Just prior to his death, George Wythe (1726-1806), confidant of Thomas Jefferson and prominent American legal scholar, accused his grandnephew George Wythe Sweeney of poisoning him with arsenic in order to prevent the dilution of his inheritance caused by the provisions Wythe had made in his will for emancipating and providing for his two slaves, Lydia Broadnax, who survived the poisoning but was not allowed to testify at the trial because she was black, and her son, Michael Brown, who did not survive the poisoning. Sweeney, in part because of the racist law prohibiting Broadnax's testimony, was acquitted of the murder. This book tells the story of the trial, while also addressing Wythe's political and legal relationship with Jefferson, as well as topics related to the trial that reveal more general aspects of the 19th century Virginia milieu, such as the state of medical forensics, the prevalence of poisonings, and race relations and the law. Annotation #169;2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

This historical whodunit relates the tale of the 1806 murder of one of the early nation's most celebrated jurists and public figures. Virginia's George Wythe was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and of the Constitution. He was also teacher and friend to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Marshall and Henry Clay. Few were as beloved and admired; the advice of no other was so sought after. But one day in 1806, he and two of his servants were poisoned. Historian Chadwick (George Washington's War) takes readers through the circumstances of Wythe's murder and gradually reveals no surprise to the attentive reader the murder suspect. It's 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. The walk-on figures include a good proportion of the early republic's leading men. If Chadwick pads the book with too much on, say, arsenic poisoning, as well as the contemporary practices of autopsies, it's all pertinent to the tale's outcome: the acquittal of the likely murderer. Illus. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

This tale of murder, mayhem, and a "trial of the century" in the new nation tells of the death of George Wythe (1726 1806), a leader of the patriot movement in Virginia and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson considered him "my earliest and best friend" and a mentor in the quest for independence and the rule of law. His death came in old age, but it was murder and a tragedy for the new nation, as portrayed in this thoroughly researched and documented book by historian Chadwick. Chadwick reveals the darker side of Colonial Richmond and its influence on Wythe's grandnephew, George Sweeney. It was Sweeney who would betray and murder Wythe, yet he was acquitted and released, highlighting the injustice of not allowing a former slave's eyewitness testimony to be accepted. Nascent forensics and criminal investigative techniques are described in detail, as is the prevalence of poison as a means of murder at that time. The reader will come to admire Wythe and his character and influence greatly and mourn the loss of a patriot as he is presented in this fresh portrait. A compelling read that will make an excellent addition for every public and academic library. Nancy Richey, Western Kentucky Univ. Lib., Bowling Green Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Part 1 The Murder
1 "I Am Murdered"	3
2 The Funeral	17
3 Homicide: The Investigation, Part I	24
4 Williamsburg: George Wythe and Thomas Jefferson	40
5 Jefferson and Wythe Remake Virginia	63
6 Richmond: Boomtown and the Decadent Nightlife of George Wythe Sweeney	82
7 The Dying George Wythe Changes His Will	104
8 Moving Day: A Second Life in Richmond and the Return of George Wythe	108
Part 2 The Investigation
9 The Arrest	123
10 The Investigation, Part II	126
11 For the Defense: William Wirt	132
12 For the Defense: Edmund Randolph	148
13 Mourning at the Executive Mansion	161
Part 3 The Trial
14 The Forensics Nightmare, Part I: Arsenic, the Poison of Choice	167
15 The Forensics Nightmare, Part II: The Autopsy	195
16 Lydia Broadnax: The Eyewitness	216
17 The Black and White Legal Codes	228
18 Washington, October 1806	235
Epilogue	237
Acknowledgments	241
Notes	243
Bibliography	263
Index	273

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