About this item
In The Assassin's Accomplice, historian Kate Clifford Larson tells the gripping story of Mary Surratt, a little-known participant in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln, and the first woman ever to be executed by the federal government of the United States. Surratt, a Confederate sympathizer, ran the boarding house in Washington where the conspirators-including her rebel son, John Surratt-met to plan the assassination. When a military tribunal convicted her for her crimes and sentenced her to death, five of the nine commissioners petitioned President Andrew Johnson to show mercy on Surratt because of her sex and age. Unmoved, Johnson refused-Surratt, he said, "kept the nest that hatched the egg." Set against the backdrop of the Civil War, The Assassin's Accomplice tells the intricate story of the Lincoln conspiracy through the eyes of its only female participant. Based on long-lost interviews, confessions, and court testimony, the text explores how Mary's actions defied nineteenth-century norms of femininity, piety, and motherhood, leaving her vulnerable to deadly punishment historically reserved for men. A riveting narrative account of sex, espionage, and murder cloaked in the enchantments of Southern womanhood, The Assassin's Accomplice offers a fresh perspective on America's most famous murder.
About the Author
Kate Clifford Larson is a bestselling author of critically acclaimed and award winning biographies including: Walk With Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer, which tells the remarkable story of one of America's most important civil rights leaders of the 20th century; Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter; and Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero. A specialist in 19th and 20th century U.S. Women's and African American History, Larson is also an award-winning consultant whose work includes feature film scripts - most recently Focus Features' Harriet starring Cynthia Erivo - documentaries, museum exhibits, and public history initiatives including three Harriet Tubman state and national historical parks, and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway and All-American Road. She is frequently interviewed for national and international radio programs and media outlets and has appeared on national and international television broadcasts including BBC, PBS, and C-Span, cable networks, CBS Sunday Morning, and WGBH. Larson is currently a Brandeis Women's Studies Research Center Visiting Scholar. With two degrees from Simmons University, an MBA from Northeastern University, and a Doctorate in American History from the University of New Hampshire, Larson has nurtured a passion for researching and writing about American women's lives. She relishes the challenges of teasing out life stories from voices that have long been silenced. "I feel strongly that we must reconnect with the women who helped build and shape this country," Larson recently wrote, "and by putting women at the center of the story, the world looks very different - more complex, interesting, and vibrant." See the Greater Boston show featuring Adam Reilly's interview with Larson on WGBH https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=gAjyoxCyhKASee the CBS Sunday Morning Show featuring Larson talking about Harriet Tubman! https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tracing-the-remarkable-lifes-path-of-harriet-tubman/. Watch Kate Clifford Larson's interview about Rosemary Kennedy with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Eileen McNamara at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Forum on C-Span Book TV: http://www.c-span.org/video/? 328843-1/kate-clifford-larson-rosemary. And check out her website at www.katecliffordlarson.com for more information about her books, awards, reviews, and upcoming events, and her special website dedicated to Harriet Tubman at www.harriettubmanbiography.com Author photos by (c) Susan Wilson www.susanwilsonphoto.com
