books quilting and other meanderings

I have just finished listening to a talking book on cd written by Sharyn McCrumb: The Ballad of Frankie Silver. She writes two consecutive stories woven into one novel. One of Jonnie Silver, a young appalachian woman of 18, hung for killing her husband and butchering his body. If this was not enough, she was also accused of burning the body .The other is a story of a middle aged man living on Death Row for murdering two young people who were walking on the Appalachian trail. All of this takes place in Tennesee. Ms. McCrumb is a masterful storyteller. This book and many others that she writes are based on true events,backed by serious research. I wish high school history classes could be taught using well written historical novels,well researched to provide a lead in to further learning. The bilbliographies that she provides are for those such as myself to delve deeper and deeper into , in this case, the history of Appalachia. In such states as North Carolina, Tennesse and West Virgina. Not enough has been written well to entice the reader.