David O. Stewart, nationally known for his award-winning nonfiction works on Aaron Burr and the U.S. Constitution, will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, June 3 at noon to discuss his first novel, The Lincoln Deception. Blending real and fictional characters, the book is a gripping historical mystery exploring the endless fascination with Lincoln’s assassination and the conspiracy behind it. A death bed confession and a long-hidden conspiracy are at the heart of The Lincoln Deception, a historical mystery centered on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln – the only real conspiracy to kill a president in American history. In March 1900, as former Congressman John Bingham of Cadiz, Ohio lies dying, he tells a strange tale to his physician, Dr. Jamie Fraser. Thirty-five years earlier, when Bingham prosecuted eight members of John Wilkes Booth's plot to kill Lincoln, conspirator Mary Surratt divulged a secret so explosive it could shatter the republic. Though Bingham takes the secret to his grave, Fraser cannot let go of the mystery. Bored with small-town medical practice, he begins to investigate, securing an unlikely ally in Speed Cook, a black, college-educated professional ballplayer and would-be newspaper publisher. Though a mismatched pair, Cook and Fraser agree that the accepted version of Lincoln's assassination rings false. Was Booth truly the mastermind or were other, more powerful forces pulling the strings? David O. Stewart’s talk will explore what we know about the Booth Conspiracy but tend to forget, and also what we still do not know. After practicing law for many years, David O. Stewart began to write history, too. His first book,The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution, was a Washington Post bestseller and won the Washington Writing Award as Best Book of 2007. Two years later, Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy, was called “by all means the best account of this troubled episode” by Professor David Donald of Harvard. David’s latest work is American Emperor, Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America, an examination of Burr’s Western expedition, prompted the Society of the Cincinnati to award David its 2013 History Prize. The Lincoln Deception, an historical mystery about the John Wilkes Booth Conspiracy, was released in late August 2013. Bloomberg View called it the best historical novel of the year, while Publishers Weekly called it an “impressive debut novel.” David also is president of the Washington Independent Review of Books, an online book review. A book sale and signing will follow. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.
