be described as 19th century trailer trash. Sad, though, that the more innocent of the pair winds up the willing scapegoat of a vain woman he loves too much. At least one or two people in this saga, for all their failings, do honestly and eternally love. This contrasts with a second sometime-narrator, defense lawyer Zebulon Vance, the once and future governor of North Carolina (his political career rudely interrupted by the war) who is rather awed by the capacity for love shown by the defendant. Vance, in the novel, speaks glowingly of his wife and yet freely admits that his own marriage was primarily a prudent political move. Makes for an interesting polarity between a low class, immoral and generally worthless soul who yet demonstrates passionate love unto death, and a well bred, intelligent and cool-hearted gentleman concerned with both honor and political gain.
Worth reading.
March 29, 2021
I enjoyed this, and while I can't deny there was some repetition, I chalked that up to the author's intention to present the narrative as the recollections of different people associated with the story. The repetition would have been out of place in a nonfiction "true crime" format, but I didn't find it any more distracting here than I would while listening to someone relate their own experiences.
Make no mistake: this is NOT true crime. It's historical fiction, with an emphasis on the "historical" part. If, like me, you've known the Kingston Trio song your entire life, you might be interested to read what one author thinks might have REALLY happened.
Make no mistake: this is NOT true crime. It's historical fiction, with an emphasis on the "historical" part. If, like me, you've known the Kingston Trio song your entire life, you might be interested to read what one author thinks might have REALLY happened.
January 26, 2020
Good historical fiction! It pains me to read things with a sociopath as a main character because I have trouble with the idea that they feel nothing. That some people are born/made numb somehow to human feelings is a leap for me. However, this author was good enough in her writing that I didn't mind following the story twine to see how it unraveled.
May 8, 2021
Rereading because it is obvious to me that I forgot much that I had read. Especially just how unlikeable Pauline was. Faith Potts narrated the audiobook for the National Library for the Blind and Print Disabled.
Read the acknowledgements at the end, even if you always skip such. Well worth the time!
Read the acknowledgements at the end, even if you always skip such. Well worth the time!
March 8, 2018
An interesting read about some of the worst people I'd never want to meet. Based on fact, a murder case in post Civil War North Carolina, the story is very sad. My ancestors come from this part of the world, so I recognized some of the names and places. Luckily, my ancestors were NOT associated with the people caught up in these events. One is an obvious sociopath, another is a hateful, narcissistic woman, in short, the only decent person in the book was the lawyer! The story is well written and an easy read. Don't expect a murder mystery because you are pretty much told the facts of the story early on. It's more an examination of how and why the murder takes place.
June 11, 2021
Great book. The author gave a plausible scenario to what could have truly taken place in this crazy and horrible event. Excellent character development and the aura of the local setting really came across. I really liked it and recommend.
Yes there is repetition in it but not as much as some newer best sellers I've read or decided not to read. So much filler these days. Do authors have a word requirement?
Yes there is repetition in it but not as much as some newer best sellers I've read or decided not to read. So much filler these days. Do authors have a word requirement?
April 3, 2022
McCrumb is an uninspired writer and shitty detective. also she seems like a bitch but that’s neither here nor there.
April 14, 2025
Great storytelling. Great research according to the author’s notes at the finish. Forget the story told in the Kingston Trio’s big hit. A true, sad, sordid and heartbreaking tale. I couldn’t put it down. I love the way Sharyn McCrumb tells the stories of Appalachia and the mountains of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.
March 22, 2018
Scoundrels! All of them!
October 11, 2018
Excellent historical research and interesting interpretation of the legend surrounding the story of the Civil War survivor and young mountain man in love with his childhood sweetheart who married another. Narrative has numerous repetitions, but the intriguing story wins out.
June 23, 2017
Ugh. Couldn't get past the first chapter.
September 19, 2011
First Line: What did I know about murder cases that a man's life should lie in my hands?
Author Sharyn McCrumb had been approached numerous times to write a story about Tom Dooley, but it's such a well-known tale that she really didn't want to touch it. I'm glad she changed her mind.
If you read this book expecting a long written version of the Kingston Trio's "Tom Dooley", think again. McCrumb did her research, tracking down as many of the original documents and trial transcripts as she could. As she read, certain points in the legend didn't make sense, so she dug deeper. The end result is The Ballad of Tom Dooley.
Tom Dula (Dooley is a corruption of his surname) was a handsome young man who survived the Civil War and was coasting along, subsisting as much as possible by his smile and by playing an occasional song. Ever since their early teens, Tom and Ann Foster loved each other. Ann was a renowned beauty. In order to escape a drunken slattern of a mother and an unending passel of siblings, Ann married James Melton, a man of principle and a bit of property. Ann and Tom were undeterred by Ann's marriage and continued to meet.
Down from the mountains walked Pauline Foster, a relative of Ann's. Pauline was born into poverty, and the Civil War only made it worse. Having had to prostitute herself in order to survive, Pauline caught a venereal disease. Seeking treatment from a local doctor after her journey, she hired on at the Meltons, working for room, board, and a small wage she used to pay her doctor bills. She had no love for Ann, and closely guarded every one of selfish Ann's slights to her. Once she saw what Ann and Tom were up to, she knew just how to plot her revenge.
Oftentimes I do not read author's notes or acknowledgements in a book. I did not make that mistake this time. In her notes and acknowledgements, McCrumb lays out how she did her research and arrived at her conclusions. As McCrumb says, "...I did not invent anything: every conclusion I made stems from a fact in the original trial transcript." She also says that she wishes people wouldn't read this book as if it were an episode of CSI. After all, "It can hardly be a mystery when practically anybody in Wilkes County will tell you on first acquaintance that 'Ann did it.'"
The Ballad of Tom Dooley may not be a mystery, but it is the most chilling portrait of a sociopath that I've ever read. Pauline Foster literally made my blood run cold. Some soft-hearted people may try to blame her behavior on the Civil War. Pauline herself will tell you that she was born the way she is. The Civil War only honed her into a sharp blade.
As I devoured this book, something kept tap, tap, tapping at my subconscious. By book's end, I had the answer. The story of Tom and Ann is in many ways an Appalachian version of Wuthering Heights. The parallels are uncanny.
Once again, Sharyn McCrumb has woven a story that kept me spellbound.
Author Sharyn McCrumb had been approached numerous times to write a story about Tom Dooley, but it's such a well-known tale that she really didn't want to touch it. I'm glad she changed her mind.
If you read this book expecting a long written version of the Kingston Trio's "Tom Dooley", think again. McCrumb did her research, tracking down as many of the original documents and trial transcripts as she could. As she read, certain points in the legend didn't make sense, so she dug deeper. The end result is The Ballad of Tom Dooley.
Tom Dula (Dooley is a corruption of his surname) was a handsome young man who survived the Civil War and was coasting along, subsisting as much as possible by his smile and by playing an occasional song. Ever since their early teens, Tom and Ann Foster loved each other. Ann was a renowned beauty. In order to escape a drunken slattern of a mother and an unending passel of siblings, Ann married James Melton, a man of principle and a bit of property. Ann and Tom were undeterred by Ann's marriage and continued to meet.
Down from the mountains walked Pauline Foster, a relative of Ann's. Pauline was born into poverty, and the Civil War only made it worse. Having had to prostitute herself in order to survive, Pauline caught a venereal disease. Seeking treatment from a local doctor after her journey, she hired on at the Meltons, working for room, board, and a small wage she used to pay her doctor bills. She had no love for Ann, and closely guarded every one of selfish Ann's slights to her. Once she saw what Ann and Tom were up to, she knew just how to plot her revenge.
Oftentimes I do not read author's notes or acknowledgements in a book. I did not make that mistake this time. In her notes and acknowledgements, McCrumb lays out how she did her research and arrived at her conclusions. As McCrumb says, "...I did not invent anything: every conclusion I made stems from a fact in the original trial transcript." She also says that she wishes people wouldn't read this book as if it were an episode of CSI. After all, "It can hardly be a mystery when practically anybody in Wilkes County will tell you on first acquaintance that 'Ann did it.'"
The Ballad of Tom Dooley may not be a mystery, but it is the most chilling portrait of a sociopath that I've ever read. Pauline Foster literally made my blood run cold. Some soft-hearted people may try to blame her behavior on the Civil War. Pauline herself will tell you that she was born the way she is. The Civil War only honed her into a sharp blade.
As I devoured this book, something kept tap, tap, tapping at my subconscious. By book's end, I had the answer. The story of Tom and Ann is in many ways an Appalachian version of Wuthering Heights. The parallels are uncanny.
Once again, Sharyn McCrumb has woven a story that kept me spellbound.
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