Hanging Mary

Very well written! A nice transport back in time with Mary and the others. I had never read this author previously, I will now read her other titles. Two thumbs up!

This is a book that humanizes someone who had a part in one of the most heinous crimes in American history - the Lincoln assassination. It gives a new and different point of view about Mary and is well worth reading. It many change your view of history.

I sort of remembered John Wilkes Booth hiding in someone's home for a while after shooting Lincoln, and the barn fire. However, I did not remember all the plans and ideas before the shooting.

This was definitely an interesting book and it was told in story form which made it that much better. You really got to know the characters a little better, per the author's take and it made it much more real. Like you were really

The fact Mrs. Surratt was most likely on her death bed due to her deplorable conditions makes the hanging a sort of saving grace. But the ridicule of going through it was also deplorable. The fact she had no idea Lincoln was going to be shot was also deplorable. As one could sit and argue the facts both ways for days, the fact that this book was written and that there are debates makes it a winner in my book.

I found this book to be very informative, entertaining in the fact I could not put it down, sad and embarrassing to American history. That's just my opinion though. The book comes out March 1, 2016, I invite you to pick up a copy and decide for yourself. Should she have been hanged or put in prison? Samuel Mudd who fixed a known felon's broken leg got prison, how is he any different?

Thanks to Sourcebooks for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review. I recommend this book as it was well written, very informative and highlights yet one more American tragedy.

The following review was posted on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1549137829) and BookLikes (http://sarahsar.booklikes.com/post/1343632/).

On April 14, 1865, in the waning days of the Civil War, 26-year-old actor John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln in the head while the President was watching a play from his box at Ford’s Theatre. Booth was a disaffected supporter of the Confederacy who hated Lincoln, but his actions were part of a larger plot. The conspiracy began as a half-baked scheme to kidnap Lincoln that later evolved into a plan to assassinate the President, Vice-President Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward. Only Booth was successful in killing his target.

(image John Wilkes Booth)
John Wilkes Booth (Photo from Wikipedia)

In the ensuing search for Booth and his conspirators, dozens of people were arrested. Just about anyone who had any contact with them was subject to investigation and, at least temporarily, imprisonment. One of those who came to the attention of authorities early on was Mary Surratt, a widow who owned a reputable boarding house in Washington that Booth was known to visit. Her son John, who had fled the country, was a friend of Booth’s and a Confederate sympathizer and courier.

Mary’s role in the crime was less clear. Some of the scheming likely went on in her boarding house. She conveyed instructions from Booth to the keeper of a tavern she owned outside the city, where Booth stopped later that fateful April night. But whether she was a willing accomplice or an unwitting pawn is the subject of debate.

Hanging Mary offers a fictional take on Mary Surratt’s involvement in these events. How did this respectable widow, trusted to maintain a wholesome environment by the families of lodgers that included an unmarried lady and even a ten-year-old schoolgirl, manage to get mixed up in the most notorious crime of the day? Was she a villain or a victim?

Mary gets a chance to tell her side of the story in chapters that alternate with others from the perspective of Miss Honora (“Nora”) Fitzpatrick, one of the lodgers. Between the two of them, a more nuanced picture emerges of the various members of the household and their associates. Booth is handsome and charming, a local celebrity the young ladies are proud to know. The convivial atmosphere in the house belies the darker intentions of some members of the group.

The story of the conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, his death, the investigation, and the subsequent trials is a complex one, involving many people, some better known to history than others. This novel focuses on a small part of the larger historical picture. There is a vivid sense of 1860s wartime Washington, still lively and hopeful before the assassination but plunged into harrowing uncertainty afterwards. As so often occurs in history, an atmosphere of fear and panic can result in an unsatisfying justice.

(image Mary Surratt)
Mary Surratt (Photo from Wikipedia)

A copy of this book for review was provided by Sourcebooks Landmark/NetGalley.

Related links:
“Was Mary Surratt a Lincoln Conspirator?”
Video from Smithsonian:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/category/3play_1/was-mary-surratt-a-lincoln-conspirator/

4.5 stars!!

Slow paced early on and takes a bit to get into, but once it picks up you won't want to put it down!

I became emotionally immersed into the events of spring 1865 and waited with baited breath to read the outcomes I already knew were coming. It was so interesting to read from the view point of these women who were peripherally involved yet maybe actually not so much?? So many questions still remain, and as readers we get to decide how we think things might have gone down.

Ms Higginbotham has a knack with writing that helps you bond and feel sympathy for characters you never expected to have such feelings for.

Having visited Washington DC and the site of the Lincoln assassination within the last 9 months gave me a different perspective too as I was able to put real images to the places described. Even so, I found myself "googling" many of the major players and places. I personally am fascinated with history and loved learning more about this rocky time in our country's past.

Recommended to American history buffs, Lincoln assassination enthusiasts, and any one who enjoys well written historical fiction!

**Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks LANDMARK for an advance readers copy**'

(Thank you Netgalley for an early release copy)

Hanging Mary tells the story of Mary Surratt, the mother of one of the conspirators in the assassination of President Lincoln. The story is alternately told through the eyes of Nora FitzPatrick and Mary Surratt.

As the story opens, Mary is a widow after her drunken husband has died, and left her a tavern and a house in Washington. Mary rents out the tavern, but the tenant is well on the road to becoming a drunk, and Mary decides to take in boarders in her Washington home. Nora comes to Mary's house as a boarder, and meets Mary's daughter Anna, who is close in age to Nora, and her son Johnny, as well as other interesting characters. Mary's sympathies are with the South, although she's not passionate about it, but it soon becomes apparent that Johnny is strongly secessionist. As Johnny embroils himself more in the cause, a parade of strangers, including the handsome actor John Wilkes Booth come through the house, stay for a bit, and move on. Mary doesn't know exactly what Johnny is up to, and she doesn't want to. But Johnny's activities will soon put his entire family and associates in peril.

I hadn't heard much if anything about Mary Surratt, and the book is an education. Yes, it's fictionalized, but its based on fact. You can guess from the title that Mary is accused of something, and we follow her trials through courtrooms and the court of public opinion. It's up to you to decide whether Mary is guilty or innocent, who is credible and who is not, and whether you agree with the outcome. Mary is an interesting character, as is her daughter Anna and her boarder Nora. I enjoyed this window into a little discussed part of history.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Netgalley. This did not influence my review.

Susan Higginbotham is well known for her historical novels set in the Middle Ages and during the Wars of the Roses. (See my review of The Stolen Crown.) The remaining novels are on my TBR-list, but then I heard she was switching time periods and location to write a novel set in the 19th century U.S. The novel, Hanging Mary, is the story of Mary Surratt and her involvement in the Lincoln assassination. It sounded so intriguing I couldn’t wait to read it!

The story is told from two points of view, that of Mary herself and that of Honora (Nora) Fitzpatrick, a young female boarder.

Mary is a widow whose deceased husband, an alcoholic tavern owner, left her in financial straits. Aside from the tavern, he owned a house a ways from the center of the city, which was leased out. Mary reverses the situation by leasing the tavern and taking possession of the house, which she converts to a boarding house. Mary’s family are southern sympathizers, and they are in relatively good company in Washington City, though outnumbered by Unionists. Mary’s eldest son went off to join the confederate army. Her second son, John, and her daughter live in the boarding house. Both are more vehemently pro-South than their mother, who mostly wants the war to end and her son to come home.

One of her first boarders is Nora, daughter of a comfortably well-off banker. Nora’s mother died when she was very young, and she needs a respectable place to live. Nora is firmly in the Union camp, but has been taught by her father to be discreet and respectful of others’ opinions.

It isn’t long before John brings home a new acquaintance, the famous actor John Wilkes Booth. A handsome man with extraordinary charm, he ingratiates himself with Mary and captures the heart of Mary’s daughter. Nora, too, is mildly infatuated with the actor, but she is much more pragmatic and realistic. She grows more fond of him for his kindness, but recognizes the unlikelihood of his interest in either Mary’s daughter or herself.

The war is, naturally, a source of daily interest and consternation in the Surratt household. The occupants follow the news and attend historic events where the president speaks. They also attend the theater to watch their new friend, taking pride in the acquaintance.

However, Mary grows more and more concerned with her son’s activities. John has become secretive, and he keeps bringing strangers around to the boarding house insisting they be given temporary lodging. The guests are not the type of people Mary is comfortable having in her home. Still, when she senses John is in danger, and armed with reassurances from Booth that they have no intentions of causing anyone harm, she increases her support of them.

The rest, of course, is history.

Higginbotham grows her characters with skill. While it is easier to sympathize with Nora, an intelligent, caring woman caught up in a situation over which she has no control than it is with Mary, who seems at times to willfully allow herself to be misguided, it is also possible to understand how a mother could make missteps where a beloved son is concerned.

This is wonderful historical fiction, informative and emotionally involving. A great choice for book clubs!

We all know the story of John Wilkes Booth and how he shot President Lincoln. and we also know that due to the chain of events preceding the Murder that a women was publicly hanged for the first time. Susan Higginbotham does a fantastic job giving Mary a voice in this story . if you love History I strongly Suggest this book .. I am going to suggest this title for my book club

The beginning was a little slow, but I quickly got sucked into Nora and Mary's narrative. Hanging Mary is a well-written piece of fiction. It felt realistic and feasible. I would recommend to everyone whether or not they're a history buff, as it is a gripping story.

4.5 stars

Prior to starting this book I had never heard of Mary Surratt (the first woman executed by the U.S. government). Like most Americans I am familiar with the story of John Wilkes Booth shooting President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's theater. However I was entirely unfamiliar with the other cast of characters the U.S. government charged with conspiracy in the President's assassination.

Higginbotham creates an informative, engaging, and emotional story about Mary Surratt -- a Washington, D.C. widow who runs a boarding house visited at times by Confederate sympathizers, including Booth and others later charged in the assassination conspiracy. The tale is told through the perspective of both Mary, and one of her boarders, Nora Fitzpatrick. Readers gain a vivid sense of history, and get to know the characters through their narratives.

While the story was engaging throughout, there were times about a third of the way in where I thought to myself -- "let's get *on* with it!" However, the slow build up is needed to fully introduce and flesh out characters who will be very relevant later on in the story. Once the narrative really gets going, I didn't want it to stop. I also found myself deeply moved -- even though I knew the ending prior to starting the book. (It's historical fiction, so in this case one can't help but know the ending).

This book would make a fabulous choice for a book group as Mary Surratt's choices -- as well as her guilt or innocence -- leave much room for discussion.

I will just add the following as a closing thought. My older daughter jokingly aired the student's lament the other night at dinner, in this case about her history lessons: "When am I ever going to have to use this stuff?" I told her, while the dates, facts, and figures aren't the most important things to remember (once the test is over), the "morals of the story" are. Whether it's 1865 after the assassination of a beloved President or 2001 after a heinous attack on innocent civilians, we must remember in our grief, sorrow, and righteous anger that punishing scapegoats isn't the answer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review (I should note that while I was provided a galley, I ended up listening to the audio version of this book).

Before requesting this book on Netgalley, I was unaware that a woman was hanged in association with Lincoln's assassination. I knew that Lincoln was killed by John Wilkes Booth, of course, but I guess I just always assumed that he acted alone. Hanging Mary opened my eyes to what really happened surrounding Lincoln's assassination, however. The story is told alternately through the eyes of Mary Surratt, the owner of a boardinghouse, and Nora Fitzpatrick, one of her boarders. This change in POV does not interrupt the flow of the story; it flows seamlessly from one woman to another.

During the course of events, we learn that John Wilkes Booth, the murderer of one of America's most beloved presidents, was actually a charming, charismatic gentleman that you can't help but like. Even though you know what's eventually coming, once it is announced that he has killed the President of the United States, you almost find yourself saying, "No, Mr. Booth would NEVER do that!" Mrs. Higginbotham did an amazing job of showing how deceiving his character was, that even though he was a popular, well-liked actor, he had a chilling, murderous side to him as well.

As for Mary Surratt, she is portrayed as a matronly woman who has been wronged by men too many times. She is a very sympathetic character who, in my opinion, did not deserve to die. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that she is just acting on her motherly instincts and ends up paying the ultimate price: Her life in exchange for her child's.