Frankie Silver was convicted and hanged in Morganton, North Carolina, for the murder of her husband in 1833. She left behind a 13-month-old daughter named Nancy, who was kidnapped by Frankie's family, the Stuarts, and taken to Franklin, North Carolina, to live. Several years later, her maternal grandmother sought custody of her and took her back to Yancy County. A LIFE FOR NANCY takes readers on a journey of Nancy's life from 1832 until her death in 1901. The murder of her father and execution of her mother would follow Nancy through a life filled with tragedy and heartache. With a husband who is caught up in the Civil War, survival is her top priority, and she will do anything to make sure her children are fed as poverty hits the Appalachian Mountains. Based on true stories handed down through the generations and actual documents found by family members, this work of historical fiction is full of mystery, romance and murder, as Nancy seeks to find some sort of peace in her life.

The New York Times Bestseller Set in the Appalachian wilderness and blending legends and folklore with high suspense, this stellar novel, The Ballad of Frankie Silver, is considered one of McCrumb's crowning achievements. In 1833 Frankie Silver was an eighteen-year-old girl convicted of murder in Burke County, North Carolina. Through a detailed investigation, the local sheriff, and soon all the townsfolk, discover reason to question her guilt---but the wheels of justice were mercilessly unstoppable, and she was hanged. Now, more than a century later, another woman is convicted of murder in the lush hills of Tennessee. Her life is in the hands of Spencer Arrowood, a man who begins to discover that the convictions of these two women have deep and haunting parallels. Although Frankie's fate cannot be changed, there is still time to alter the fate of another innocent woman. In a voice that could only be Sharyn McCrumb's, the worlds of these two murders, these two women, intersect in this densely plotted and lyrical novel—and characters, generations, and history are breathlessly painted against an Appalachian canvas.

Three days before Christmas in 1831, Frankie Silver killed her husband, Charles Silver, with an axe and burned his body in the fireplace. Author Perry Deane Young, whose ancestors were involved in the case, began collecting material about it as a teenager. As a college student, he was astounded to learn that most of what he had been told was actually false. Abused by her husband, Frankie killed in self defense. The laws of that time would not allow her to take the stand and explain what happened. She was unjustly hanged in July of 1833. Young proves the real crime is the way this poor woman has been misrepresented by balladeers and historians all these years. Perry Deane Young provides important historical background to this fascinating story Young is able to build suspense, even for a story many of his readers may already knowBy personalizing both Frankie Silvers story and his own search for it, Young has given readers an interesting and well-written book about history and the way it is created. --Lynn Moss Sanders in Appalachian Journal Most of my life Ive heard stories about a pretty mountain lady who was hanged for nothing more serious than murdering her husband. Here, and I can say at last after one and a half centuries, is the true account, thoroughly researched and beautifully presented. Its a highroad journey into this Appalachian mystery. --John Ehle, author of The Land Breakers, The Road, The Journey of August King

Frankie Silver was convicted and hanged in Morganton, NC for the murder of her husband in 1833. She left behind a 13-month-old daughter named Nancy, who was kidnapped by Frankie's family, the Stuarts, and taken to Franklin, NC to live. Several years later, her maternal grandmother sought custody of her and took her back to Yancey County. A Life for Nancy - Daughter of Frankie Silver takes readers on a journey of Nancy's life from 1832 until her death in 1901. The murder of her father and execution of her mother would follow Nancy through a life filled with tragedy and heartache. With a husband who is caught up in the Civil War, survival is her top priority and she will do anything to make sure her children are fed as poverty hits the Appalachian Mountains. Based on Stories handed down through the generations and actual documents found by family members, this historical fiction is full of mystery, romance and murder, as Nancy seeks to find some sort of peace in her life.

What would possess a grandmother to murder her two-year-old granddaughter? The Legend of Nance Dude presents all the known facts surrounding Roberta Putnams grizzly murder and the arrest, trial, and subsequent conviction of her grandmother, Nancy Ann Kerley, also known as Nance Dude.

The Ballad of Tom Dooley is 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.