Tree Accurst: Bobby McMillon and Stories of Frankie Silver »

In the 1830s, young Frankie Silver was tried and hung for killing her husband with an axe and burning the body in their home in the N.C. mountains. Now, 170 years later, the story still has a grip on the community and in the wider world, where it has been kept alive by a ballad, local legends, fiction, drama, and news accounts. Using the Silver case, this book examines the interplay between folklore and history.

Southern Cultures

Patterson does a tremendous job in presenting a thorough and insightful look at the complex relationship between historical fact and the oral tradition.