Saw this book in the bookstore yesterday, so I thought I'd post a note. I'm a little sorry to refresh this particular thread, but...

Sharyn McCrumb has developed a specialty of writing novels based on Appalachian ballads and folksongs. This song happens to be based on a historical event, so she has done her research and written a historical novel - a fictional book enlarging on the collected facts with imagined detail.

Granted, the original poster was indeed indulging in a bit of publishers' hype. We should acknowledge here that there are hazards for anyone drawing conclusions on events where the known facts are limited.

More on Sharyn McCrumb and her ballad novel series, as well as other work, at her web site

Her page on this book, The Ballad of Tom Dooley

A review of the book at WNC from western North Carolina.

The Amazon page for the book, including not-uniformly-positive reader reviews

Google search results for "Sharyn McCrumb" at Mudcat.org

~ Becky in Long Beach
In search of more light, less noise.