Ballad Novels: The Ballad of Tom Dooley (Hardcover)

from caseylondon

You've heard the Kingston Trio's song, "hang down your head, Tom Dooley... " and I'd have been happy to never have known any more than that about this terrible saga. But, Sharon McCrumb an excellent writer and researcher takes so many unlikeable characters (real people unfortunately) and they end...

from Mooose

I doubt many young folks nowadays have heard the Tom Dooley song but there are still plenty of us who can sing the chorus and maybe a verse or two. As I read this novel, which told the story of what McCrumb says could have happened, that song would run through my head. I'd never wondered if the b...

from margaret.armour

I really enjoyed this novel. I love historical fiction, and McCrumb did a great job building complex characters from common folk-lore. Her insight was very believable. Stories that take place in the Appalachian mountains never disappoint! I really enjoy glimpses into that culture, rough as it may...

from wcath

The story behind the folk song "The Ballad of Tom Dooley" sounded like an interesting premise for a book. And it was, although I could not find one character that I liked or for whom I felt much sympathy. It would have been nice if the lyrics to the song were included at the beginning or end of t...

from khiemstra631

Until I read this book by Sharyn McCrumb, I only knew about Tom Dooley in terms of the ballad about him. In a nutshell, Tom Dooley and his neighbor, Ann Melton, were lovers since they first discovered sex in their teen years. This episode took place in the backwoods of North Carolina immediately ...