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273rd out of 1,205 books
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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 h
...moreHardcover, 288 pages
Published
January 9th 2009
by John Wiley & Sons
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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...more
Cyndy
added it
Life really is stranger than fiction!!!!! I was shocked of the outcome and the irony of its cause.
I was fascinated by the huge tangents that this author took me on. I was delighted and irritated at the same time. The essays on cholera, arsenic, black legal codes, and the mini-biographies of key players in the trial were all more than I bargained for, but I stuck it out and saw his purpose! Mr Chadwick weaves an excellent tale that would be terribly deflated without the extra backgro...more
I was fascinated by the huge tangents that this author took me on. I was delighted and irritated at the same time. The essays on cholera, arsenic, black legal codes, and the mini-biographies of key players in the trial were all more than I bargained for, but I stuck it out and saw his purpose! Mr Chadwick weaves an excellent tale that would be terribly deflated without the extra backgro...more
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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 providi...more
Chadwick puts a lot of energy into providi...more
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.
Great topic, but not presented in a very captivating manner. This book tells the story of George Wythe - a signer of the U.S. Constitution, tutor to Thomas Jefferson, Justice John Marshall, and other notable historical figures, co-auhor of Virginia's state constitution, as well as the first U.S. law professor (at William and Mary) - who was allegedly murdered (arsenic poisoning) by an ungrateful great-nephew for quick access to inheritance money. The nephew was found not guilty due to a botche...more
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 ...more
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 1...more
It was not my type of book - full of historical facts about George Wythe being murdered by his grand nephew. Some of it was interesting - especially the parts describing Richmond, VA and the Capitol area and his relationship with Thomas Jefferson, but there were too many areas that were long winded for pages at a time when a simple paragraph (or sentence) would have been enough. Lots of footnotes and references - a lot of research was done on this book!
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.).
Evanston Public Library
added it
The 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)
I thought this was better than the OJ Trial. They had all this evidence that couldn't be used because of the ways the laws were written. Those laws were partly written by the man who was murdered.
I learned a lot about arsenic poisoning thru the centuries. I found all this very interesting. I love reading Virgina History. I will read this author again.
I learned a lot about arsenic poisoning thru the centuries. I found all this very interesting. I love reading Virgina History. I will read this author again.
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 ...more
There was just too much time taken up with the history of cholera, smallpox, etc to keep me connected with the story. I've already read quite a bit about disease and science so I found myself frustrated-wanting to get back to the story of the crime itself. This one is more my fault than the author.
Bought this in October while visiting Colonial Williamsburg. Good read - a bit clunky and repetitive in spots, but I'm glad I read it. Kinda wish I hadn't bought it new, hardbound, but hey, a sacrifice for the economy! Gifted to a friend in November, after I finished it.
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.
I enjoyed this. I didn't realize that George Wythe was murdered by a family member. Chadwick does a great job with the twists and turns and the ironies of the story.
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.
Enjoyed the history of Richmond. But, there is a lot of detail about poisons, diseases, crime, that could have been left out.
A convincing story of how George Wythe was murdered by his nephew. I met and had lunch with the author with a DAR group.
Very interesting. Had no idea about this individual in history. One of the first high profile murder cases in America. Ties into a great deal of famous people in American history. Then ending of this book is extremely ironic. Well worth the short read.
This book is about an interesting event in history that I had never heard about. George Wythe was not a name I recognized but he was involved in numerous historal events and knew many famous people that I did recognize. The only problem with this book was the level of detail about supporting events. I would have liked to learn more about the law during this time and less about the type of china that George Wythe used. It seemed like there were only about 20 pages written about the actual cou...more
Excellent sections on arsenic, medical practices of 1700-1800, slavery in Richmond VA
It is sad to me when a fascinating account is rendered uninteresting by a poor telling.
very interesting and historical
Post-revolutonary war era intrigue.
SIGH!! Another book that I tried to read but just couldn't get all the way through. It was ok...just sort of boring and I found other things that I would rather read right now. Perhaps I'll pick it up again sometime.
I am giving this 5 stars because of the historical content and information. It is not that well written and is often repetitive and redundant. ;o)I found learning more about that time period and the people involved very fascinating.
This book interests me because I spent three years in Richmond. I hope it does not disappoint. It did disappoint. I did not think it was well written. I know more about arsenic poisoning than I ever wanted to know. The author kept going off on tangents.
Excellent account of a little known murder of Judge Wythe who was a good friend and teacher to Thomas Jefferson. For those who like forensic science this is a look at forensics from the early 1800's
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."
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