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I Am Murdered: George Wythe, Thomas Jefferson, and the Killing That Shocked a New Nation
"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.
—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.
374 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
December 18, 2023
Bruce Chadwick creates a unique approach to the genre of US History by blending murder-mystery with that of law, medicine, and the Founding Fathers. With distinct backgrounds of George Wythe and his relationship with both a budding new nation and that of his fellow Founders, a good portion of the book appropriately follows the background and debauchery of his poisonous nephew, George Sweeney. While I Am Murdered starts off with excitement and recounts the potential poisoning of Wythe, it fails in keeping that same page-turning atmosphere about halfway through. Here, the focus turns (quite relevantly) to a vast history of autopsies and forensics, the uses and effects that arsenic and other poisons have had throughout the course of time, and groundbreaking trials and laws of early Virginia—specifically those pertaining to African Americans, who would play a major role leading up to the trial.
Make no mistake, this has all of the drama leading up to a thrilling trial, one fought by the leading lawyers of the age—while doctors and other professionals play a huge role with their educated guesses, misjudgments, and respective relationships to Wythe. However, the excitement of the trial itself is disappointingly given a few pages at the end—with no focus on the minutes, exact arguments heard for and against, nor how the jury came up with their eventual verdict. Nevertheless, Chadwick's dedicated research to both the law and history of the times is impressive, with backgrounds of Wythe's black servants, William Wirt and Edmund Randolph (lawyers for the defense), as well as the evidence put forth against Sweeney that surely would lead to a guilty verdict:
Mayor DuVal told authorities that he had inspected the outbuildings and the grounds of Wythe's home and found what he believed to be arsenic powder in the outhouse and on a wheelbarrow in the smokehouse. DuVal said that he used a pin to spread the powder on the wheelbarrow and looked at it closely; he was certain it was arsenic. A man named Nelson Abbott said that the week before the judge was poisoned, he had let Abbott use his workshop. Abbott returned on the twenty-seventh and found what he said was arsenic powder on an axe and a yellowish sulfuric coloring on the hammer. Both were later cleaned. Two slaves who worked for Abbott said they had actually seen Sweeney use the hammer to crush a white substance into powder on the side of the axe. When the substance was crushed into fine powder, Sweeney had brushed it into a piece of white paper, folded it, and put it in his pocket.
"Do you know what I am doing?" Sweeney had asked the slaves. They told him they assumed that he was making ratsbane because there was a rat problem at the judge's house. Sweeney then walked away, leaving the axe and the hammer stained. The slaves had thought nothing of it and did not mention the incident to anyone until after the chancellor died and the investigation heated up.
The book offers an exciting look at a murder that was indeed shocking for the ages and had monumental effects for all the parties involved—and as is typical, especially for the careers of the lawyers involved. While happily the whole of the title stays true to the end, Chadwick perhaps misses out on the chance of chronicling a bit more information pertaining to George Wythe's life from childhood up until his signing of the Declaration. At times overly-descriptive and slow, this was truly a fascinating look into a dark and shocking crime of the Jeffersonian era.
Make no mistake, this has all of the drama leading up to a thrilling trial, one fought by the leading lawyers of the age—while doctors and other professionals play a huge role with their educated guesses, misjudgments, and respective relationships to Wythe. However, the excitement of the trial itself is disappointingly given a few pages at the end—with no focus on the minutes, exact arguments heard for and against, nor how the jury came up with their eventual verdict. Nevertheless, Chadwick's dedicated research to both the law and history of the times is impressive, with backgrounds of Wythe's black servants, William Wirt and Edmund Randolph (lawyers for the defense), as well as the evidence put forth against Sweeney that surely would lead to a guilty verdict:
Mayor DuVal told authorities that he had inspected the outbuildings and the grounds of Wythe's home and found what he believed to be arsenic powder in the outhouse and on a wheelbarrow in the smokehouse. DuVal said that he used a pin to spread the powder on the wheelbarrow and looked at it closely; he was certain it was arsenic. A man named Nelson Abbott said that the week before the judge was poisoned, he had let Abbott use his workshop. Abbott returned on the twenty-seventh and found what he said was arsenic powder on an axe and a yellowish sulfuric coloring on the hammer. Both were later cleaned. Two slaves who worked for Abbott said they had actually seen Sweeney use the hammer to crush a white substance into powder on the side of the axe. When the substance was crushed into fine powder, Sweeney had brushed it into a piece of white paper, folded it, and put it in his pocket.
"Do you know what I am doing?" Sweeney had asked the slaves. They told him they assumed that he was making ratsbane because there was a rat problem at the judge's house. Sweeney then walked away, leaving the axe and the hammer stained. The slaves had thought nothing of it and did not mention the incident to anyone until after the chancellor died and the investigation heated up.
The book offers an exciting look at a murder that was indeed shocking for the ages and had monumental effects for all the parties involved—and as is typical, especially for the careers of the lawyers involved. While happily the whole of the title stays true to the end, Chadwick perhaps misses out on the chance of chronicling a bit more information pertaining to George Wythe's life from childhood up until his signing of the Declaration. At times overly-descriptive and slow, this was truly a fascinating look into a dark and shocking crime of the Jeffersonian era.
July 22, 2012
My word, this book was all over the place, with constant repetition of the same facts, disorganized writing and tons of extraneous filler information that took over from the central story. I'm giving it 2 stars because there were parts that were interesting and relevant, and because I finished the darn thing.
I love me some historical true crime, but I couldn't recommend this to anyone. And what a shame too, because I know there's a good story in the mysterious death of George Wythe-- it's just not to be found in the pages of this particular book.
This would have received a much higher rating (3-4 stars) had the writer organized the story in a coherent way.
I love me some historical true crime, but I couldn't recommend this to anyone. And what a shame too, because I know there's a good story in the mysterious death of George Wythe-- it's just not to be found in the pages of this particular book.
This would have received a much higher rating (3-4 stars) had the writer organized the story in a coherent way.
July 27, 2009
I thought the first part dragged on and on. It was redundant at times. I understand the author's reasoning for including the material; a background was needed but it was a bit too much. I found the reading fascinating but sometimes the author got off the subject and gave us very little information about the trial itself and loads about the history of autopsies and poisonings (which was interesting but not always relevant.).
September 12, 2009
A great story poorly told. It was repetitive and the relationships between Wythe and the other founding fathers were, for the most part, unimportant to the story.
December 30, 2016
Who knows George Wythe raise your hand?
* silence
No takers? Very well. George Wythe was a lawyer and an expert in law. Anytime someone posed a legal question to George Washington his answer was "Go ask George Wythe." He trained Jefferson, Henry Clay, John Marshall as well as a host of other men of law that went into various local, state and federal positions. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (one of the 5 from the state of Virginia). He was a respected teacher who's moot courts were copied and are still used today in law schools. Oh yeah, one more thing....HE WAS MURDERED! (duh, duh, duh)
This book looks at an event in Richmond, VA that stunned a nation. The Great-Grand Nephew of George Wythe poisoned him with arsenic (in doing so he killed Michael Brown and nearly the maid). Wanna know more? Then read the book. But let me tell you why I gave it 2 stars.
As the book went on I liked it less and less. Too much frivolous detail as space filler. I think that this book could have been edited down 30 pages (its a short book to begin with). Or it would have made an interesting series of articles. I grew tired of the build up to the trial with page upon page of the history of poisoning or the extended mini-bios of the two defense lawyers or the three doctors. In the end, after all that build up the book was over.
I'll keep it in my collection just because he was a signer but I really doubt I will re-read it.
* silence
No takers? Very well. George Wythe was a lawyer and an expert in law. Anytime someone posed a legal question to George Washington his answer was "Go ask George Wythe." He trained Jefferson, Henry Clay, John Marshall as well as a host of other men of law that went into various local, state and federal positions. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (one of the 5 from the state of Virginia). He was a respected teacher who's moot courts were copied and are still used today in law schools. Oh yeah, one more thing....HE WAS MURDERED! (duh, duh, duh)
This book looks at an event in Richmond, VA that stunned a nation. The Great-Grand Nephew of George Wythe poisoned him with arsenic (in doing so he killed Michael Brown and nearly the maid). Wanna know more? Then read the book. But let me tell you why I gave it 2 stars.
As the book went on I liked it less and less. Too much frivolous detail as space filler. I think that this book could have been edited down 30 pages (its a short book to begin with). Or it would have made an interesting series of articles. I grew tired of the build up to the trial with page upon page of the history of poisoning or the extended mini-bios of the two defense lawyers or the three doctors. In the end, after all that build up the book was over.
I'll keep it in my collection just because he was a signer but I really doubt I will re-read it.
April 24, 2009
This is exactly the kind of thing I enjoy reading. I love learning about real-life events, people, and what life was like in other times/places. This book explores the murder of George Wythe, one of the founding fathers, and the unbelievable outcome of the trial of his murderer, his grand nephew. It also gave fascinating history lessons on autopsies, arsenic poisoning, medical knowledge at the time, the founding fathers, the legal system of the time, and life in a young America in the early 1800s. It also covered the history of Virginia, but not just about the laws that were passed and major events, but about how everyday Virginians lived then. This was particularly interesting to me.
One negative about this book is that these history lessons sometimes seemed out of place and extraneous. For example, reading about arsenic poisoning in ancient Rome and Egypt provided an intriguing background, but it didn't have much bearing on or relation to the murder in the book. Despite this, I enjoyed learning about these topics I didn't know much about. Also, some concepts and ideas were used several times in different places, occasionally using the same sentences or wording.
Another thing that stood out to me was how human nature never changes. I sometimes catch myself thinking that life in previous times was simpler, safer, and more civilized. This book proves that isn't the case. Many of the stories in this book could easily be taken right out of today's headlines.
One negative about this book is that these history lessons sometimes seemed out of place and extraneous. For example, reading about arsenic poisoning in ancient Rome and Egypt provided an intriguing background, but it didn't have much bearing on or relation to the murder in the book. Despite this, I enjoyed learning about these topics I didn't know much about. Also, some concepts and ideas were used several times in different places, occasionally using the same sentences or wording.
Another thing that stood out to me was how human nature never changes. I sometimes catch myself thinking that life in previous times was simpler, safer, and more civilized. This book proves that isn't the case. Many of the stories in this book could easily be taken right out of today's headlines.
January 26, 2013
This was sadly not as good as I was hoping. While the story is fascinating-- Founding Father! Murdered by his own nephew! Discussion of the current state of forensics! HISTORICAL TRUE CRIME!-- the execution is not. The book, while comprehensive and intelligent, unfortunately feels rather scattered, with frequent and extensive digressions. Due to this... narrative confusion I found it very difficult to get through, though the prose was accessible and even entertaining at times.
I do want to say that the story itself is a really good one, and once it finally gets into the actual nuances of the trial and why the young man eventually got away scot free, it becomes a much better read. Unfortunately, it drags a bit too much for me to recommend it.
Also, some of you who follow me on Livejournal and/or Dreamwidth may be thinking that the author's name sounds familiar. You aren't wrong. Trigger warnings for rape and some really WTF rape apology logic at that link.
I do want to say that the story itself is a really good one, and once it finally gets into the actual nuances of the trial and why the young man eventually got away scot free, it becomes a much better read. Unfortunately, it drags a bit too much for me to recommend it.
Also, some of you who follow me on Livejournal and/or Dreamwidth may be thinking that the author's name sounds familiar. You aren't wrong. Trigger warnings for rape and some really WTF rape apology logic at that link.
July 14, 2009
If you are into history this is a great book. There are a lot of places in this book where the writer tells you about how life was back then, and some of the history of when certain things started...like arsenic poisoning. This book also tells a lot about how and where early American doctors became doctors. It really is pretty interesting, and goes way beyond just the murder of George Wythe.
January 1, 2016
Loaded with information about the society (and some politics) of early national Virginia and to some extent the USA and Atlantic worlds. I think the pacing is somewhat off, but overall it worked for me.
Of course, as a professional historian I read a lot of dry-as-dust monographs, so your mileage may vary!
Of course, as a professional historian I read a lot of dry-as-dust monographs, so your mileage may vary!
June 21, 2023
Given the bookmark it would appear that it was at Brattleboro Books some years ago that I picked up a copy of Bruce Chadwick’s I Am Murdered: George Wythe, Thomas Jefferson, and the Killing that Shocked a New Nation. I think I bought it because honestly, how can you pass up a book titled “I Am Murdered,” especially when it’s just a few dollars? Also I enjoy a good historical crime book.
This book did not quite follow the plot twists and turns I’ve apparently come to expect even from nonfiction–the historical events that get picked to be turned into this type of popular history book are apparently the more novelesque ones–in that the ‘shocking twists’ involved seemed mostly to be every conceivable party except the defense lawyers bungling an open-and-shut case. Nothing got pulled out of the bag at the last minute; it just bungled, and there’s absolutely no reason to believe that the surprising verdict was anything other than a colossal cock-up on the part of numerous parties, from the complacently over-respected medical doctors to the fucked-up laws of Virginia, which, in a twist of irony that mostly just makes me as a reader make a sort of “ugh” face, the murder victim in question was largely responsible for having written.
The real short version here is that George Wythe, a highly respected judge and the U.S.’s first law professor, was poisoned by his gambling addict grandson, along with two other members of his household–Michael Brown, a free Black teenager who was studying with him and who died a week after being poisoned, and Lydia Broadnax, the cook, a formerly enslaved free Black woman who survived the poisoning, and who witnessed the grandson slip something into the coffee but whose testimony was inadmissible in court due to her race. As a narrative, it’s a little thin.
The book, while not very long, is therefore filled out with a bunch of historical context, covering Judge Wythe’s entire biography, a careful accounting of his prodigious social network, and the decline of Williamsburg and the rise of Richmond as Virginia’s capital cities before and after the Revolutionary War. I thought the history of these two cities over a few decades was really the most interesting part of the book, with the life and death of George Wythe providing an interesting skeleton to build such an account around. We learn about boomtown Richmond’s out-of-control gambling culture, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s attempt to update its laws from English law to a new American body of law, the trials and tribulations of the College of William and Mary, and an interesting foray into the state of the medical field and medical training in the early 1800s. It’s a little all over the place–and there’s a distinctly moderate political sensibility to the whole thing, resulting in a few side-eyes on my part–but overall it’s an intriguing look into a dramatic news story at a very particular time and place.
Originally posted at Arsenic and an old case.
This book did not quite follow the plot twists and turns I’ve apparently come to expect even from nonfiction–the historical events that get picked to be turned into this type of popular history book are apparently the more novelesque ones–in that the ‘shocking twists’ involved seemed mostly to be every conceivable party except the defense lawyers bungling an open-and-shut case. Nothing got pulled out of the bag at the last minute; it just bungled, and there’s absolutely no reason to believe that the surprising verdict was anything other than a colossal cock-up on the part of numerous parties, from the complacently over-respected medical doctors to the fucked-up laws of Virginia, which, in a twist of irony that mostly just makes me as a reader make a sort of “ugh” face, the murder victim in question was largely responsible for having written.
The real short version here is that George Wythe, a highly respected judge and the U.S.’s first law professor, was poisoned by his gambling addict grandson, along with two other members of his household–Michael Brown, a free Black teenager who was studying with him and who died a week after being poisoned, and Lydia Broadnax, the cook, a formerly enslaved free Black woman who survived the poisoning, and who witnessed the grandson slip something into the coffee but whose testimony was inadmissible in court due to her race. As a narrative, it’s a little thin.
The book, while not very long, is therefore filled out with a bunch of historical context, covering Judge Wythe’s entire biography, a careful accounting of his prodigious social network, and the decline of Williamsburg and the rise of Richmond as Virginia’s capital cities before and after the Revolutionary War. I thought the history of these two cities over a few decades was really the most interesting part of the book, with the life and death of George Wythe providing an interesting skeleton to build such an account around. We learn about boomtown Richmond’s out-of-control gambling culture, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s attempt to update its laws from English law to a new American body of law, the trials and tribulations of the College of William and Mary, and an interesting foray into the state of the medical field and medical training in the early 1800s. It’s a little all over the place–and there’s a distinctly moderate political sensibility to the whole thing, resulting in a few side-eyes on my part–but overall it’s an intriguing look into a dramatic news story at a very particular time and place.
Originally posted at Arsenic and an old case.
February 27, 2017
A true historical murder mystery! This narrative of how the venerated George Wythe was poisoned by his no-good nephew is a cliff-hanger, even though we start the book knowing that he did it! Bruce Chadwick has included lots of background on all the principals, the laws of Virginia in the early 1800s, and medicine. George Wythe was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and a teacher of Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and many others. He was also beloved by nearly everyone who knew him. Even cranky John Adams liked him. His life is interesting because of his accomplishments and personality, but the story of how he died enters into the realm of a Perry Mason courtroom drama. There were times when the suspense was building and I was frustrated by too much background information. I felt that I did not need to know about every case of arsenic poisoning over thousands of years when I really wanted to know what would happen next in the murder trial. However, overall I recommend this book to anyone interested in early American history.
May 15, 2016
How could I resist a title like "I Am Murdered"? And then his doctors don't believe him. But he showed them. He died. And then they had the first "trial of the century."
**********************************************************************
A very thorough job by the author. Too thorough on some subjects. He just went on and on. Did he have a page/word limit that he had to hit? Otherwise, his editor wasn't doing his/her job.
A fascinating story about the murder of George Wythe by his nephew who had succumbed to the gambling bug. Wythe was friend and mentor to many of the founding fathers. He was one of them. He told Thomas Jefferson what to put in the Declaration of Independence. Taught at William and Mary. When the capital moved to Richmond he moved with it. George Wythe Sweeney was a troublesome nephew and Wythe thought he could mentor him, as he had Jefferson, James Monroe and Henry Clay. But Sweeney liked the fancy life in Richmond and had to find ways to support his bad habits. Unfortunately, he decided to do it the easy way by ripping off the old man, who was 80 years old by this time. Wythe didn't really appreciate this too much. And decided to cut him out of the will. Wythe is suddenly violently ill, along with his cook and a young man who was also living with the judge. He tells his doctors that he has been poisoned and that they will need to do an autopsy on him. And he gets his lawyer in to change his will, cutting the miscreant out.
The information about the judge was fine. And I found the information about life in Richmond in 1806 pretty interesting. In the 1780s apparently the slaves of Virginia who had been hired to work in the city had a certain amount of freedom. I had no idea. Well, that was too good to last. The slaves thought it would lead to freedom eventually. That's what the Virginians became afraid of, and revolts had been planned. And a certain amount of the information about arsenic poisoning was good but he just went on too long. Even I had to start skimming, and I almost never skim. And also too much information about autopsies and what the doctors did and what they should have done.
I actually had more interest in the trial, of which we got short shrift. Of course, many of the things the prosecution wanted to bring up couldn't be because witnesses were slaves or freed blacks and the law forbade blacks testifying against whites. And guess who wrote that law, or at least didn't try to liberalize the law when Virginia became a state. Wythe, Monroe and Jefferson modernized the laws and the legislature voted on them. So if they had tried to liberalize the law it might not have passed.
I really thought this was a ★★★★ book but I became so irritated with the author and TMI that I demoted him a ★.
**********************************************************************
A very thorough job by the author. Too thorough on some subjects. He just went on and on. Did he have a page/word limit that he had to hit? Otherwise, his editor wasn't doing his/her job.
A fascinating story about the murder of George Wythe by his nephew who had succumbed to the gambling bug. Wythe was friend and mentor to many of the founding fathers. He was one of them. He told Thomas Jefferson what to put in the Declaration of Independence. Taught at William and Mary. When the capital moved to Richmond he moved with it. George Wythe Sweeney was a troublesome nephew and Wythe thought he could mentor him, as he had Jefferson, James Monroe and Henry Clay. But Sweeney liked the fancy life in Richmond and had to find ways to support his bad habits. Unfortunately, he decided to do it the easy way by ripping off the old man, who was 80 years old by this time. Wythe didn't really appreciate this too much. And decided to cut him out of the will. Wythe is suddenly violently ill, along with his cook and a young man who was also living with the judge. He tells his doctors that he has been poisoned and that they will need to do an autopsy on him. And he gets his lawyer in to change his will, cutting the miscreant out.
The information about the judge was fine. And I found the information about life in Richmond in 1806 pretty interesting. In the 1780s apparently the slaves of Virginia who had been hired to work in the city had a certain amount of freedom. I had no idea. Well, that was too good to last. The slaves thought it would lead to freedom eventually. That's what the Virginians became afraid of, and revolts had been planned. And a certain amount of the information about arsenic poisoning was good but he just went on too long. Even I had to start skimming, and I almost never skim. And also too much information about autopsies and what the doctors did and what they should have done.
I actually had more interest in the trial, of which we got short shrift. Of course, many of the things the prosecution wanted to bring up couldn't be because witnesses were slaves or freed blacks and the law forbade blacks testifying against whites. And guess who wrote that law, or at least didn't try to liberalize the law when Virginia became a state. Wythe, Monroe and Jefferson modernized the laws and the legislature voted on them. So if they had tried to liberalize the law it might not have passed.
I really thought this was a ★★★★ book but I became so irritated with the author and TMI that I demoted him a ★.
January 30, 2012
Interesting story, or more a clarification of the 1806 "murder" of the 1st Professor of law in the US, George Wythe. Wythe was an elderly man, 80, when he was purportedly poisoned by his nephew. The case was a shocker for the time; a signer of the Declaration of Independence, educator of men like Thomas Jefferson, poisoned by his blood relative for money. To only tell the story of this case, which is interesting, would fill only about 100 pages, so there is a lot of padding in the book, to bring it just under 250 pages. The padding is not bad; Richmond, VA at the time of the late 1700/ early 1800s, history of various people poisoned, law in the the U.S. regarding African Americans in "White" trials, history of various doctors who did Wythe's autopsy (botched), and a slight biography of Wythe himself. Sometimes it is relevant, interesting and then sometimes it feels like just a listing of things that happened, paragraph by paragraph. Take the history of various people poisoned in history section; it goes paragraph after paragraph, from Pharaohs to Kings, being poisoned for power. It borders on silly when Chadwick, I guess in an effort to add ONE MORE paragraph, adds the plays of Shakespeare as an example of poisoning. Okay...why and how is this relevant to an 1806 murder? So yes, you do realize it is padding to make a book at time, but overall I would say worth a check out at the library if the subject interests you.
July 25, 2009
Unless you live in Virginia or are exceptionally familiar with early American law or politics, George Wythe probably isn't a name that rings many bells. Yet he was a gifted lawyer, teacher, and jurist who changed the way lawyers were taught; tutored some of the best legal and political minds in U.S. government; and deeply influenced our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. He also died under suspicious circumstances.
Chadwick puts a lot of energy into providing the historical, legal, and social context for the investigation into George Wythe's death. While the background is interesting, it often distracts and meanders more than strictly necessary to make his points. In other words, while some of the asides are interesting in and of themselves, they can cause readers to lose the thread of the main story.
A great many ironies collide to make what should be an "open and shut" case into a travesty of justice, but the evaluation of this case reminds us that legal and just aren't necessarily the same thing, that people will do things for their careers that are contrary to friendship, and that experts egos can get in the way of professionalism. Useful points, but they could be better presented.
Chadwick puts a lot of energy into providing the historical, legal, and social context for the investigation into George Wythe's death. While the background is interesting, it often distracts and meanders more than strictly necessary to make his points. In other words, while some of the asides are interesting in and of themselves, they can cause readers to lose the thread of the main story.
A great many ironies collide to make what should be an "open and shut" case into a travesty of justice, but the evaluation of this case reminds us that legal and just aren't necessarily the same thing, that people will do things for their careers that are contrary to friendship, and that experts egos can get in the way of professionalism. Useful points, but they could be better presented.
August 22, 2009
The topic of this book is very interesting, especially for those interested in Virginia history. The author provides a lot of information about Wythe and his relationship with other well-known Virginians, particularly Thomas Jefferson. Unfortunately, it was not very well-written. Much of it seemed repetitive, out of place, or irrelevant. The author provided some detailed profiles of prominent Virginians and discussed a really fascinating crime, and this book would have been great if it had been edited a little better.
July 29, 2011
I couldn't even finish this book. It has all the things I'm interested in - colonial and early Virginia history, poisoning, a crazy trial - this book had amazing promise, but what a failure!!! The author is a great researcher and had a lot of fascinating things to add, but where is the editing?? It went everywhere and I could barely make it to halfway before skimming through the last part to see the end which already had been given away earlier anyway. The ending was slapped on. This could have been a great non-fiction bestseller, but it was put together like crap. What a shame!!!!
Read
February 13, 2009The murder of George Wythe, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence shocked the new nation. Even more disturbing were the laws of the new nation, formulated mainly by Wythe that set his murderer free. This is a well written study of the colonial history of Richmond and Williamsburg, as well as the establishment of law in the young country. (Tess A., Reader's Services)
July 3, 2009
It wouldn.t matter if this book was written in pig l;atin and a confusing mess. The story is that good. I was pleasantly surprised that their was a piece of US history involving so many central characters to the birth of America that I knew nothing about. A MUST READ.
July 21, 2016
"Long story short........" is not happening here, but Chadwick is an entertaining historian writing about an interesting aspect of history. I recommend.
October 17, 2020
*spoilers below - I did not hide the review because the major spoiler is well...not a spoiler.*
This book...I'm trying to think of how to describe it...well, this book infuriated me. Not the writing, which was excellent and well-researched, but the reasons I'm certain the author felt compelled to tell this story.
George Wythe was an American patriot, friend and mentor to Thomas Jefferson and others, highly respected for his incredible legal mind. In 1806, his scheming, conniving, evil grandnephew murdered him with arsenic poisoning. It was a cut-and-dried case. The grandnephew, ironically named for his great uncle, George Wythe Sweeney, should have been tried, convicted, and hanged.
Should have been is the operative phrase here. He was not. Thanks to a bungled autopsy by three of Virginia's most prominent physicians and an idiotic, idiotic, idiotic law that forbade the chief witness against Sweeney from testifying, he was acquitted.
I knew from reading the back cover of this book that Sweeney was not convicted before I started reading, because the words "[Wythe]...finally gets the justice he deserved" were in the synopsis. So, it's not really a spoiler.
If you love colonial American history as I do, read the book. It gets dry in places where the author explains some of the medical goings-on, but the story is extremely well told and worth knowing. And then, like me, be angry that the judicial system that Wythe served and honored for so many years did not serve him well in the end. Although, George Wythe would have probably maintained that with the evidence presented against his grandnephew, it was only right that the jury did not convict him of the murder he so obviously committed.
This book...I'm trying to think of how to describe it...well, this book infuriated me. Not the writing, which was excellent and well-researched, but the reasons I'm certain the author felt compelled to tell this story.
George Wythe was an American patriot, friend and mentor to Thomas Jefferson and others, highly respected for his incredible legal mind. In 1806, his scheming, conniving, evil grandnephew murdered him with arsenic poisoning. It was a cut-and-dried case. The grandnephew, ironically named for his great uncle, George Wythe Sweeney, should have been tried, convicted, and hanged.
Should have been is the operative phrase here. He was not. Thanks to a bungled autopsy by three of Virginia's most prominent physicians and an idiotic, idiotic, idiotic law that forbade the chief witness against Sweeney from testifying, he was acquitted.
I knew from reading the back cover of this book that Sweeney was not convicted before I started reading, because the words "[Wythe]...finally gets the justice he deserved" were in the synopsis. So, it's not really a spoiler.
If you love colonial American history as I do, read the book. It gets dry in places where the author explains some of the medical goings-on, but the story is extremely well told and worth knowing. And then, like me, be angry that the judicial system that Wythe served and honored for so many years did not serve him well in the end. Although, George Wythe would have probably maintained that with the evidence presented against his grandnephew, it was only right that the jury did not convict him of the murder he so obviously committed.
December 27, 2023
This book, while impressively researched, drew on and on while I was reading it. There were so many historical facts to the point it was too much. The author often would go so far in depth on a topic that I struggled to figure out how it even related to the subject matter of the book. For example, in one chapter the author went from discussing a possible way Wythe died, to the complete history of autopsies dating back to 131 AD, the controversy of people stealing dead bodies from cemeteries, the history of medical doctors in the US, the complete history of arsenic poisonings across the globe (dating back to 4500 BC), and wartime usage of arsenic. Those are just the topics not related to this particular case, much more was in the chapter itself (chapter 14). Most chapters were like this, getting completely off topic so the author could dive into the complete known history about a topic or person that only vaguely, if all, related to the case of Wythe. Very slow read as well, chapters are long due to these spirals the author does. While I learned a lot from this book on many many different subjects, it felt like very little of the actual book was about the case. There is also a lot of repetition throughout it. This felt like an attempt to take a short story about a possible murder and create something long enough that could be a book by adding in literally any detail the author could find on any topic mentioned. 3 stars for the effort of the research, lost 2 for the lack of actual story/relevance to the subject.
April 26, 2025
It took two weeks to admit I wasted my time on this. I gave up last night.
The author researched the shit out of this, I'll give him that. If there is anything - anything! - you need to know about George Wythe, Thomas Jefferson, or any of the physicians, judges, or attorneys involved in the murder detailed herein, or about 1806 Richmond, Virginia, it's here.
But the first chapter tells whodunnit, how they dunnit, and why they dunnit. After that, most of the book is biographical filler about (see above) everyone involved.
Back in the 1960s, John Lennon was in a film called "How I Won the War" and it was his presence in the film that got people to go see it; if he hadn't been John Lennon, his name would have been listed just above "and a cast of thousands." And so Thomas Jefferson is in the subhead of the title only because he's really famous. He had nothing to do with the murder. He didn't attend the funeral and wasn't involved with the trial. He knew the victim really well, but that's his only connection.
Don't waste your time.
The author researched the shit out of this, I'll give him that. If there is anything - anything! - you need to know about George Wythe, Thomas Jefferson, or any of the physicians, judges, or attorneys involved in the murder detailed herein, or about 1806 Richmond, Virginia, it's here.
But the first chapter tells whodunnit, how they dunnit, and why they dunnit. After that, most of the book is biographical filler about (see above) everyone involved.
Back in the 1960s, John Lennon was in a film called "How I Won the War" and it was his presence in the film that got people to go see it; if he hadn't been John Lennon, his name would have been listed just above "and a cast of thousands." And so Thomas Jefferson is in the subhead of the title only because he's really famous. He had nothing to do with the murder. He didn't attend the funeral and wasn't involved with the trial. He knew the victim really well, but that's his only connection.
Don't waste your time.
April 9, 2021
Horrendous tedium. This is a story worth telling wrapped in a book BADLY in need of an editor. It could/should have been told in half as many pages if the redundancies and unnecessary padding had been eliminated, but since it wasn't a large book even in its padded state, I suppose that is why the author and publisher let all the chaff remain. I lost count of the number of times I asked myself, "Didn't I read this exact same information worded in a slightly different way just two pages back?" And the author felt a VERY unnecessary urge to reintroduce nearly every character in overdone detail at each change of chapter as though he expected people to pick up the book and open it at random, and thus needed a rehash of every previous chapter's life history. It could have been so good and so original, but unfortunately it was wholly unimpressive.
October 23, 2022
The author argues that George Wythe was poisoned by his nephew and that his murderer got away with it. There is a lot more to the story of the trial and subsequent acquittal than is told here, however. Readers should not rely exclusively on this book for the history of Wythe's death.
Having said that, it is a good and well-researched book. Oddly, the author writes much more about the context and background (and general histories of such things as arsenic poisoning, autopsies, biographies of the defense counsel, etc.) than he does about the trial itself. Some readers will likely be put off by that. Personally, because I found the deep digressions interesting I didn't mind them.
More bothersome to me was the organization of the book and the writing, which are not done as well as they could have been.
Having said that, it is a good and well-researched book. Oddly, the author writes much more about the context and background (and general histories of such things as arsenic poisoning, autopsies, biographies of the defense counsel, etc.) than he does about the trial itself. Some readers will likely be put off by that. Personally, because I found the deep digressions interesting I didn't mind them.
More bothersome to me was the organization of the book and the writing, which are not done as well as they could have been.
August 31, 2017
The murder of George Wythe, although not previously known to me, shocked and gripped the nation at the time. The author's portrayal of the young nation, especially Virginia, at the time brought the story to light nicely and made the betrayal of Wythe by his own family and the miscarriage of justice after all the more sad. Reading about his accomplishments moved him onto my list of favorite founding fathers. A man of fairness and justice who detested slavery and mentored both black and white, he was loved and respected by all, regardless of politics. This is a shorter book and reads quickly and doesn't let itself get bogged down with minutiae or dryness.
December 18, 2019
The central thesis of this book could have been an article of 1000 words or less. Many of the pages are filled with fluff, including lengthy discussions of murders committed by the Borgias, medical tomes written by Chinese doctors, etc.
George Wythe is a fascinating man and the story of his death could have been interesting if told succinctly. Unfortunately the central story got lost in Chadwick's bloviation.
If you're truly interested in George Wythe, read Imogene Brown's book, now out of print but available.
George Wythe is a fascinating man and the story of his death could have been interesting if told succinctly. Unfortunately the central story got lost in Chadwick's bloviation.
If you're truly interested in George Wythe, read Imogene Brown's book, now out of print but available.
September 23, 2019
My family and I visited the George Wythe house when we visited Williamsburg years ago so I was a little familiar with who he was but this book went into great detail, I'd even consider it more of a biography. I enjoyed the detail the author went in about the other lawyers and doctors that were involved in the trial. It gave me an overall better understanding of the time period. Overall a very enjoyable and educational read!
January 22, 2024
A very interesting true crime story, extensively and painstakingly researched. The author went off into several unrelated areas, but I enjoyed learning about them, even though they weren't relevant to the story. The story could have been much shorter and more succinct, although i found the detailed descriptions about life in colonial Williamsburg and Richmond very interesting, at least from this author's perspective.
May 20, 2025
To be clear, most of the book isn't about the murder and murder trial. It uses the events as a way to give a slice of life in Richmond in the early 1800s. And what a crazy life it was. I learned more about daily life post revolution than from numerous history books on the times (shockingly different than i imagined in many cases). Read it for the digressions, they're the point. If you simply want plot driving, look elsewhere.
July 30, 2017
A fascinating story, to be sure, containing interesting tidbits about life in Richmond in the 1700's and early 1800's and the life (and death) of George Wythe. Unfortunately the book is hampered by excessive repetition and seemingly endless recitations of statistics...it feels very padded. Worth reading but be prepared for your eyes to occasionally glaze over.
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