“The Feud. The Hatfields and McCoys: The True Story”, by Dean King

 

448 pages, Little, Brown and Company, ISBN-13: 978-0316167062

There are some books that I buy that have a backstory, although I don’t always know what that backstory is. For instance, my copy of The Feud. The Hatfields and McCoys: The True Story by Dean King that I picked up from 2^nd & Charles has a hand-written dedication at the front that reads: “Enjoy The Hatfields are 2 of our great grandson there [sic] father is from Kentucky and is from the Hatfield clan Lang’s #117”. Putting the poor grammar aside, I’d really like to know more (Lang’s #117?), but that is impossible. The curiosity remains, though.

So anyway, Dean King has written an all-inclusive account of the feud between the Hatfields of West Virginia (led by William Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield) and the McCoys of Kentucky (led by Randolph “Ole Ran’l” McCoy). This real-life tale of hate and violence and pathos reads like a Greek tragedy, with the main players seemingly swept along by events they cannot control. This is natural-born drama, as King somehow enlivens this true story without sensationalizing it; like a novelist, he manages to preserve the tension of his tale utilizing all available primary and secondary sources while adding refinements of his own. There are a series of genealogical charts that help somewhat to keep the different players straight, especially as several have the same names, passed down from one generation to the next.

The Feud is a fascinating and entertaining account of perhaps America’s most notorious legend; birthed originally from the lingering bitterness of the Civil War, the Hatfield and McCoy feud was powered mostly by to the principle of protecting what’s yours, be it your family’s honor (or perhaps, “honor”) to the fruits of your labor. Across 24 chapters, King reconstructs the history of the Feud, from the original killing of Ellison Hatfield and the retaliatory killings of Pharmer, Bud and Bill McCoy, to all of the death and violence that followed thence. The dominos fall fast and hard and, seemingly, all on their own, with typically small slights being blown up into deadly encounters. King introduces each character in so intimate a manner that you find yourself sympathizing with their motivations, if not their actions. If you want the whole story of the Hatfield and McCoy feud look no further, for King has supplied us all with the unvarnished facts without any foolish romanticization.