Mary Surratt was the first woman executed by the US government. Debate has raged ever since 1865 concerning the guilt of Surratt in relation to Lincoln’ s assassination.
Miller proffers a no frills approach to the story. Her rendition is a good place to begin for any reader who is new to the story and doesn’t know the basic facts.
I was curious about one fact: Surratt was buried with the hood she wore when executed, but when her daughter claimed her body for reburial in 1869, Miller, using resources, Makes no mention of the hood, when the coffin was opened for examination. This inconsistency jumped out at me.

Widow. Mother. Businesswoman. Traitor? On July 7, 1865, Mary Surrat became the first woman to be executed by the United States government. Her crime? Conspuring in the plot to assassinate President Lincoln, the vice president, the secretary of state, and General Grant. But was she truly guilty or was she the victim of a serious injustice?

I will admit I don’t remember hearing the name Mary Surrat before, but given my interest in history, I was intrigued when I saw this book. I’ve enjoyed how the author presented the facts in other books (The Borden Murders specifically) so I was curious to see what this case was all about. And I was not ready for the huge sense of injustice I would feel by the end.

The author does an excellent job of showing both sides of the case, especially the circumstances around why so many were certain Mrs. Surrat was guilty. At the same time, it is clear that some of the evidence was purely circumstantial. After so many years, no one can really know the truth of what happened. But speculating is a fun pastime!

Detailed, well-plotted, this was a highly enjoyable read for me. I would recommend this to readers with an interest in American history.

I think this was meticulously researched and not only taught me a lot but made me think. I can definitely see this being used in schools and the surrounding debate being really fascinating! Is the writing the most engaging thing, eh, I didn't feel that way up until the very end--the suspense to Surratt's death was super well done.

I am admittedly not a history buff and I had never heard of Mary Surrat before picking up this book.  Mary was convicted of being involved in the plot to assassinate President Lincoln and ended up becoming the first woman to be executed in the United States due to her supposed involvement.  The book takes information from all sorts of records from the time of her time in court.  Its definitely an interesting read and I'm not entirely sure if she really did do what they say they did or if people just decided they didn't like how she looked so they made up stories about her and ended up believing them and convincing others they were true.  You'll have to give it a read yourself to see if you come to the same conclusions or not...

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

Mary Surratt holds the dubious distinction of being the first woman to be executed by the United States for her role in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Sarah Miller, author, has presented a detailed account of her connections to the others involved in the crime, but leaves the reader with no definitive decision of Surratt's guilt or innocence. President Andrew Johnson famously said,she “kept the nest that hatched the egg." He refused to delay her hanging even though new evidence had been presented early the morning of the hanging.

Surratt, living in Maryland, was a widow, a devout Catholic, a boarding house owner, and had Southern sympathies. Her son was a known courier for the Confederate army. Several of those involved in the assassination planning and the attack on William Seward boarded with her, or visited at the boarding house with some of the known perpetrators.

The author has done extensive research on the guilt or innocence of Surratt. Surratt's trial is detailed with actual exchanges between the co-conspirators and their accusors, the military tribunal. All those accused were tried in one trial, and the attorneys representing the accused were given little to no access to information, and left with little time to prepare cases.

The author also details the inhumane conditions under which the prisoners were held. Miller used many resources including transcripts of the trial. It is left to the reader to determine Surratt's guilt or innocence. Geared for middle school readers and young adults, adults will find this to be an informative, readable account of a less-known event in history.

Hanged Mary Surratt and The Plot to Assassinate Abraham Lincoln by Sarah Miller

356 Pages
Publisher: Random House Children’s, Random House Studio
Release Date: November 8, 2022

Nonfiction, Children’s Nonfiction, Teen, Young Adult, Abraham Lincoln

Mary Surratt was the first woman to be hanged by a military tribunal. She was accused as being a conspirator to Lincoln’s assassination. Was she innocent, complacent, or guilty? There were people involved in the planning and participating in the assassination. Were the right ones prosecuted? The author does a wonderful job researching the case and the people involved. As someone familiar with the story, I learned a few nuggets of information. I was unaware that in the 1864 election, only six people voted for Abraham Lincoln in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

The book has a quick pace, the characters are well developed, and it is written as a narrative. This book is perfect for anyone interested in history, Maryland, and Abraham Lincoln.

First sentence: It was two or three o'clock in the morning when the bell of Marry Surratt's boardinghouse at 541 H Street rang "very violently."

Premise/plot: Narrative nonfiction. Sarah Miller's newest [nonfiction] book is a dream for all #lawnerds. Her book focuses on Mary Surratt--a woman charged and tried for her [alleged] involvement in the plot to assassinate President Lincoln. She was the only woman charged, but there were plenty of other men also facing trial. Though the war was over and the courts were open again, I believe, it was decided--for better or worse--to hold a military tribunal instead. The book focuses on the crime, the arrest[s], the trials, and the sentences. It was packed with information, with details. It is not a definitive narrative; Miller cannot know--no one can actually actually know whether or not she was guilty or innocent. But she can recount how it all unfolded at a very turbulent time in American history. She can discuss the legal arguments and presentations.

My thoughts: I found this one to be so thought-provoking! The story is interesting and bittersweet. Whether she is guilty or innocent, the crime--the assassination of the President--was tragic no matter how you look at it. The book asks--as many have done, I assume--if a fair trial in this circumstance could have happened. In a country so torn apart, so polarized, so weary and burdened, could Mary have received a fair trial when she was facing such serious charges? But could those accusing her have had ulterior motives? Was the evidence all circumstantial? Was there actual evidence at all? Other than the boardinghouse that connected them all...

There is no "taking sides" in a meaningful way. There are legal arguments presented, questions asked. Again, there is no way to know a hundred plus years later if she *was* guilty or if she *was* innocent. We just know that she was found guilty in this trial and sentenced to death.

The book was GREAT.

As a history buff, this book was such a great read! I got to learn so much about an event and woman that I truly only knew very basic information about. The pacing of the book was about medium for me and I would highly reccommend this book to anyone interested in American or Women's history.

WOW - what a story! So much to learn here that I never knew. This is very interesting and informative. As young students learn more about our country's history, this will be the perfect addition to their reading lists. Because so much of history has not been told widely yet, this book is sure to spark an interest to learn more. This book provides a window into an historic event that many are probably not aware happened. The author does a great job of laying out the facts and details while leaving room for the reader to draw their own conclusions. Sure to 'inspire' readers to dig deeper into hidden moments of our history.

What role did Mary Surratt really play in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln? Her role has been disputed a lot over the course of history. The fact that there were two simultaneous attempts on the president’s life, via John Wilkes Booth and Senator William H. Seward, suggests there was a conspiracy. Mary Surrat was a widow, a former enslaver, and devout catholic who ran a boardinghouse where the conspirators often met. Newspapers gave her bad rap from the start by reviling her and posting sexist comments. She was sentenced to death and refused clemency from Andrew Johnson. However, her former boarder contradicted testimonies that were given. Was Mary Surrat part of the assassination or was she given an unfair rap?

This book gives a no holds barred, at times gruesome and difficult to read, account of what happened to Abraham Lincoln and paints a sympathetic, well-researched account with relation to Mary Surrat. Miller does a great job of exploring this unsolved mystery by sifting through source materials and judicial prejudice. The author chronologically builds the conspiracy that went on as well as other key events and players. She provides a unique account that most readers will have never heard. Facts are presented objectively and presented logically. Readers interested in history, mysteries, and post-civil war events, and assassinations will want to pick this one up.

Please Note: A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are our own. No other compensation was received.

HANGED! MARY SURRATT AND THE PLOT TO ASSASSINATE ABRAHAM LINCOLN
BY: SARAH MILLER

After reading the epic book called, "Booth," written by Karen J. Fowler and another maybe lesser known work by Jennifer Chiaverini, called, "Fates and Traitors," I was interested in a much more detailed biography of alleged involvement into the plot to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln, his Vice President Andrew Johnson, Secretary of State, William Seward, and General Grant. This was very meticulously researched by Sarah Miller who is the Author of this thought provoking Historical Biography.

It tended to lean towards letting the reader decide whether or not Mary Surratt was guilty in the plot to assassinate these four men. The more that I read the more that I gained in details I wasn't already familiar with.

I thought that it was interesting to learn that Mary Surratt, who owned a boardinghouse and was a widow, a Catholic, who was the mother of John Surratt, Jr., who was also believed to have involvement in conspiring the deaths of these men in government was tried by a tribunal. John Surratt, Jr. who was in hiding was granted his Constitutional right to a jury, where his mother was denied access to that same right.

This book begins with a list of all of the participants, which I would urge the Young Adult audience this book is geared towards to spend some time memorizing. I say this because at times I was confused exactly who was who. Although, I knew who was in the Commission that was a part of the prosecution and who Mary's lawyers were.

I did come away with mixed feelings tending to challenge all of what I knew about Mary Surratt's guilt or whether she was innocent. It helps that this Author used authentic sources which she lists after the Epilogue in which chronicles John Surratt Jr.s capture. It doesn't seem fair that Mary and the others were not given a court with legal representation entitled to more than a day or a month of the prosecution's discovery in order to be prepared. One has to wonder whether the outcome would have been much different if these men and Mary were afforded their rights to due process.

One thing is for sure, and that is still after 150 years, or more later it remains a mystery as to how much, if any, did Mary Surratt actually know of the plot. Especially with the changing of accounts of at least three people involved, including President Johnson's regarding Mary's clemency. I can guarantee that this book has me rethinking everything that I thought I knew about her. It held my attention and was well written and I would recommend highly.

Publication Date: 11/08/2022

Thank you to Net Galley, Sarah Miller and Random House Children's-Random House Studio for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#Hanged!MarySurrattandthePlottoAssassinateAbrahamLincoln #SarahMiller #RandomHouseChildrensRandomHouseStudio #NetGalley

This one read more like Violet and Daisy than The Borden Murders or the Dionne Quintuplets and what I mean by that is that it fell into the trap of adding too much to the detriment of the overall story. Details for a YA audience were distracting to the overall story however I loved the author's note at the end that her research is impeccable-- ALL of the dialogue in quotes was taken from documents used in her research to create authentic and historical facts woven into the question mark of what truly happened during the most heinous nights in history with Lincoln and Seward.

I was definitely interested and had the distinction of visiting Seward's grave recently. But as with The Borden Murders, she walks the middle line, letting readers decide for themselves and I can appreciate that.

Really solid, straightforward non-fiction. No extra fluff or filler plot in place here. Just a really interesting story in history to learn about. With this written with all ages in mind it's very approachable and respectful of the material without dumbing it down. Great!

Great narrative non-fiction about the first woman to be executed by the U.S. government. It reads easily and anyone interested in the assassination of Lincoln will appreciate.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Sarah Miller is a great historical writer. She always seems to write about the subjects I'm most interested in. I'm an avid Laura Ingalls Wilder and Abraham Lincoln reader. I want to read everything about them especially around their day to day lives. So I loved "Caroline" and was excited to see she was writing a book about Mary Surratt, one of the people who were found guilty in the plot to assassinate Lincoln and was hanged for the crime. As I expect from Sarah Miller, the book was well researched and very interesting. It would probably be interesting to anyone who enjoys historical information or has a general interest in crime in the 1800s or in Abe Lincoln and his assassination in particular. I knew the story of Mary Surratt and the other co-conspirators fairly well before starting this book. However, with the information given in this book, I have realized how wrong the trial was and how much the law was misshapen and misused in this case. Mary may well have been involved in the plot but I think it equally as likely now that she was not involved. Even if she was involved does her level of involvement deserve such a death penalty? Were witnesses coerced? So much was wrong with this trial that it just makes me sad thinking on it even though we are so far removed from that point in history. I recommend this book. The only small negative is that I felt like some of the points were repeated far too often and not just in the points where they came up in the trial but sprinkled through the rest of the book. Still this book was as good as the many other book I've read by Sarah Miller.

Miller's Hanged! offers a fascinating account of the investigation and trial of Mary Surratt--a little known player in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. For one of the most significant events in American History, it's interesting that most people do not know anything about that event other than a single actor with a pistol in Ford Theater. With a smattering of direct quotes peppered throughout the historical account, this book is interesting without reading like a dry history paper so even a casual history buff can get through the pages.

Most surprisingly, Hanged! does not provide evidence to exonerate or condemn Mary Surratt for her role in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Instead, It offers an opportunity to see a time when an appallingly biased and unjust court proceeding left a smear of shame upon the American Judicial System.

Perhaps one day more people will learn about Mary Surratt and her place in history. I, for one, am glad I now do.

“Hanged!” Is the story of the arrest and trial of Mary Surratt, the first woman to be executed by the U.S. government. Her role in the assassination of President Lincoln is still being debated today which makes this read even more interesting. I can honestly say I’ve never heard about Surratt’s part in the plot to kill the President and the well-researched and cited text was incredibly informative.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m ashamed to admit I had never heard of Mary Surratt’s involvement in the plan to execute President Lincoln. This historical non-fiction story was captivating and well researched.

Definitely recommend.

This is a book about Mary Surratt who was involved in the Lincoln Assassination plot. Which is something I didn't know. None of my history teachers got into details about the Lincoln Assassination beyond John Wikes Booth.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Studio for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review which I will be posting on Goodreads and Twitter.

On the 14th of April 1865, the 16th United States’ president, Abraham Lincoln, was shot in the head at Ford’s Theatre in front of a full room of theatre goers. His killer, ironically a famous actor, hurtled from the theatre box onto the stage and made his escape, managing to evade capture for weeks until he was apprehended and accidentally killed before being put in front of a jury. John Wilkes Booth will go down in history as the main orchestrator, but he also had many co-conspirators, the most controversial of them being the one woman named Mary Surratt.

Hanged! is a historical non-fiction story of the first woman to ever be executed by the United States federal government after being convicted for being involved in the conspiracy to assasinate the president. Surratt was the owner of the boardinghouse that Booth and his co-conspirators were believed to have frequented to plan their plot; a woman who succeeding president Andrew Johnson called the one who “kept the nest the hatched the egg”. The mystery of Mary Surratt has interested and divided the public since the time of her trial, and while we will never get a definitive answer, the book is a solid addition to the debate of how complicit this woman was and whether she should be considered a co-conspirator at all.

While Mary Surratt is at the centre of the book, it is necessary to look at the other people involved. The author chronologically builds the conspiracy around her, introducing the other key players and a timeline is established of the investigation following the president’s assasination. The omnipresent narrator voice presents the objective facts - it neither paints the characters in sympathy nor damnation. The audience is not forced to think either way, we are just left to ponder the case.

The second half of the book largely focuses on the trial of the conspirators. Even though history has already revealed the final outcome of the trial, we see all the testimonies both against and in Surratt’s favour relayed as if you are sitting in the courtroom watching in real time. You watch piece by piece how her defense falls to pieces, despite the best attempts of her legal counsel. We follow the swift execution order and rejection of the clemency deal, right up to the moment of her hanging and the reactions years afterwards.

This is very well-researched and Sarah Miller does an excellent job of critically analysing her sources: considering who said it, their biases, what information was given voluntary vs coerced, and what was the motivations for why and when they spoke. Photos and sketches of the key players, the infamous boarding house, the box where President Lincoln was shot, the layout of the courtroom, and photos from the day of the hanging are also included to immerse you further into the time period.

This controversial case has had historians debating for years about Mary Surratt’s involvement in one of America’s biggest historical events, and I believe Miller’s Hanged! is a worthwhile addition to this unsolved mystery.

If history, museums, assassinations, and famous mystery cases interest you, I would definitely recommend.