Folk Song Comes to Life

Everyone at some point has heard the Kingston Trio's haunting folk song "Tom Dooley," about a man who is convicted of murder and sentenced to hang for his crime. In Sharyn McCrumb's novel, The Ballad of Tom Dooley, the story is retold with surprising results.

McCrumb researched historical documents and legal evidence of the murder and ensuing trial to write this book. The first shock of the novel is that the man, on which the legend is based, was actually named Tom Dula, and furthermore, McCrumb comes to the conclusion that he was innocent.

In 1866, the Civil War had just ended and men like Tom were returning home. When Tom returns to North Carolina, he finds his childhood sweetheart, Ann Melton, married not for love but stability. They begin a torrid affair, which is no secret from anyone in their small town. Instead of looking for work, Tom chooses to live with his mother, drinking and having trysts with multiple women including Ann's cousin, Laura Foster. Within months Laura is missing and Tom is the main suspect.

The story is narrated by Pauline Foster, another cousin of Ann's, and Zebulon Vance, Dula's lawyer and a former Confederate governor. Both narrators do not seem too trustworthy, but they do have interesting points of view. Pauline becomes the hired help at Ann's house just in-time to witness the now legendary events. Suffering from syphilis, Pauline is jealous of her beautiful cousin Ann and adds to the drama with tragic results.

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