The Coffin Quilt by Ann Rinaldi

Rinaldi, Ann. The Coffin Quilt: The Feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. San Diego: Harcourt, 1999.

Fanny McCoy knows about hard times. She lives in the mountains of Kentucky. Fanny McCoy also knows about feuding and killing. That’s right. She’s part of that McCoy family of Hatfield and McCoy fame. She lived through the feud. Now Fanny McCoy wants to tell her story.

“My writing is kind of like Adelaide’s blood purifier that she’s always giving Ma. And besides, I don’t aim to be like our sheep, so shy that if a wild animal attacks, they just lie down and get ready to die. There’s been too much dying around these parts for my liking. I’m plumb sick of it. And I don’t even know if it’s all over yet. So I’m going to write what happened. The way it was for me, at least. The way it was all my life. Since I was a knee baby of seven” (6-7).

To hear Fanny McCoy’s story, read The Coffin Quilt by Ann Rinaldi.