Pursuing Daisy Garfield

"A rollicking novel that fuses the Ozarks folk tradition with meditations on beauty, suffering, and the meaning of it all."

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Young woman character from Pursuing Daisy Garfield

An Excerpt from Pursuing Daisy Garfield

"Come here," she said to William, almost as if she were calling a dog. "Closer." He stepped so close to her he could feel her breath on his lips. "Touch the back of my neck," she said. William slipped his fingers under her hair. "Now touch my cheek." He stroked her cheek as gently as he killed her husband.

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The Purple Knight of the Ozarks

The Nearly True Story of T. Allen McQuary

With accompanying links, photos, and articles

T. Allen McQuary

T. Allen McQuary, circa 1897

In 1897, a young Ozark newspaperman claimed a Little Rock plantation owner promised him $5,000 and his daughter's hand if he circumnavigated the globe dressed as the Purple Knight of the Ozarks. The quest was a lie. The girl never existed. But T. Allen McQuary's journey—traceable through newspaper archives from Missouri to Charleston to Oregon—was bizarrely real.

Follow the trail through actual newspaper clippings, court records, and a surviving promotional pamphlet. Watch as McQuary transforms from con artist to postmaster to embezzler, spinning increasingly grandiose tales in churches, schools, and Masonic halls across America until his tragic end in 1948.

T. Allen McQuary as the Purple Knight

Artist's rendering of the Purple Knight of the Ozarks

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Get weekly chapters of this serialized historical fiction, plus exclusive research notes, newspaper clippings, and historical documentation.

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A serialized novel blending fact and fiction, released weekly with exclusive historical documentation

The Bulfinch Memoirs: Stories, Heresies, and Occasional Ruminations

Otis Bulfinch's Ozarks Tales sponsored by

The Ozarkian Folk Chronicles

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A podcast exploring authentic Ozark stories and mountain wisdom

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Mildred, Quit Hollering!

Mildred, Quit Hollering! is Vance Randolph's final unpublished collection of Ozarks folktales. With biographies of informants by Curtis Copeland and meditations by Augustus Finch, this book belongs in your library--or the back of your toilet. Your choice.

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Public Domain Folktale Resources

Explore Authentic Ozark & American Folktales

Discover genuine folktales and folklore research from the Library of Congress, early academic journals, and other public domain sources. These archives preserve the authentic voices and stories that have shaped American folk tradition for generations.

Mary Celestia Parler Ozark Collections

University of Arkansas Special Collections 1949-1972

Over 4,000 songs and stories collected by folklorist Mary Celestia Parler throughout the Arkansas Ozarks, including ballads, tales, and oral histories.

Browse Collection

Journal of American Folklore Vol. 1-10

American Folklore Society 1888-1897

Early scholarly collection of American folk narratives, customs, and beliefs. These foundational volumes document oral traditions from across the United States before modernization changed rural communities.

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Ozark Folk Music and Tales

Missouri State University Special Collections 1950s-1970s

The Max Hunter Collection featuring over 1,600 Ozark folk songs and stories from Missouri and Arkansas. Hear authentic voices telling the tales that inspired generations of storytellers.

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Vance Randolph's Folktale Collections

Internet Archive 1940s-1970s

Multiple volumes of authentic Ozark folktales collected by the master folklorist, including 'Who Blowed Up the Church House?' and other classics.

Including: 'Who Blowed Up the Church House?', 'We Always Lie to Strangers', 'Ozark Magic and Folklore', and more

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WPA Slave Narratives: Arkansas & Missouri

Library of Congress 1936-1938

First-person accounts from formerly enslaved people in the Ozarks region, including folk stories, traditions, and cultural memories collected by the Federal Writers' Project.

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Ozark Folksong Collection

University of Arkansas Libraries 1949-1972

Mary Celestia Parler's extensive collection of Ozark folk songs, ballads, and oral histories. One of the most comprehensive collections of Southern mountain folklore ever assembled.

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