Part of Series
In 1934 all the national publications sent their star reporters to remote Virginia to cover the trial of Erma Morton: a beautiful 21-year-old year old mountain girl with a teaching degree, accused of murdering her father—a drunken tyrant of a man. Eager for a new cause celebre to capture the public's imagination, they were counting on reports of horse-drawn buggies, run-down shacks, children in thread-bare clothes—all of the stereotypes of mountain life. But among them is Carl Jennings, an 18-year-old mountain boy on his first job. An eager, honest journalist, he reports accurately—describing telephones, electricity, gas stations, and coal company executives. So when their reports conflict, Carl is condemned, while the seasoned journalists perpetuate the myths of country life—and Erma Morton's guilt or innocence is literally sold to the highest bidder—a wronged woman on trial sells papers. Soon, it is not the murder that is of interest: but the vultures attracted by the deaths. In the midst of all this, Carl continues to search for the truth, relying on his younger cousin, Nora—gifted with the "sight"—for help. A stunning return to the lands, ballads and characters upon which she made her name, Devil Amongst the Lawyers is a testament to Sharyn McCrumb's lyrical and poetic writing.
Author
Sharyn McCrumb, an award-winning Southern writer, is best known for her Appalachian “Ballad” novels, including the New York Times best sellers The Ballad of Tom Dooley, The Ballad of Frankie Silver, and The Songcatcher. Ghost Riders, which won the Wilma Dykeman Award for Literature from the East Tennessee Historical Society and the national Audie Award for Best Recorded Books. The Unquiet Grave, a well-researched novel about West Virginia's Greenbrier Ghost, will be published in September by Atria, a division of Simon &Schuster. Sharyn McCrumb, named a Virginia Woman of History by the Library of Virginia and a Woman of the Arts by the national Daughters of the American Revolution, was awarded the Mary Hobson Prize for Arts & Letters in 2014. Her books have been named New York Times and Los Angeles Times Notable Books. In addition to presenting programs at universities, libraries, and other organizations throughout the US, Sharyn McCrumb has taught a writers workshop in Paris, and served as writer-in-residence at King University in Tennessee, and at the Chautauqua Institute in western New York.
