Reprint of the sole edition. "This is the story of a famous murder...and of the trials of John Francis Knapp and of Joseph Jenkins Knapp. It is also the story of the part Daniel Webster played in those trials. His summation in one of those trials is thought by some to be the greatest ever delivered in America.": Introduction [9].

Excerpt from Daniel Webster and the Salem Murder This is the story of a famous murder, murder most foul, as in the best it is, and of the trials of John Francis Knapp and of Joseph Jenkins Knapp. It is also the story of the part Daniel Webster played in those trials. His summation in one of those trials is thought by some to be the greatest ever delivered in America. It is not our purpose to glorify Daniel Webster, but to present a more complete analysis of the case than has yet been published. In 1891 William H. Moody, who later became a Justice of the Su preme Court of the United States, said that a much better report of an exceedingly interesting trial and one where the law settled is of almost daily application, might be prepared. We have brought to light a sizable body of material that has been undisturbed for many years in newspapers, pamphlets, letters, diaries and official records. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Includes Part 1, Number 1 & 2: Books and Pamphlets, Including Serials and Contributions to Periodicals (January - December)

"This is true crime at its most enthralling—prepare to be transported." —Terri Cheney, New York Times bestselling author of Manic The 1830 murder of wealthy slaver Joseph White shook all of Salem, Massachusetts. Soon the crime drew national attention when it was discovered that two of the conspirators came from Salem's influential Crowninshield family: a clan of millionaire shipowners, cabinet secretaries, and congressmen. A prosecution team led by famed Massachusetts senator Daniel Webster made the case even more newsworthy. Meanwhile, young Salem native Nathaniel Hawthorne—who knew several of the accused—observed and wrote. Here, using source materials not available previously, Edward J. Renehan Jr. provides a riveting narrative of the cold-blooded murder, intense investigations, scandal-strewn trials, and grim executions that dominated headlines nearly two-hundred years ago.

"A good story, well told, of a sliver of life in Richmond, a small, elite-driven capital city in the young nation's most influential state." —Publishers Weekly George Wythe clung to the mahogany banister as he inched down the staircase of his comfortable Richmond, Virginia, home. Doubled over in agony, he stumbled to the kitchen in search of help. There he found his maid, Lydia Broadnax, and his young protegé, Michael Brown, who were also writhing in distress. Hours later, when help arrived, Wythe was quick to tell anyone who would listen, "I am murdered." Over the next two weeks, as Wythe suffered a long and painful death, insults would be added to his mortal injury. I Am Murdered tells the bizarre true story of Wythe's death and the subsequent trial of his grandnephew and namesake, George Wythe Sweeney, for the crime—unquestionably the most sensational and talked-about court case of the era. Hinging on hit-and-miss forensics, the unreliability of medical autopsies, the prevalence of poisoning, race relations, slavery, and the law, Sweeney's trial serves as a window into early nineteenth-century America. Its particular focus is on Richmond, part elegant state capital and part chaotic boomtown riddled with vice, opportunism, and crime. As Wythe lay dying, his doctors insisted that he had not been poisoned, and Sweeney had the nerve to beg him for bail money. In I Am Murdered, this signer of the Declaration of Independence, mentor to Thomas Jefferson, and "Father of American Jurisprudence" finally gets the justice he deserved.