A review by judyward
The Ballad of Tom Dooley by Sharyn McCrumb

3.0

In a tale with strong parallels to Wuthering Heights, Sharyn McCrumb retells the legend of Tom Dooley (actually Tom Dula) which has been handed down through the decades as a mountain ballad. After the Civil War, which disrupted society, destroyed lives, tore families apart, and divided moutain communities throughout the Appalachian Mountains, Tom Dooley was accused of the murder of Laura Foster, found guilty in two trials, and hanged for his crime. The case attracted national attention because of the love triangle that was exposed during the trial and because a former governor of North Carolina, Zebulon Vance, was appointed to head the defense. When McCrumb began to investigate the crime with the help of historians, attorneys, and researchers, she discovered that the facts of the case may be different from what most people have believed for over a hundred years. She sees the major players in the drama--Laura Foster, Tom Dula, and Ann Melton caught in a Appalachian version of Wuthering Heights with the strings being pulled Pauline Foster, a cousin of both Laura and Ann. Unfortunately, none of these characters capture the sympathy of the reader. Laura was viewed throughout the community as sexually available, Ann was a narcissist, Pauline was a sociopath, and Tom had a hollow moral core. And the hero of the story, Zebulon Vance, came across as dull and uninteresting. The story is told in alternate chapters by Pauline Foster and Zebulon Vance so the facts of the case are seen through two alternative realities. It is clear that McCrumb did her research. In fact, making sure that the research is highlighted during the novel, slows down the story and proves to be a distraction. But this research is included to strengthen McCrumb's argument that we should all forget the famous Kingston Trio version of the ballad and, instead, follow her research to discover the true story.