The 1915 trial and lynching of Leo Frank has been discussed for more than a century, as well as inspired many newspaper and magazine articles, books, movies, televised miniseries, and theatre productions.
The case sparked widespread national controversy due to its social and racial concerns, especially antisemitism, because Frank was a Jew. Many believed Frank was innocent, though his appeals remained unsuccessful in court. His guilt or innocence is still debated.
Although the murder Frank was accused of took place in Atlanta, and he was lynched in Marietta, the case also brought local notoriety since he was imprisoned at Milledgeville State Penitentiary.
A lynch mob from Marietta drove to Milledgeville on Aug. 16, 1915, stormed the prison, then handcuffed, tied up, and kidnapped Frank. They drove him back to Marietta, to the home place of the murder victim, and hanged him from a branch of a tree.
Smyrna-based author Ann Hite recently released her book about the Frank case; however, unlike many other writings, Hite’s book tells the tale from the viewpoint of Frank’s wife, Lucille Selig Frank. I Am a Georgia Girl is the award-winning author’s first non-fiction novel.
Hite was the guest speaker on Sept. 2 for the Georgia Writers Museum’s “Meet the Author” event. The popularity of her book’s topic was represented by more than 80 attendees, including many from various Georgia cities and even some from South Carolina.
Because the large crowd necessitated a larger venue, it seemed quite fitting that museum officials selected the main courtroom of Putnam County’s Courthouse for Hite to talk about Frank’s controversial trial.
Hite noted the lynch mob traveled through Eatonton, and said she is still researching the location of the ferry used to cross the Oconee River. She mentioned being pleased while in Eatonton for her presentation, when someone showed her a map of ferry locations in that time period.
Hite said she titled her book I Am a Georgia Girl, because Lucille Frank made that statement to The Augusta Chronicle at the time of the trial. Hite explained that Lucille Frank wanted people to know the trial, with its many inconsistencies, innuendos, lack of evidence, and subsequent mob-ruled lynching and public display of her husband’s dead body, was done to someone from Georgia, not someone from New England or elsewhere.
“She was saying, ‘You did this to me, and I’m one of you,’” Hite explained.
Hite said she was motivated to write the non-fiction book after seeing photos of people posing around Frank’s lynched body still hanging from the tree, and those photos included small children.
“Seeing that made me realize it would be a nonfiction story because there’s too many other fiction stories intertwined with this one,” the author said.
In the book, Hite gives a voice to Lucille Frank, showcasing her tireless efforts to expose the antisemitism her husband suffered, and what those efforts cost her.
I Am a Georgia Girl is available for sale online and at the Georgia Writers Museum (108 S. Jefferson Ave.) in downtown Eatonton. At the time this article was written, several copies autographed by Hite remained available at the museum.
GWM’s next Meet the Author event is scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 7, featuring the historical novel Trudy’s Awakening by 2015 Georgia Author of the Year Carolyn Curry.