A Tree Accurst

“[Patterson] has done a masterful job of using folk sources. . . along with historical and legal facts in reexamining and retelling this tragic story.” — Journal of Appalachian Studies

“By intertwining historical event and present day account, Patterson reminds us that our understanding of history is always mediated by the sources through which we receive our knowledge of it and that, conversely, the scripts we accept as historical truth influence our own self-awareness.” — North Carolina History Review

“A Tree Accurst is a landmark in folkloristic literature whose analytical strength draws power from collaborations among performers and scholars of expressive folk culture.” — Western Folklore

“Patterson does a tremendous job in presenting a thorough and insightful look at the complex relationship between historical fact and the oral tradition. . . . Patterson’s book moves the reader with skill and control through the details of events and personalities. . . . He handles the elements of McMillon’s artistry in the craft of story building and story telling just as adeptly.” — Southern Cultures

“A Tree Accurst is a fascinating book — one that reveals much about oral history, the transmission of folklore, and the social history of Appalachia in the nineteenth century.” — Altina Waller, coeditor of Appalachia in the Making: The Mountain South in the Nineteenth Century

“This stunning work is a carefully researched and ethically solid examination of the ways in which regional folklore functions in the cultural construction of history, law, and gender. It will be of interest — and importance — to folklorists, social historians, and anyone interested in the expressive, cultural aspects of law.” — Barre Toelken, Utah State University