This book rightly belongs under the fiction heading, but it’s so richly imagined and put together from newspaper articles and prison records, it begs to be in non-fiction as well. No one can possibly know what really happened in the mind of a poor mountain woman resulting in the plot line in the book, but after reading it I’m pretty sure you’ll never forget Nance Dude. It’s based on a murder that came to light in April 1913 when the body of a child about 2 1/2 years old was found in the crevice of a rock on Adtate knob in the lower Jonathan Creek section of the Smoky Mountains on the western side of North Carolina .
Earlier, on a cold February morning, a 64-year-old woman known as Nance Dude took her granddaughter and led her up the mountain side near their home. She returned later that day without the child. She was incarcerated at age 65 and served 15 years of hard labor. But did she really murder her grandchild? You see, the particulars of Nance’s upbringing complicate the plot.
The author artfully reconstructs the sad, dark story of Nance Dude from newspaper articles, court, and prison records, and talks with mountain people who either remember the crime or learned of it from their elders, showing how a lifetime of povery and degradation can sometimes leave a person facing decisions that offer few alternatives, all of them bad.
Update: If you are interested in a movie version of Nance Dude’s story, be sure to read an August 2009 update here:
I have read the ‘Legend of Nance Dude’ at least twice, and am getting ready to read it again. I have always been intrigued with such stories, especially when they’re true.
‘Dude’ is a great read, but I’ve often wondered if any movie plans are in the works, or would be considered.. I believe this would be a hit. The public craves this kind of story.
I would really like to know…
Thanks,
K.D.
Ft Worth, TX.
Oh, I quite agree with you K.D.! Maybe I should get in touch with M. Night Shymalan (Sixth Sense) to see if he would be interested. But he still hasn’t done Life of Pi. Have you read that one yet?! It’s a splendid book indeed, an example of wonderful writing. In the meantime, maybe enough people will read this book after seeing this post and interest will revive it. Let’s hope so! Happy reading.
What a wonderful book. I learned the story of Nance from my grandmother (Maggie Leatherwood Stephenson) who was a first-hander of the story, having grown up in the location of the story. My grandmother was 10 years old at the time of the murder and was so affected by the events that she named her first child (my mother) after the little girl, Roberta.
I too believe that it would make a great movie and I am looking forwad to reading more of the works of Mr. Stanley.
P
Charlotte, NC
Hi I have read this Book also about Nancy Dude … I learned of this book through My cousin … Believe this or not but Nancy Dude was My Great Grandmother’s Aunt … I found the story very Interesting and I must say it is a great read …. The pictures of Nancy that are in the book really was a shock to me and I could not believe my eyes cause my Great Grandmother Looked exactly like her Aunt Nancy Dude … I also would like to see it made into a Movie as well … I was born and raised and still living in the Location of the story …
Hi, I have to read the book about Nancy Dude… I learned of this book from my gandmother. Actually Nancy Dude was my great, great , great grandmother. I have heard many different tales of this story and do not agree that a 100 pound women could cause the death of Roberta Putnam all by herself. I do believe that she must of had some help but was the only person strong enough to come forward anfd confess to the crime. I was also born and raised in the location of the story and I still live in the area today.
It’s great to hear from you, Tina. It’s really special to hear from so many people familiar with the case and the area Nance lived and died. This will always be one of those mysteries that become legends because we’ll never know what really happened, but I for one cannot blame Nance solely either. Like you say, she was the one punished! Thanks for writing and sharing!
I have read the book and my Step-dad has talked with Maurice
Stanley about it…
Nance Dude is my stepfathers great grandma and my great, great, grandma.
I too do not believe that she acted alone in this horrible crime. I know times were very hard, but how do you leave one of your own to die?
Roberta’s sister, Bertha passed away only a few short years ago never ever knowing the true story of what happened to her sister. (The book does not tell of Bertha)
Have you heard of the photo of the cave entrance? It is said that there is a photo held by someone in my stepfather’s family, that as the years go by, faces are appearing in the corners of the photo. very foggy ones..but I have not seen it…but others have.
It’s wonderful to hear from another person who knows a little more Nance a little more “personally” than just reading the book as I have. If I’m ever in that area of the mountains again, then I’d sure like to see the cave entrance for myself. But I don’t like snakes. And I’d sure like to see that photograph, too. Things like that fascinate me! Thanks for taking the time to comment, Sharon!
Alice,
Talked to my stepdad last night, and he said that he did not know that Nance had lived until 1952. He said that had he known, he would have made a trip back to see her..of course she may not have had anything to do with him, but it makes you wonder if she may have said anything to him regarding what happened…
I too am fascinated by these things..I will have to see if I can find out who in the family is holding on to the photo…I know my Mom has seen it, but only once many years ago…
Tina, I would like to hear from you too…since she is also a relative of yours…was Nance your maternal or paternal great, great, great grandma?
Tina,
I am going to be in Canton in the next few days, and am going to take my husband to Utah Mtn. He has expressed an interest in seeing the cave…I know it used to have a marker, but it could be gone by now…Roberta was removed and buried elsewhere in a proper grave…but I cannot remember where….Did I understand by your statement above, that Nance came forward and confessed? We have always been told that she denied having anything to do with Roberta’s death. I would love to talk to you, and so would my stepdad…
Have you ever heard of the photo I am talking about?
Alice,
Have you ever heard of the book, The Serpent Slips Into A Modern Eden, by James A. Turpin? It was written in 1923 and is also about the story above…I have not got the actual book, but I made a copy of the one that is in the library in Waynesville. They will not let you even check the book out….copies have to be made right there…
If you know of any more books, or places to find articles concerning Nance Dude, please let me know….
Now I know why I’ve enjoyed writing this blog so much! It’s the leads I get from good people like you who happened by to read some of the stuff I’m interested in. Also, many many thanks for the lead to the new book by Turpin, Serpent Slips Into A Modern Eden. It sounds like a good follow up to read, as far as I can see it was published 2006 (?). I immediately started to investigate and quickly learned why the library won’t let anyone check it out. It’s for sale (I had the thought of buying one! usually I can get used ones very cheap) and the only copy I could find was $150.00!!!!
You know something? It’s been a very long time since I read this book. I’m putting it on my list of “next to read.” After all, I’m more than a few years older now and I wonder if I’ll see it quite the same as I did all those years ago. I still say there were mitigating circumstances even if Nance did do it. There just might be another post about this interesting mystery. Stay tuned.
[...] The Legend of Nance Dude by Maurice Stanley [...]
Gary Carden, the renown playwright and storyteller from western North Carolina, has written an outstanding play about Nance Dude. His play is performed frequently and is one of the best I have seen. Elizabeth Westall is a flawless performer, but she is in declining health and does not often do plays any more. If you like Nance Dude, you need to check out other Carden plays, most based on true characters and events.
I’m so happy to have your comment, Pamela. I just wouldn’t be surprised to see Nance as a subject in a movie someday; it’d be like I (and the other commentators here) “knew her when,” wouldn’t it? I’ll have to check this play and its author further. And by the way, I visited your blogsite and must say you’re quite a writer yourself. I intend to read all the stories bit by bit as the days go by, and one day soon I plan to add you to my side blogroll. Thanks for writing and commenting, and good luck! Let me know when and where you get published! Or perhaps you already are?
just wanted to let someone know that I found a newspaper clipping in my Grandfather Bible.
it says JAMES A. TURPIN
Thirty four years ago james a. turpin man ofrf action in law enforcement published a 80 page book called The Serpent Slips in a modern Eden.
The little book now something of a collectors item for those interested in Western North cArolina. It goes on to tell what the book is about.
It says James Turpin was widely known in Jackson and Haywood counties. . He was a police chief at Waynesville prison camp. And U.S. commissioner
I believe he was my Mother uncle.
Anyone interested or knows about my mother family from waynesville and Sylva N. Carolina
can contact me thru my email.
Her parents were Alney Hyatt Turpin father and mother
Martha Jane Turpin.
Sincerely,
Donna
Donna, thanks for your information. Sharon Bradley, another commenter prior to you, also told me about Serpent Slips in a Modern Eden. I check on it and found that it indeed is a rare book and quite expensive, although Sharon could access it through her local library.
For your benefit and perhaps other commenters as well, I would like to point out that some have blogs of their own. Hover your cursor over the name of the commenter, and if they have a blog, the cursor will turn into a little hand and if you click on it, it’ll take you directly to their blog. That way you might find more information on Nance Dude directly from them.
Thanks for writing and visiting. I love hearing from all of you!
If anyone has any idea where I can purchase (reasonably) a copy of The Serpent Slips into Modern Eden, please let me know. I am also trying to find a copy of Nancy’s Story (Frankie’s daughter). Both of these stories are so incredibly interesting….so does anyone know of a similar story that has been published? Thanks
I’m sorry to say I have not been able to come up with a way to get a copy of Serpent Slips into Modern Eden, though I’m very interested. The only access I’ve heard so far, since it was published in 1928 and is now out of print, is through the library at Waynesville (North Carolina). I’ve seen it available for $150, a little steep for my budget! However, if you go to http://www.amazon.com and search books for that title, I found you can order a used copy of a paperback “The Untold Story of Frankie Silver,” for $16.95, or–if you don’t mind used copies, and I’ve had great success with Amazon’s used books–a used copy for $10.56. If I’m not mistaken, Turpin’s “Serpent” is about both Nance Dude AND Frankie Silver’s trials, so if it’s Nancy’s story (Frankie’s daughter) that you’re most interested in, this might be a book for you to check. Hope this helps you locate what you’re looking for.
I have a photostat of Serent Slips into Modern Eden. During the last production of my play, “Nance Dude,” I placed the photostat on display at the HART Theater in Waynesville.
Hi Alice,
Randy Beaumont, a native to these parts, and i, just recently moved here, are working on a play about Nance. It has an entirely different slant from Stanley’s book. I would like to talk to anyone locally who might contribute important information about her. Unlike Stanley’s book, we want to have facts about names and events. Of course no one knows the complete answers, but i think the story is intriguing enough without embellishments.
I am also a writer, having written many plays and now, two novels. We hope to get our play produced then write a screenplay to it. It would make a great movie, if done right.
So if you can lead me to any of the locals who have written to you and might have information, I’d appreciate it.
P.S. I saw you lived in Pittsburgh for a time. I was born and raised there. I moved to Atlanta in 1966.
Larry Porter
My book “True Globalization” is on Google Books and is available on Amazon.
This is good news, Larry. If you read through the comments, you’ll see that I’ve heard from a lot of Nance’s descendants and I think they would love to see something done with this story. What I will do is go back into my wordpress files and see if I can connect electronically to these commenters and pass your email address on to them, so that they might contact you directly , should they be interested, as I’m pretty certain they will be. I’ll let you know when this has been accomplished.
Yes, I was in Pittsburgh a short time (about 5 years) and didn’t appreciate it then as much as I do now–as it was my first time living away from my Florida roots. Amazingly enough, I still have a few friends there. I’ll look for your book, and wish you all the luck in the world on your Nance project. You’re in a great area for aspiring writers; many good people there!
Thanks for commenting.
Collective Development LLC, based in Lansing MI, is currently in pre-production of a film based on this story.
i have read the legand of nace dude a lot of times and enjoy it very well. my family has even gor a intrest in it. my grandmother is from haywood county and never spoke of the story to us. i also hope a movie comes out of this. i do have doubts that such a small woman could do such a terriable thing like that alone. i read everyone’s blogs they are great
I hope there’s a movie made too. In fact, I’ve been thinking I need to update the post and plan to get to that soon. I’ll try to find out the status of the movie and update that information too.
I recently came across the book by Stanley in the public library.
It has to be one of the saddest stories I’ve ever read…that about covers it. That this woman got out of prison and still went back to that area to ‘look for a place to live’ and found only a shack to spend the rest of her lone days breaks my heart. One wouldn’t think a lot of her life could actually happen… such as being put on the road with her tiny grandchild….. must have unhinged her mind.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Anne (btw, the periwinkle’s one of my favorite flowers) ! I’d like to think if Nance lived in these days rather than long ago, she and her daughter may have been more inclined to give those all-power-holding men in their lives a swift kick in the a double s and tell them it was their turn to lift a hand or two to make their lives more tolerable instead of putting old ladies and young children out in the wild. Looking at it another way, maybe the lucky one was the child who was out of her misery at least, not doomed to live the rest of her life alone and ostracized like Nance did by all accounts. Incidents like these make me wish that reincarnation is real and that Nance got another chance under better circumstances. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
If a heart can be broken, this tale is as likely to break it as if it were the best thought out fiction from a gifted storyteller. I have not read it, nor am I likely to, but I heve a better perspective on it than most except those who were personally or directly involved. Both my grandparents were born and raised in the very community in which this incident happened, and both were of sufficient age at the time to remember the particulars. It was something I heard sketches and snippets of occasionally during the time I spent as a young boy living with my grandparents during school vacations from southern New Jersey. The Jonathans Creek area at the time was a sparsly settled small mountain community of not more than a couple of hundred mostly interrelated people, so almost everyone knew almost everyone else, and those who were not in fact related to the the principles were at least familiar with who they were. I intend only to make these few comments to verify that it was indeed a real incident, and that it was a subject of such gravity (at least within my family circle) that it was seldom discussed at length. We must keep in mind however that turn of the century Appalachia was a world so different from almost anywhere else in the land (or maybe even on earth) that only those who actually lived that life have any chance of understanding the culture and day to day realities of how harsh and unforgiving existence on the very edge of survival can be. The point being that we today in a different time and in different places should make no judgements, but rather wonder at the confluence of circumstances that could end in such a heartbreaking event. Does the fault lie with a particular person, a particular group of persons, a now almost extinct culture, divine purpose, fate? We don’t know because we were not there at the instant the decision was made, and we don’t know the perhaps agonizing reasoning that lead to that instant. I do not for a moment defend any particular person involved, but neither do I accuse, I only affirm that it happened and deal with the mind picture as we all must.
Lee, I appreciate so much your taking the time to respond to the Nance Dude story. It’s always good to hear from someone at least familiar with the story, and I must say we need more people who can look at a situation and respond in such a reasonable, well-thought out manner, rather than the sometimes emotional knee-jerk reaction that I too often resort to. Each life situation is different and as you point out, times are vastly different–in some ways better and some ways not so much better–but I’m reminded that if we learn one thing from this life I’m living, it should be not to judge. Thanks for visiting Wintersong, and I hope you’ll drop by again sometime.
After reading the other comments below I also now remember seeing a picture of the cave many years ago among some one of my family’s collection, so it’s quite possible it was one of those types of photos that were taken of crime scenes and sold to the public that was a rather common practice in that era. And I too still have family living in the Utah Mtn area. The family member who told me about this site also said Nance was related to us but he was unsure of the lineage.
Interesting.
Excellent comments on this legend!
I was recently re-reading a book by another ’southern highlands’ writer, Sharon McCrumb, called The Rosewood Casket, and realized she uses a little girl left to perish in a cave in the book. Since she writes of this general area, I wonder if her ’story’ (and it is published as fiction) came from the legend of Nance Dude. It did not dawn on me at the first read, but now that I have read the story of Nance, it seems a bit similiar.
periwinkle
I remember reading about Sharon McCrumb’s nod to Nance Dude with her fiction, but I haven’t read it yet. I’ll put it on my list.
Alice,
For what it is worth, I saw Nance Dude when I was a child. My grandfather drove an Esso oil truck and I rode with him when he drove his routes. One of them was down the Tuckaseigee River to little settlements called Gateway, Wilmot and Whittier. We would sometimes pass an old woman on the road carrying a load of kindling on her back. She was always followed by a pack of dogs. When I asked my grandfather who that was, he told me, “Nance Dude.” She was an outcast and lived in a one-room shack with a dirt floor. Over the years, I have acquired other items. I have a photograph of Nance at a “family reunion.” As for the photographs mentioned by so many of you, all of those photographs are in Maurice Stanley’s book. My play is still done occasionally, but Elizabeth Westall has had to stop performing it due to her husband’s illness. He is in the hospital in Burnsville, N. C. The play has been done several hundred times, usually in libraries. I was fortunate enough to get it sponsored by the NC Humanities Council and they paid Maurice Stanley, Elizabeth Westall and me to discuss the play with the audience after each performance.
I have a website: TanneryWhistle.net and I also have a blog that has photos of Elizabeth’s last performance up in Highlands. A friend of mine filmed that performance, but I have not yet seen the film.
Such a vivid picture is conjured up by your description of that sighting. I’ve always been fascinated how people on the fringes get on in life when it’s pretty damn hard enough being what passes for normal. I’ve also checked out your blog (in my blogroll now) and TanneryWhistle where I read aloud some of your stories to my hubby’s chagrin (he was working on his mac at the time) because they seemed almost like my own. Garrison Keillor also mentioned Weird Creatures (do I have that right?) by Aimee Bailey as being a very capable writer. I’m going to look for it as soon as I finish up a little on the stack I’m working on now. Nice to hear from you again!
The author’s name is Aimee Bender. I am fascinated by these stories. Some are wonderful and some are just to “oblique” for me, but it is worth the trouble to find the ones that resonate.
Better yet, just come and join my blog hollernotes.blogspot.com/ Just click on “Follower” at the top of the page.
Do you know that Maurice Stanley recently did a little book on Frankie Silver? It was published by a small press and has not give much publicity, but it is out there. I reviewed it on my blog six months ago. It is called Midwinter. Now, a title like that will go very nicely with you blog! Let me know if you have trouble finding it.
Gary Carden
I did not know this, Gary. Thanks for telling me about it. I actually found two copies on Amazon.com, one new and one used, and put in the cart but haven’t ordered it yet. I have a book with her story in it around here someplace, but it was very dry reading. I think Stanley would do a much better job of weaving a story out of it.
Hi Gary!
I see you are over here and sharing stuff as I hoped!
These mountains ‘happenings’ are well-covered, it seems. Sharon McCrumb wrote a whole book about Frankie Silver and it was hum-dinger! I would love to read Stanley’s words about Frankie, if anyone can locate them. Somehow I can’t really ’see’ Frankie tho…the way I can ’see’ Nance Dude, wood on her back…the stray dogs the only beings that spoke to her.
mint
You two are going to make my reading list grow by leaps and bounds. I need to look for Sharon McCrumb’s version of Frankie now! It sure is good to hear (albeit indirectly) from you again Anne.
My books are available at the above website! Click on links.
Click on ‘links’for my books!
Maurice Stanley
gary,
how’s the nance dvd coming along?
maurice stanley
Maurice,
The master cut of the DVD went to the studio for duplication last Thursday. I am told that I will have the first shipment of the DVD on October 23rd and I will immediately begin selling them so I can winterize my house and buy firewood and K2 for the winter. The DVD is fantastic. I feel that it turned out better than “Prince of Dark Corners.”
Gary,
Your choice for the DVD cover is certainly the best.Elizabeth is so loveable and photogenic, and she is in color!
I wish you the best with it.
Will I see you at the book fair in Sylva, Nov. 14th at the United Methodist Church…? If I survive this bee sting that I got a few days ago.
Yours,
Maurice
Maurice,
I’ll be there. The Smoky Mountain Book Fair is sponsoring “Prince of Dark Corners” the night before the Book Fair (the 13th), so I will be at both events. I wish it was Elizabeth doing “Nance Dude,” but a fellow named Stewart over at ASU has written a book on Lewis Redmond, so I’m set up to discuss the “dramatic” Redmond as contrasted with the “hostoric” Redmond with Steward…..and the audience.
I’ve started selling “Nance Dude” and I hope to sell a lot of them at the Book Fair. However, this is not a good year for “the arts.”
Gary Carden
I would love to buy a copy. Where can I get one (DVD)
Thanks, Gary.
I’ll be ordering the DVD from you soon.
I think it’ll make a great BD present to myself…the story of an outcast, who may have committed murder, a family who sends aging women and toddlers out walking in the wintered mountains to find the ‘poor house’.
Okay…..so it may not be cheerful. I still want it.
Thanks for letting us know here where it can found.
Cheers!
Gary, looks like you’re going to get that new furnace.
Well,it isn’t a furnace. I just want a big load of firewood (oak) the feed to my little soapstone stove this winter….but, yeah,you are right, I will probably make enough to buy the firewood and maybe fix a couple of leaks in the roof. I am beginning to get orders by mail and the local bookstore has agreed to give me a “reception” on December 3rd.
Gary Carden
Hi ALice!!
Please tell me about the Appalachian Folklore Club.
I am from appalachia….grew up there and know a bunch of hair-raising tales, and want to share them.
thanks,
anne
Anne, if you haven’t found The Tannery Whistle yet (it’s Gary’s website) I suggest you do so as it is wonderful. It’s the place that turned me on to Gary’s storytelling! I have it linked on my blogroll (below the blog favs) in the Websites I Like section. Here’s the link: http://tannerywhistle.net/
I recall Gary indicating it wasn’t very active now, but that could have changed by now. Now this could be something different, but it’s a link to the Appalachian WRITER’s club: http://appwc.proboards.com/index.cgi?
I just spent the better part of an hour on your website, Mr. Carden. You’re a talented storyteller and I can’t believe my good luck that you happened by my little blog, and left a comment. As soon as I can I’m going to figure a way and a place to feature you on my blog, not that you need the exposure but I just like to share treasures I find online with my readers.
You know, I was even tempted to join the Appalachian Folklore club. I wasn’t born in Appalachia but I did grow up in the south (the REAL south of north-central Florida) in a very similar way to the way you grew up. Problem is I don’t seem to have a lot of time anymore, but you can bet I’ll be a regular visitor now. I can’t tell you how glad I am you happened by.