I wanted to love this book. I wanted to learn more about this time frame [I only knew snatches of this bit of history]. I waited a long time to read/listen to this and when the audiobook finally became available to me [and as soon as I could squeeze it in], I was all in. Unfortunately, it was not all I hoped it to be.

This book is a real slog at times. There is little about John Randolph and a whole lot about wills and manumission and other things that I didn't understand [and plenty that I did; its not hard to see racism when it is right in front of you and there is a TON of that in history and this book covers a good chunk of it]. There is greed and selfishness and plain meanness. And a lot of the same information over and over [which is where it really slogs].

There were really good parts though - I had no idea that Ohio was as *AHEM* quite as against "free slaves" as they turned out to be and learning about that part of history was very enlightening. And learning that being free doesn't actually mean acceptance was again very eye opening [imagine being set free; 13 years pass before it truly happens, and you are then told to get out of the very state you have lived your whole life and then you must W A L K 500 miles {plus travel by boat} to a city that doesn't want you and makes no bones about it] to me and again, I spent much of this book either being totally pissed off or crying my eyes out.

I wish the book as a whole would have been more cohesive and better planned out - there was a lot in there that a common layperson is just not going to understand and that could have been written in a different way so those of us not steeped in historical law could understand, or IMO, left out. Even with the parts that were really good, it was still rather a disappointment for me overall.

I waited a long time for this audiobook and was so glad when my request was granted for a copy and I am glad that I was able to listen to this book rather than try and read read it.
Unfortunately, I think that the narration added to some of my confusion and not loving this book. The narrator has a great voice and really great enunciation and pronunciation, but he reads SO FLIPPING FAST that I ended up losing a lot of the book because of that. If you can listen to really quick narration, then this guy is for you [it is the ONLY negative I have for him and would listen to him again if not for that one issue].

Thank you to NetGalley, Gregory May, Johnny Heller - Narrator, W. W. Norton & Company, and Dreamscape Media for providing the eARC and audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My main question going into this book was why. Why does this story need to be told. After reading, I am no closer to an answer. Just didn’t do it for me, and couldn’t figure out what was supposed to be compelling here.

John Randolph was a madman alright. He owned 383 slaves. He defended the institution of slavery. Well, mostly. He manumitted all 383 slaves when he died. Or did he? When you have multiple wills, with multiple codicils, and a penchant for changing your mind on a whim while making people angry, it can be hard to tell.

Gregory May looks into the life, but also the death of John Randolph in A Madman's Will. The book feels like a historical offshoot of a true crime tome. I learned a little bit about John Randolph but a lot about manumission, how wills could be ridiculously easy to contest, and how people's belief in slavery was a much bigger sliding scale than I realized. Some people were the regular horrible racists we know and hope lose in the end. Some were against slavery but had slaves. Some just flip flopped to a maddening degree.

In the end, Randolph's will mattered because the lives of 383 people depended upon it. However, the book shows that freedom doesn't mean acceptance.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and W.W. Norton & Company.)

Gifted author…history…surprising facts…this book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Excellent history. Thanks to the publisher and author.