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'Hanging Mary' Tells An Untold Story Of Lincoln's Assassination

An image of the book cover for 'Hanging Mary' by Susan Higginbotham
Sourcebooks Landmark

Mary Suratt is the first woman executed by the U.S. In 1865, she was convicted and hanged for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

Surratt was a widow, Confederate-sympathizer and operator of a small boardinghouse in Washington D.C. But was she partly responsible for one of the most famous deaths in American history? 

The new novel Hanging Mary (Sourcebooks Landmark/2016) blends historical fact with fiction to tell the untold story of Surratt.

Guest host Phoebe Judge talks with author Susan Higginbotham about the novel. Higginbotham reads at McIntyre's Books in Pittsboro at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 19 and Flyleaf Books at 7:00 p.m. in Chapel Hill on Wednesday, March 30.

Charlie Shelton-Ormond is a podcast producer for WUNC.
Phoebe Judge is an award-winning journalist whose work has been featured on a numerous national radio programs. She regularly conducts interviews and anchors WUNC's broadcast of Here & Now. Previously, Phoebe served as producer, reporter and guest host for the nationally distributed public radio program The Story. Earlier in her career, Phoebe reported from the gulf coast of Mississippi. She covered the BP oil spill and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for Mississippi Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio. Phoebe's work has won multiple Edward R. Murrow and Associated Press awards. Phoebe was born and raised in Chicago and is graduate of Bennington College and the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.